About Romalda B. Spalding

Although Romalda Spalding earned a bachelors degree from the University of Illinois and a masters degree from Columbia University, she discovered that her preparation was not adequate for teaching all children to read and write successfully.

Her search for a reading method that empowered children to become fluent, thoughtful readers and writers led her in 1938 to the distinguished neurologist Dr. Samuel T. Orton. Orton specialized in helping dyslexic and other disabled children. After tutoring children under his supervision, Mrs. Spalding soon realized that the children taught using Dr. Orton's techniques experienced more success than her regular education students.

Drawing on what she learned from Dr. Orton and her own experience working with children at Massachusetts General Hospital, Children's Hospital at Harvard Medical School, and public and private schools as a classroom teacher, she wrote the textbook, The Writing Road to Reading, first published in 1957.

The Spalding Method continues to be validated by current research on the way children learn. During her lifetime she received numerous awards and served on advisory boards of the Orton Dyslexic Society and the International Montessori Society.

Spalding Education International

In 1986, Romalda B. Spalding established the Spalding Education Foundation (SEF) (now Spalding Education International) as a resource for Spalding materials, to perpetuate her Method of teaching language arts, and to maintain the principles and procedures which have made The Spalding Method so effective.

Spalding Education International (SEI) is a nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3) corporation. It is the only organization authorized by Romalda B. Spalding to provide instruction in The Spalding Method. SEI certifies tutors, teachers and instructors in The Spalding Method. Spalding courses are held through contracts with schools, districts, colleges, and universities. In addition, the Spalding Professional Development Program (SPDP) provides on-site staff development for schools that have adopted The Spalding Method as their total language arts program. Schools may also apply for SEI Accreditation signifying that they qualify as Spalding instructional models.

SEI also provides instructional materials and publishes a quarterly newsletter, The Spalding News, which provides instructional tips and reports on current research and SEI events. Spalding Education International is accredited by the International Multisensory Structured Language Education Council for its literacy instructional programs for teachers and Spalding teacher trainers.

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