I had no idea about the prevalence of dyslexia until I became involved in an effort to bring Louisiana Key Academy Charter School to Shreveport. Everywhere I went people would talk about their personal stories and stories about friends and family concerning dyslexia. Many of them would be well known to those reading this article as government and business leaders in our community.
The most striking story for me was when we presented to the Caddo Parish School Board in hopes of purchasing the vacant Arthur Circle School to start the Louisiana Key Academy. It was amazing to hear stories from nearly every school board member about friends and family members who struggled to read because of dyslexia.
The realtor who represented the competing group desiring to purchase the school that day told her story about her sister with severe dyslexia – wishing there would have been a specialty school like Key Academy for her sister. The realtor representing us helped her daughter with dyslexia every day after school. It was a picture of the frequency of dyslexia.
Dyslexia knows no difference in prevalence by socio-economic status or intelligence. It is seen in children with average as well as high IQ’s. It knows no difference in prevalence by socio-economic status.
Dyslexia is diagnosed by testing in early elementary grades. Louisiana Key Academy offers a cost free screening process assessing the likelihood dyslexia may be contributing to reading difficulties. More involved testing for students is considered if screening indicates.
Louisiana Key Academy is a school of choice. It is a tuition free charter public school that specializes in educating dyslexic children. The faculty provides intense individualized help designed to promote success in school and life for children with dyslexia and significant reading disorders. The school in Shreveport follows the establishment of previously successful schools in Baton Rouge and the North Shore near New Orleans.
Louisiana Key Academy Caddo is located in the newly remodeled Arthur Circle Elementary School (261 Arthur Avenue) in Broadmoor. It has no attendance zone, and is open to all families in Caddo, Bossier, Webster, DeSoto and other parishes across Northwest Louisiana.
The reason this unique specialty school approach works so well is the effectiveness of training of every teacher in the school on educating dyslexic children. This allows continued learning from each other as teachers work toward the best approach for each child. This is the same concept as health institutions like MD Anderson in the treatment of cancer patients. Specialty schools or hospitals allow for research as well as the implementation and development of best practices in education or healthcare.
Basic reading skills are the foundation of education and Louisiana has been making tremendous strides in literacy over the last few years. Louisiana Key Academy is another “tool in the toolbox” for children with significant reading disorders resulting from dyslexia. The school is yet another innovation in education for our state as our school systems work every day to provide opportunities for our children and families – opportunities that families in our sister states to the west, north and east do not necessarily enjoy.
Dr. Phillip Rozeman is board chairman of Better Louisiana and the Louisiana Committee of 100 and founder of the Alliance for Education and serves on the board of several Charter Schools in our region.