The National Institute for Direct Instruction (NIFDI) is a non-profit organization dedicated to:
While we do not offer tutoring services or other homeschool-related services, there are several programs designed for at-home use. These programs are written by Direct Instruction's creator and senior author, Siegfried "Zig" Engelmann and are developed using the same core concepts for instructional design as regular DI programs sold exclusively to the school market.
At-home programs include:
If you are attempting to locate schools that use Direct Instruction programs, email us at info@nifdi.org with the details of your search:
Although NIFDI does not maintain a list or database of each school or district using Direct Instruction, representatives from the publisher, McGraw-Hill, work regionally and are familiar with sites using the programs. They may be able to assist you in locating a school using DI. We can send you the name and contact information for the representative in the area you are searching and forward the details of your search to the representative.
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Kris Althoff Kris Althoff is an experienced trainer and teacher of Direct Instruction (DI) in the primary grades. Kris was a first grade teacher for over 30 years in the Rush City School District, Minnesota. For the last 15 of those years, she taught Direct Instruction programs (Reading Mastery, Language for Learning, Language for Thinking, Reasoning & Writing, DISTAR Arithmetic I, and Connecting Math Concepts levels A & B). In 1997, she became the Direct Instruction Coach for the school, and in 1999 she became the DI trainer for the entire St. Croix River Education District for Direct Instruction. In 1999, she also became a trainer and part-time Implementation Manager for the National Institute for Direct Instruction (NIFDI). She has provided training and support to schoolwide implementations of Direct Instruction with NIFDI in Australia, Detroit, Georgia, Guam, Minnesota, Nebraska and Texas. From 2004 to 2013, Kris served as the Title I Teacher/Reading Coordinator for Pine City Public Schools in Pine City, Minnesota, with responsibilities for providing teachers with initial training in Direct Instruction programs, in-class coaching, weekly analysis of student performance and adjustment of the DI implementation based on observations and data analysis.
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Tamara Bressi Tamara is an experienced Direct Instruction (DI) teacher, trainer and coach. She holds a Master of Science in Special Education from the University of Oregon and Oregon teaching certificates for Basic Elementary, preprimary through grade 9 and Standard Handicapped Learner II, preprimary through grade 12. From 1992 to 1998, Tamara was a resource room/self-contained special education teacher in Shasta & Cascade Middle Schools in the Bethel School District in Eugene, Oregon. From 1998 to 2004, Tamara was a 2nd grade teacher at Meadow View School, also in the Bethel School District. While at Meadow View, she served as a Teacher on Special Assignment for the school’s K-3 reading program, with responsibilities of conducting observations of Direct Instruction reading groups, data analysis and curriculum training in addition to her regular teaching assignment. From 2003 through 2009, Tamara was an implementation manager for NIFDI at middle schools and elementary schools in Guam. In 2010, she was Co-Director of Training for NIFDI and in 2012 became the Director of Training Development (DOTD). Both positions carry the responsibilities of creating, arranging and evaluating training sessions for teachers, administrators, paraprofessionals and NIFDI consultants. In addition to her current position as NIFDI’s DOTD, Tamara continues to provide DI training to teachers and administrators and is also the implementation manager for Union Colony Elementary School in Greeley, Colorado. In the summer of 2013, Tamara will be one of two trainers for the Academy on Becoming an Effective Direct Instruction Trainer, which is an integral component of NIFDI’s Southwest Training Institute.
