Transforming Literacy: How Slant System Teacher Kristen Bacon is Changing the Reading Game

As educators, few things match the joy of watching a student transition from a hesitant reader to a confident one. Those are what teachers call the “lightbulb moment.” Yet, for children navigating dyslexia or severe reading hurdles, implementing an effective structured literacy approach requires more than standard encouragement. It demands highly targeted instruction, explicit frameworks, and specialized expertise.

This week, we are incredibly proud to spotlight Kristen Bacon, a remarkable reading interventionist whose work highlights the massive impact of combining the Orton-Gillingham method with comprehensive, structured tools. By implementing the Slant System, Kristen is unlocking measurable academic success and fundamentally reshaping how her students view reading.

The Power of a Structured Literacy Approach and Orton-Gillingham

Kristen found her way to the Slant System™  shortly after completing her initial Orton-Gillingham training with another company. For many educators, bridging the gap between high-level theory and daily classroom realities is a daunting task. Kristen found exactly what she was looking for in the program: a seamless alignment with proven methods paired with practical usability.

Kristen reflects, “[Slant System] offers the flexibility to make the [OG] program work for the specific needs of my students, and it makes planning for intervention lessons so much less time consuming.”

By leaning on structured literacy foundations, Kristen utilizes a systematic scope and sequence that explicitly breaks down complex language mechanics. This structure removes the guesswork from lesson planning, allowing her to invest her energy exactly where it matters most: delivering high-impact, multimodal literacy instruction that engages multiple senses to solidify decoding and phonetic retention.

Data-Driven Reading Intervention: Moving Students to Grade Level

In the world of reading remediation, numbers tell a crucial story. Kristen consistently leverages data to track and validate her students’ development, using precise assessments to measure:

• Fluency rates via DIBELS
• Decoding efficiency using the TOWRE-2
• Overall reading comprehension through the TOSREC

Across multiple grade levels, the outcomes of these reading intervention programs have been undeniably clear. Students aren’t just memorizing words temporarily; they are demonstrating real retention and moving through foundational stages at a steady, encouraging pace.

One of Kristen’s most powerful success stories highlights just how vital a specialized literacy instruction system can be for struggling learners. She recalls a student who had spent multiple cycles in a traditional intervention program with very limited growth. After switching to the Slant System, the student achieved measurable growth in the very first cycle. By the end of a full school year under Kristen’s instruction, the child’s benchmark scores had consistently risen to grade level, allowing them to be successfully exited from intervention entirely!

The Emotional Shift: Cultivating Reading for Pleasure

While quantitative gains are vital, the emotional transformation in students is where the real magic happens. When reading is a constant struggle, it ceases to be enjoyable. Kristen notes that many of her intervention students arrive viewing themselves as “non-readers,” carrying immense anxiety into their sessions.

Through individualized reading strategies for dyslexic students, Kristen systematically breaks down that anxiety. The predictability of the lessons gives students a reliable toolkit for attacking unfamiliar words, replacing frustration with a genuine sense of mastery.

The result? A complete mindset shift. Kristen regularly receives thrilled feedback from parents stating that their children are now actively choosing to pick up books and read for pleasure at home. In fact, her students love experiencing success so much that they frequently show up to her group room on days they aren’t even scheduled, asking if they can please join the class anyway!

As one grateful parent shared:

“My child is reading books every day. I used to have to fight with her to read, now she chooses to read!”

Elevating Educators: Building a Supportive Community

Kristen’s phenomenal success didn’t happen in a vacuum. It validates why deep literacy training for educators is one of the most critical investments a school can make. When specialists have access to premium classroom materials for structured literacy and professional development, the entire school ecosystem benefits.

Kristen’s experience was so profoundly positive that her coworker, another reading specialist in the building, witnessed the student breakthroughs and immediately adopted the program as well. This ripple effect is exactly how we cultivate a supportive community for literacy educators, by sharing evidence-based reading programs that protect teachers from burnout while accelerating student potential.

Whether you are looking to deepen your expertise through advanced literacy courses, work toward an Orton-Gillingham certification, or secure literacy coaching for teachers in your district, specialized training changes lives. Educators like Kristen Bacon are living proof that when we equip teachers with diagnostic tools and effective instructional strategies, every single student can find their voice and write their own success story.

Are you ready to bring evidence-aligned reading strategies to your school or practice? Learn more about our Slant System Teacher Training and Certification Tiers and join a community dedicated to turning reading struggles into lasting strengths!