By Shannon Alderman / STAFF

“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” - Dr. Seuss.

Imagine being the person that teaches a child how to read, to tap into fictional faraway lands and into the world of facts. When a 12 year old girl with dyslexia came to Elizabeth Hilbert’s academy, she could not imagine that world.  In fact, she could not even read yet.  With the fourth grade looming, the child was embarrassed and frustrated in school.  That is, until she met Hilbert. “This child was coming home from school dejected, and non-readers who cannot compete due to their lack of reading skills often develop self-doubt, negativity and ultimately get poor grades,” she said.  Hilbert started her own learning academy to ensure this does not happen to the children she instructs and when the young girl’s parents enrolled her at the Alpharetta-based Hilbert’s Academy three days a week for a year, the student quickly advanced.  “Within ten weeks, she was reading at a higher reader level,” Hilbert said.  “By the end of the year, I had her reading at a fourth grade level.”

Stories like these are the norm and not the exception but don’t take Hilbert’s word for it.  She has countless handwritten thank you notes from the very students who once could not read or write.  For over thirty years, she’s been hard at work teaching her students the power and the passion of learning.

Oh, the Places You’ll Go

Elizabeth Hilbert’s odyssey began thirty years ago as a teacher in the Chicago area as an educator of elementary and middle school students. She also started her own company and formulated a new approach to teaching students through a direct instruction, phonics-based reading program. Five years ago, she moved to Alpharetta to be closer to her son and to teach the children of a family she had known in Chicago that relocated to Roswell.  Today, she is the owner of Hilbert’s Academy and she is helping children in North Fulton County excel further, faster and better in a shorter amount of time.

Hilbert’s Academy

Hilbert’s courses are designed for students ages 4 to 12 years old with a focus on reading, writing, mathematics, analysis, comprehension and test-taking abilities. The students are tested first to find out their current capacities. Then, she offers ten levels of classes for students having difficulty in the classroom to give young children a head start, a competitive edge and to enrich their current skills.  Her students typically attend courses for one to three hours a week either in a small group setting with six students or less or in a one-on-one environment. It is through a direct instruction model that she has acquired such dramatic and effective results. 

Direct Instruction

Direct instruction refers to teaching in a fast-paced environment offering constant interaction between the student and the teacher. According to the National Assessment of Education Progress, also known as the Nation’s Report Card (the only nationally representative and continuing assessment of what America’s students know) direct instruction is one of the most effective pedagogical methods above parental education, behavioral reinforcement and even open education systems. And this is the model Hilbert employs.  In an automated, technology-driven world, “there isn’t one computer at my academy,” she boasts and she’s got the test scores to back her up.  “All of my students passed the CRCT (the Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests) in Georgia last year,” she said confidently. And because of the interaction she maintains with her pupils, Hilbert has also discovered dyslexia in students as well as other learning impediments that might be getting in the way. “I’ve even had children who were having problems learning because they needed glasses.  But if I had them on a computer all day I would never have recognized that.” 

Hooked on Phonics

In addition to one-on-one instruction, Hilbert uses phonics to teach her students to read beginning at the age of four. “When a child opens up a book for the first time, they can be overwhelmed by the experience,” she said and with well over half a million distinct words in the English language, that can be daunting to a child.  “But a typical first grader already knows and uses vocally over 14,000 words and that is more than enough for a child to be a powerful reader – reading everything that he or she can already say.”

She did this with a four-year-old Haitian student who was not advancing as his parents had hoped.  “He was attending a reputable preschool but it was more like playtime rather than learning time for him.  So, I taught him using phonics and he can read now,” she said. Perhaps the failure was not in the school but in the method being used, Hilbert added. “Unfortunately, phonics is not taught in the school systems the way it once was.” So, Hilbert teaches young children to sound out written words into spoken words they already know.  She also teaches them comprehension and how to write clearly.

A novel concept

Hilbert believes her students need to be excited and inspired to read and not just told they have to. So, she turns the motto “Reading is Fun” into a fact by placing her students in the role of the characters they are reading about. “Believe me, this is no ordinary tutoring session and I guarantee that each child will learn to read while having fun.” By allowing her students to become the characters they are reading about, Hilbert says her students  “cross many cultural and societal barriers and it leads them to become more well rounded and interesting characters themselves.” As Hilbert reflects upon her years as an educator, Hilbert’s face beams with pride.  “Reading is a gift for a lifetime,” she said, and what an incredible gift to give indeed.

To learn more about Hilbert’s Academy call them at 678-907-READ (7323). They are located at Colony Park Office Park, 290 South Main St. (Hwy 9) Suite 600, Alpharetta, Ga.