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Jane Carter Jane Carter began her career as an educator after completing a Master’s Degree in Special Education at the University of Oregon. At the U of O, she received an introduction to Direct Instruction (DI) from preeminent authors and developers of DI materials, including Mary Gleason, Doug Carnine and Siegfried "Zig" Engelmann. Jane spent the next 10 years teaching DI programs in both elementary and middle schools in Oregon. Specifically, her teaching expertise includes DISTAR (arithmetic reading and language), Spelling Mastery, Expressive Writing, Corrective Math, Corrective Reading and Your World of Facts. While Jane was teaching in the classroom, she continued to work at the U of O as a supervisor and trainer in Direct Instruction in the special education licensure program. After a decade of teaching DI, Jane moved to administration. In 1990, she became the Assistant Supervisor of Special Education in the Portland Public Schools. From 1993-2004 she was the principal of Meadowview School in the Bethel School District in Eugene, Oregon. While at Meadowview, she oversaw a schoolwide implementation of Direct Instruction in the primary grades. From 2004-2010, she was the principal of an elementary school in the Eugene 4j School District. Jane also holds a doctorate in Special Education. Since 2011, she has served as a consultant for the National Institute for Direct Instruction (NIFDI) as well as a university instructor and researcher.
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Kurt Engelmann Kurt E. Engelmann, Ph.D., began his career in education in the early 1980s as a tutor working with a variety of learning-disabled students, ranging from adult remedial readers to severely language-delayed first graders. In the mid-1980s Dr. Engelmann worked as a behavioral consultant for the Engelmann-Becker Corporation in cooperation with the Eugene “4J” School District and Lane County ESD in Oregon. During that time he also worked on the development of a behavioral research program for the Oregon Research Institute that focused on teaching students appropriate social behaviors. From 1994 to 2000, Dr. Engelmann served as an Outreach Coordinator in the Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington.
Since July 2000, Dr. Engelmann has been the Administrative Director and President of the National Institute for Direct Instruction (NIFDI). As Administrative Director and President, he is responsible for organizing administrative support for Direct Instruction (DI) implementations, serving as liaison between school district administrators and NIFDI, and coordinating medium and long-term planning of NIFDI implementation efforts. Under his direction, NIFDI has implemented the DI model in elementary schools and middle schools serving highly at-risk populations in a variety of settings, including rural communities (Oregon, Kansas, Nebraska, Georgia, Illinois, Minnesota, South Carolina Utah and Virginia), urban communities (Atlanta, Baltimore, Detroit, Los Angeles County, New Orleans and Philadelphia), island communities (Hawaii and Guam) and internationally (Cape York, Australia). Under Dr. Engelmann’s leadership, NIFDI became affiliated with several organizations that promote effective school reform. NIFDI joined New American Schools in 2002 and the Coalition for Comprehensive School Improvement (CCSI) in 2004. Engelmann served as the Treasurer of CCSI. For two years he also served as Implementation Manager of a Comprehensive School Reform Quality Initiative grant received by NIFDI and the Center for Applied Research in Education (CARE) from the US Department of Education.
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Ms. Frost is an experienced classroom teacher with extensive experience coaching teachers and supporting schoolwide implementations of Direct Instruction (DI). She was employed with Baltimore City Public Schools—as a curriculum coordinator, teacher tutor for reading and mathematics, and as a reading resource teacher—in addition to her role as a classroom teacher. From 1996-1999 she was a Direct Instruction coordinator employed by Baltimore City Public Schools, with responsibilities for coaching teachers and instructional assistants on DI presentation methods and conducting training sessions to help teachers and instructional assistants increase student proficiency. From 1999 through the present, Ms. Frost has served as an implementation manager for NIFDI in Baltimore, Georgia, Guam, Hawaii, Louisiana and Nebraska. In addition, she has conducted “coaches’ training” sessions to help prepare select teachers to become coaches for their peers in DI methods in these sites and in Kansas, Wisconsin, and Saipan. She holds a Master’s of Science in Reading and Elementary Education from Morgan State University as well as a Bachelor’s of Science in Elementary Education from the University of Maryland. |
