Florida academy for students with dyslexia in demand

From The Ledger:

LAKELAND, Fla. --It's a measure of the problem of dyslexia, the disorder that affects language recognition, that the School of Education at Florida Southern College has fielded requests for information from more than 500 families about its new Roberts Academy.

When it opens in August, the academy will have 24 students, but Tracey Tedder, dean of the School of Education and head of the academy, said last week up to 12 more students may be added because of the demand.

"If the numbers continue to grow, we hope to add another teacher. The response we've gotten has exceeded our expectations," she said.

The academy is a new private elementary school, based at Florida Southern, for children in grades 1 through 4 with dyslexia. A class for first- and second-graders and another for third- and fourth-graders will have 12 students each. Tedder said if a third class is added, it likely will be for third- and fourth-graders.

The academy is a transitional school, meaning that students are enrolled only long enough to master the necessary reading skills and then return to their regular public or private school. It will be the first such transitional school for dyslexic children in Florida and one of just a few in the United States, Tedder said.

The Roberts Academy will be a comprehensive school, with students taught the full curriculum of math, science and social studies, in addition to reading. There also will be physical education, music and art instruction. The key difference in the educational approach will be the use of the Orton-Gillingham method, which gives teachers various techniques to help children with dyslexia in all phases of the curriculum. Tedder said the method has been around awhile but is not used in most schools.

"It's multisensory. It focuses on sounds, on hearing, on verbalizing language. It's very methodical and sequential," she said.

The causes of dyslexia are not well understood, but it affects the way the brain processes written and verbal information. Intelligence is not affected, but children and adults with dyslexia have difficulty identifying and decoding the sounds and symbols of language. When children cannot read, learning grinds to a halt and often self-confidence suffers.

"I was an elementary school teacher for many years. It's heartbreaking to hear stories of children struggling to read," Tedder said.

The Roberts Academy is not a remedial school, she noted. Before students are admitted, they are evaluated first to ensure that they do have dyslexia and that they can handle regular coursework. Parents must fill out an extensive application form. The students admitted so far show varying degrees of the disorder and have had different levels of help.

"Some have repeated a grade. Some have had interventions, such as tutoring. Some have had psychological evaluations. Some have had nothing. Some students have high IQs and excel in a lot of areas," Tedder said.

Another factor that could limit the number of applicants is the cost. Tuition is $6,000 per year, although Tedder said the school expects to be approved for the state of Florida's McKay Scholarships for Students with Disabilities program that helps families send special-needs children to private schools.

The Roberts Academy will be located in the former headquarters of the Florida United Methodist Conference at McDonald Street and Hollingsworth Drive. The building was only recently vacated when the conference moved to a new location, but Tedder said the classrooms will be ready when school begins. Eventually, the building also will house the college's Preschool and Kindergarten Lab School, the Hollis-Hays Children's Library and the offices of the School of Education.

The Roberts Academy was established through a $3 million gift by Hal and Marjorie Roberts of Lakeland, who have grandchildren with dyslexia who were helped by a specialized school in Atlanta. Hal Roberts called the number of inquiries received about the academy "phenomenal."

"It's hugely gratifying. A father I know informed me his young son is now enrolled at the academy. That brought it home to me personally," he said.