Litchfield Elementary School District has been singled out by experts as an example of what public schools can do to help kids with dyslexia, even in a time of tightened budgets and limited resources.

On Wednesday, participants from the 61st annual International Dyslexia Association Conference toured the West Valley district. It was the first time the conference came to Phoenix, and the event drew hundreds of teachers, parents, dyslexia researchers and school administrators from across the country.

Most experts agree that individualized help and extra instruction is the key to breaking the reading code for those with dyslexia, a learning disorder that surveys show affects anywhere from 10 to 15 percent of school-age children.

However, many parents cannot afford to send their children to private schools, where annual tuition can run in the tens of thousands. For some, even extra tutoring is not an option.

The Litchfield school district decided five years ago to overhaul its approach to reduce the number of kids in special-education programs. It implemented a "dyslexia-friendly" curriculum - including a phonics-based program called "Fundations" - in its mainstream classes. It's the first year the program is in place in all of the district's kindergarten through third-grade classes.

"We have to look at it holistically, getting all our kids to read by third grade," said Palm Valley Elementary Principal Sarah Pearson.

The transformation was evident in Tara McDermott's first-grade class at Palm Valley.

"I want you to tap it first, then spell it," McDermott announced to her students as they waited for their next vocabulary word. "The word is 'than.' I would rather have this than that."

Twenty-five children held up one hand each, tapping and announcing each syllable - "TH-AN!" - then writing the word down, boxing certain letters, underlining others.

McDermott called on a student and asked why he had boxed "A-N."

"Cause it's a glute sound."

"And what did you underline?" she pressed.

"T-H. Cause it's a digraph."

"Cause it's a digraph!" McDermott is all cheer. "I couldn't have said it more perfectly myself."

Gone are the traditional spelling word lists. In their place are glute sounds, digraphs and phonemes. There is no need for rote memorization when you give children the tools to be able to break down any word, said Barbara Wilson, the creator of the program.

District officials said the move has paid off in higher AIMS reading test scores and teacher morale. "I think they feel so empowered when they see they can teach any kid," Pearson said.

Tamara Honvlez, Litchfield's director of curriculum and staff development, said that in addition to a new curriculum, teachers had to be trained and motivated to embrace the program.

"Professional development is our huge, huge push," Honvlez said. "If you don't have ongoing coaching for your teachers, nothing's going to happen. That's how we've made sure things are sustainable."

She also stressed that the same change could happen in any public school district, but it often has to come from the community. In Litchfield's case, it was teachers who first brought the curriculum to the district's attention and pushed for its adoption.

"I truly believe that this has been successful because we have the right people in place," Honvlez said.