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After receiving her BS in Elementary Education from Eastern Kentucky University, Ms. Givens worked as a Title One Teacher in Dayton, Ohio. From 1995 to 1997, she served as the On-site Coordinator for Direct Instruction at two elementary schools in Dayton. In 1998, she worked as an Implementation Manager for NIFDI for two inner-city elementary schools in Baltimore and Philadelphia. From 1999 to 2006, she was the On-site Coordinator for Direct Instruction at two elementary schools in Chester, Pennsylvania. Since 1996, she has served as the On-Site Implementation Manager for NIFDI at seven elementary and middle schools in Atlanta. In 2010-2011 she also was the IM at Mt. Carmel in southern Illinois and West Point in northeastern Nebraska. She has provided DI program delivery training and coaches training in Georgia, Nebraska, Kansas, Pennsylvania, Florida, Virginia, Illinois and Maryland. |
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Robyn Hendrickson is an educator with vast experience in reading instruction specific to all levels of the Direct Instruction curriculum. For 27 years, she has served as a classroom teacher at Gunnison Elementary School in Gunnison, Utah, with 22 years teaching first grade. She has taught and trained all levels of Reading Mastery, Corrective Reading, Reasoning & Writing and other Direct Instruction programs. In addition to classroom teaching, Robyn served as the Reading Coordinator for Gunnison Elementary from 2003 to 2008, which entailed training the staff in Direct Instruction reading as well as providing in-class coaching, overseeing professional development, facilitating professional leadership groups and directing the school's assessment program using DIBELS and Criterion Reference Tests (CRTs). For the past 18, years Robyn has also worked as a preservice trainer for the National Institute for Direct Instruction (NIFDI) in reading, language, spelling and mathematics. She has trained in numerous sites, including Baltimore, Los Angeles County, Atlanta, Nebraska, Guam and Hawaii. She holds a B.A. in Elementary Education with an emphasis on reading instruction from Southern Utah State University. |
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Dr. Kathy Madigan has been a teacher, principal, college professor, curriculum coordinator and research project director. She co-founded and served as president of the American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence and served as the Executive Director for the National Council on Teacher Quality. Previously, she worked as the Vice President for Advantage Schools where she was responsible for curriculum, behavior management, staff development and principal supervision in 16 start-up charter schools across the US. Dr. Madigan currently works as an Implementation manager for NIFDI schools in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. |
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Susan Martin is an experienced trainer, coach and implementation manager. For over 30 years she worked in Oregon public schools—27 years at Harrisburg Elementary School in Harrisburg and six years at Meadow View Elementary School in Eugene. She taught Direct Instruction reading, language and math programs for over 20 of those years. While at Meadow View, she also served as a “Teacher on Special Assignment” for the school’s K-3 reading program, with responsibilities of conducting observations of Direct Instruction reading groups, data analysis and curriculum training in addition to her regular teaching assignment. Since 2003, Sue has been an implementation manager for NIFDI, with responsibilities for supporting schoolwide implementations of DI at a wide variety of sites, including the Lummi Tribal Schools in Bellingham, Washington, La Pine Middle School in central Oregon, several elementary schools in Guam, six Charter Schools in and around Portland, Oregon, elementary and middle schools in rural Nebraska and others. From 2010-2012, she held the position of Director of Training for NIFDI, with responsibilities for creating, arranging and evaluating training sessions for teachers, administrators, paraprofessionals and NIFDI consultants. In the summer of 2013, Sue will be one of two trainers for the Academy on Becoming an Effective Direct Instruction Trainer, which is an integral component of NIFDI’s Southwest Training Institute. Currently, Sue is the Project Consultant for a Direct Instruction Charter School in Greeley, Colorado. As she has since 2003, she continues to do program training and special writing projects for NIFDI. |
