Preventing Academic Failure (PAF)

The PAF Reading Program is a structured, multisensory language curriculum designed to teach reading, spelling, and handwriting. It is a highly effective, research-based method that is a classroom adaptation of the Orton-Gillingham approach, making it ideal for a wide range of young learners. Primarily intended as a comprehensive beginning reading program, it is best implemented for children in Kindergarten or 1st grade to prevent reading failure. However, its effectiveness as an intervention program also makes it suitable for older students who are struggling with reading difficulties. PAF is unique because it integrates all critical literacy components—phonemic awareness, phonics, decoding, word recognition, vocabulary, spelling, handwriting, and comprehension—into one unified lesson. This simultaneous teaching method ensures that each skill reinforces the others. The curriculum is concise and user-friendly, relying primarily on two materials for students: a decodable chapter book and a skills book. This simplicity makes it manageable for parents who may not have a teaching background, while its structure is robust enough for multilingual learners and students at risk for learning difficulties. A family should consider the PAF Program if their primary need is a scientifically-backed, sequential, and systematic approach to foundational literacy. It is the right choice for parents seeking an Orton-Gillingham-based curriculum who want a proven method to either establish strong reading skills from the start or to provide targeted, effective remediation for a struggling reader. Its integrated structure and focus on multisensory techniques address multiple learning styles, helping to build both confidence and competence in reading.