Who We Are
Since it's inception in the mid 1970's, the Otterbein Community Reading Clinic (OCRC), has served two major functions. The first, and primary function has been to offer a source of supplemental reading and language arts instruction to children in surrounding communities who are in grades one through six. The second function has been to provide a clinical field site for teacher education students here at Otterbein College.
What We Do
Students in grades one through six are grouped according to instructional needs and age and receive supplemental instruction from professional teachers with assistance from Otterbein College education student interns when available. Three ten-week sessions are offered during the school year on Saturday mornings. Twenty-two and a half hours of small group instruction are provided in the program. Parents receive suggestions for follow-up activities to be carried out at home. Each student's progress is monitored, and parents receive a written summary of the term's work as well as the opportunity for an end-of-term conference with the teacher.
Our Philosophy
The Otterbein Community Reading Clinic (OCRC) leadership has developed and affirmed the position that: programming for struggling readers should begin with learners' strengths, building on what individuals can do rather than focusing on what they have not yet learned to do; materials should be authentic; instructional strategies should be state of the art; and learners should be partners with teachers in monitoring and understanding their own literacy processes and in assessing their own progress.