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Yvonne O'Neil began her teaching career in 1984 as a 4th-5th blend teacher at Potrero Elementary School in El Monte, Los Angeles County, California. Yvonne also taught a straight 4th grade class and a 2nd grade class before leaving El Monte in 1988. From 1989 to 1995, she taught first and second grade at St. Joseph's Catholic School in Roseburg, Oregon. Since 1997 she has been employed by Roseburg Public Schools. From 1997 to 2006, she worked at Winchester Elementary School in Roseburg, first as a 5th grade teacher, and then as a 4th grade teacher. Starting in 2006, Yvonne took on responsibilities as an instructional coach. She was the Reading First Reading Coach for Winchester Elementary from 2006 to 2009. She worked as the Instructional Coach for the Fullerton-Green-Rose Elementary Schools for the 2009-2010 school year before becoming the Learning Specialist for Green Elementary School for the 2010-2011 school year. Since 2011 she has served as the Reading Instructional Coach for all schools in the Roseburg Public Schools system. Direct Instruction has been an integral part of Yvonne's work as a teacher and instructional coach at Roseburg Public Schools, which implements Direct Instruction at the elementary, middle and high school levels. Yvonne provides in-class coaching support to teachers in Corrective Reading, Reading Mastery and other DI programs. Since 2010, Yvonne has also been a trainer for the National Institute for Direct Instruction (NIFDI). She has trained DI programs at Santee Community School in Niobrara, Nebraska, Union Colony Charter School in Greeley, Colorado and the Thurgood Marshall Elementary School in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. |
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Jill Shaw started her teaching career in 1999 as an English teacher at Meridian Public Schools, a small district in southeastern Nebraska. In 2002, Jill moved to Crete, Nebraska, a larger district with nearly 2,000 students. In Crete, she first worked as a substitute teacher and summer school instructor, teaching students who were reading below grade-level. In 2007 she became a teacher of English Language Learners (ELL) as well as the part-time literacy coach for Crete High School overseeing the implementation of the Corrective Reading remedial Direct Instruction program for targeted students. Since 2009 she has been the full-time literacy coach at Crete Middle School. As the literacy coach, Jill provides initial training in Direct Instruction programs to returning and new teachers before the start of the school year, and in-class coaching support to teachers throughout the school year. Her duties also include weekly analysis of student performance in the Direct Instruction programs and adjustment of the DI implementation based on observations and data analysis. In addition, she is the Summer School Coordinator for Crete Public Schools, with responsibilities for determining which students to invite, selecting the curriculum to use, grouping students for instruction, and coaching the teachers during the four-week summer school session. The Direct Instruction Spoken English (DISE) program, published by the Cambium Learning Group [http://www.soprislearning.com/cs/Satellite/DISE_Overview], is an important part of the curriculum at Crete Public Schools, whose ELL population has increased significantly in recent years. Jill has provided training for DISE and Corrective Reading to teachers in Crete as well as other schools in Nebraska. Jill holds a Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction from Doane College, with certifications in Language Arts (grades 7-12) and Reading (grades 5-12) and endorsements in Coaching and ELL. |
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Cheryl Shelton is an exceptional Direct Instruction trainer and coach who has experienced successful implementations of the comprehensive DI model from different, critical perspectives. From 1996-2007, Mrs. Shelton worked as a teacher, mentor teacher and leadership team member at Margaret Fain Elementary School in Atlanta, Georgia. After mastering Direct Instruction presentation techniques as a teacher with support from the National Institute for Direct Instruction (NIFDI) and coaches training from NIFDI, Mrs. Shelton served as Direct Instruction Coach at Fain. As part of her time at Fain, she was also the Grade Level Chairperson for 1st-5th grades. In 2007, Mrs. Shelton moved to Continental Colony Elementary School, also in the Atlanta Public Schools System. There, she served as Third Grade Teacher, Grade Level Chairperson and DI Coach. In 2009, she became the DI Facilitator (Coordinator) and helped transform Continental Colony into one of the premier DI implementation sites in Atlanta.
Mrs. Shelton holds a Bachelor's Degree in Early Childhood Education from Clark Atlanta University and a Master's Degree in Curriculum from Central Michigan University. |
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Judith’s experience as a professional education consultant and elementary teacher spans over 40 years. She has successfully completed trainings in more than 200 separate school districts within 25 states, including 14 school-wide implementations for Direct Instruction. Judith’s professional efforts have involved working with General Education teachers as well as Special Education teachers. From 1985 to 1994 she was extensively involved with the University of Oregon’s Project Follow Through model with dissemination sites in Florida and Iowa. During that time she also worked for McGraw-Hill as a senior consultant. Currently Judith works for NIFDI in West Point and Beemer, NE and in TriCounty schools as well as Mead, NE. In the past, she has worked as an implementation manager for NIFDI in Great Bend and Leavenworth, Kansas, Crete, Ne and Lynwood, California. She also held a long term contract with the Milwaukee Schools, Chicago Schools and Dubuque, IA schools. Judith has a Bachelor’s Degree in Education and has attended numerous regional and national classes and seminars to further enhance her capabilities for consulting in the educational arena. She is a recipient of the “Hall of Fame” lifetime achievement award given by the Association for Direct Instruction, the organization's highest honor. |
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Having a clear understanding of the theory and design of Direct Instruction (DI), as well as a clear understanding of the pdf Essential Elements needed for a successful implementation, is critical in getting your implementation off to a strong start. If you're interested in learning more about how to bring DI to your school or district and what NIFDI can do to support your implementation, we recommend the following steps:
1. Watch the Introduction to Direct Instruction Video Series. NIFDI offers a free online video series covering a range of topics addressing the fundamentals of Direct Instruction. The content of these videos is designed to provide information relevant to individuals new to DI and are each only about three to five minutes long, providing a succinct introduction to each topic.
2. Take NIFDI's online tutorial. NIFDI has developed an online tutorial that guides users through key foundational information on Direct Instruction and the essential elements necessary for a successful implementation. The tutorial was developed for teachers, administrators and other school officials, but is also beneficial to anyone interested in DI, whether they work in a school or not.
3. View videos on Direct Instruction and NIFDI Schools. NIFDI has several videos available online that portray the success schools experience when using DI in tandem with implementation support from NIFDI. Additionally, there are a number of videos that address important aspects of implementation and the curriculum.
4. Read Clear Teaching by Shepard Barbash. Clear Teaching is commissioned by the Education Consumers Foundation (ECF) and is a great book for anyone new to Direct Instruction or wanting a refresher on the basics of DI methodology. It is available from retailers such as Amazon and as a free download on ECF's website. NIFDI has also created a pdf Facilitator's Guide for group study of the book and a pdf study guide for individual or group use.
5. Find resources on the publisher's website for each program. Most of the DI family of programs is published by McGraw-Hill. Other publishers include Voyager Sopris Learning, Educational Achievement Publishing, and Funnix. In addition to product and pricing information, there is a wide variety of support resources for programs available on their websites. Find research, alignments to the pdf Common Core State Standards , and more. Not sure who the publisher is? Check out the program pages on this website to learn more!
1. Review the Direct Instruction Model and Essential Elements. The services offered through an implementation support company such as NIFDI afford schools a strong basis for implementing the DI model successfully with all children. However, the way in which the school utilizes the services provided is a cornerstone in ensuring a strong implementation. Read through our booklet Achieving Success for Every Student with Direct Instruction, and review the Essential Elements checklist located at the end of the booklet for more information.
2. Complete the School Data Form. In order to determine the scope of your implementation and the support services your site will require, schools need to complete the pdf School Data Form . This information will be used to help assess the school's needs and put together a budget proposal for NIFDI services. If you are a district-level administrator interested in contracting for services across several schools, please use our Multi-School Data Form. Examples of how to complete the Multi-School Data Form can be found here: pdf Elementary Sample | pdf Middle School Sample
3. Arrange a phone conference with NIFDI. Once you have familiarized yourself with the necessary model components, it is time to discuss with NIFDI how the Full Immersion DI model can be applied in your school or district. During an initial phone call, NIFDI will walk you through the components of a successful implementation and the support NIFDI provides. NIFDI will also help you identify your school or district's readiness for a successful implementation. In preparation for your call, please be sure you have completed the pdf School Data Form (See item 2 above).
1. Visit a school implementing DI with fidelity. Schools considering implementing Direct Instruction should consider visiting a school implementing DI with fidelity. Seeing DI in action is different than seeing DI implemented in a school that has worked with NIFDI. As such, NIFDI can recommend sites across the United States -- and around the world -- that warrant a visit. NIFDI recommends you visit
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these schools
so that you can see DI as it was intended to be used
1. Contract with NIFDI for on-site training and support. NIFDI can provide on-site training for teachers and other instructional staff in programs specific to the skill and performance levels of students, ensuring instructors are equipped with the necessary skills to efficiently and effectively teach students to mastery. This training is provided as part of NIFDI's comprehensive implementation support services.
2. Attend a Direct Instruction Summer Training Conference. NIFDI presents the premier DI training conference—the National DI Conference and Institutes. This training is an option for those wanting training that adheres to the Developer's Guidelines but not necessarily contracting for the full range of NIFDI services. The National Direct Instruction Conference is the longest-running DI training event. Held each year in Eugene, Oregon, the conference attracts educators from around the world who are interested in specific program training as well as topics related to DI. A feature of this event is the specialized weeklong institutes on Trainer Training, Coaching, and Administrative development.
3. Participate in outreach events sponsored by NIFDI. NIFDI offers several 2-day trainings around the country during the school year. Currently, NIFDI offers a Leadership Academy and Coaching Academies (1 and 2). These academies offer a portion of the content delivered in the weeklong institutes held in the summer. The Leadership Academy is ideal for the leadership team at a school that has minimal or no experience and training in DI. The Coaching academies are designed for the leadership staff that have experience and training in teaching the programs and will be responsible for assisting in the professional development and quality control of the implementation.
1. Enjoy on-site visits from experienced Direct Instruction trainers. NIFDI support usually spans an intensive period of three years, followed by less intensive support for two or more years, depending on the needs of the site. During the intensive phase, NIFDI consultants come on-site once a month for in-class observations, feedback, assessment, and demonstrations. The exact number of days depends on the size of the school and the available budget. When on-site, NIFDI consultants focus on student performance and factors that affect student achievement.
2. Receive program-specific assessment, preservice and in-service training. A common misconception is that DI programs are easy to teach because they are scripted. Nothing could be further from the truth. Mastering the instructional skills needed to teach DI programs is difficult, and the training NIFDI provides is essential in the learning process for teachers, teaching assistants, and administrators to master these skills. Trainings are provided on-site by experienced DI teachers and coaches. To learn more, visit the NIFDI Services section of this website.
3. Support instructional staff through NIFDI's in-class coaching model. In-class coaching helps prepare teachers to become master DI teachers. With the intent to improve teachers' mastery of DI techniques, coaching involves non-evaluative observations of instruction by NIFDI staff, along with specific feedback on what was observed and modeling/demonstration of lessons. Virtual visits are also utilized as appropriate to provide additional support to teachers when NIFDI staff isn't on site.
4. Administer Placement Tests to Students. Program-specific assessments drive placement in Direct Instruction programs. After receiving assessment training, you will need to administer placement tests to your students. NIFDI will then assist you in grouping students and placing your materials order.
5. Benefit from off-site NIFDI support services year-round. Even when NIFDI staff isn't on site, schools contracting with NIFDI benefit from off-site support, including virtual visits, data analysis, and weekly conference calls.
6. Develop internal capacity for supporting the implementation. Support from NIFDI is key to establishing an effective DI implementation, but NIFDI consultants cannot be on site all the time, and they cannot work with schools indefinitely. Through NIFDI's on-site mentoring, coaches training, and Train the Trainer (TOT) Institutes, schools and districts can develop the internal capacity for maximizing student achievement independently through DI for many years to come.
