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Campus for dyslexic students helps lead the way She has heard the frustration, and she has the antidote. “We are talking about kids who are bright but who learn language arts differently. And they come in and ask, ‘What’s wrong with me? I must be stupid.’ One of the things that happens is they realize quickly, ‘I just have to be taught differently.’” She is Carol H. Clark, executive director of The Prentice School, which is renowned for its work with dyslexic children. The private school serves 200 students at its North Tustin campus, first- through eighth-graders. Classes are small; for example, 12 to a first-grade room; 16 to a sixth-grade room. While most students live in Orange County, a significant number come from Riverside and San Bernardino counties, with some from Los Angeles. Clark explains that the school is the only one in Southern California designed specifically for dyslexic students. Dyslexia involves children who have difficulty in language skills, such as reading, penmanship, spelling, oral and/or written expression. The Prentice School, for example, enrolls students who spell and write well, but have a reading breakdown. Or, they read well, but have a spelling and writing breakdown. “We’re giving them the toolbox and preparing them for the future to reach their potential,” Clark says. Celebration ahead The Prentice School, on a former public school campus, has been at the same site since 1993; it celebrates its 20th anniversary reunion on June 10 (former students, teachers and friends are urged to contact the school). Here, students need more intense instruction in language skills, by specifically trained teachers. Part of the school’s outreach is to notify parents and early education teachers to look for clues. These may include children who cannot rhyme, who became verbal later than most, for whom dyslexia runs in the family, those showing difficulty learning new vocabulary and those who substitute words, such as volcano for tornado. “The key is early identification,” says Clark. “If you think about it, the ability to play with the language at a young age, before you even get to the letters, helps you connect the letters to the sound.” The school gets most of its budget from the $15,500 annual tuition, along with donations and grants. Scholarships are available. The challenge is to help with the building blocks, slowly and patiently. “(For some), their fluency may be slow and to read 20-30 pages a night may be overwhelming, tiring physically and mentally,” says Clark. “We’re going further than we have before; it’s an exciting time. One of the things we’re really working on is getting them fluent so they can concentrate on comprehension.” Onward and outward By the time they leave Prentice, for high school and college, Clark says, the students have learned to “become their own advocate, and to know how they learn best, whether visually or hearing it, and to know they can become anything they want to become.” Tutoring, use of technology and the purchase of lecture notes have proven to be important aids following the Prentice years, she says. Clark is in her 10th year at Prentice, and this is her 25th year working with dyslexic children. She notes that some 10-15% of America’s population has some degree of dyslexia. The importance is to challenge students, and to give examples of those who have survived and thrived, despite dyslexia. These include Paul Orfaela, who founded Kinko’s; actor Henry Winkler; actress Cher; Olympic hero Bruce Jenner; novelist Stephen Cannell; and finance leader Charles Schwab. “They think outside the box and end up doing wonderful things, and we want our students to reach their potential and be everything they want to be,” Clark says. This past March, the school hosted its sixth annual conference on learning disabilities and abilities. One of the speakers was Dr. Sally Shaywitz, Yale professor of pediatrics and author of “Overcoming Dyslexia: A New and Complete Science-Based Program for Reading Problems at Any Level.” She has been quoted as saying: “Dyslexia is a weakness in a sea of strengths.” DID YOU KNOW? IRVINE STUDENTS, THE REAL DECATHLETES Woodbridge High School in Irvine placed 18th out of more than 50 teams at the 2006 California Academic Decathlon. The annual event, for which students spend months preparing, took place March 16-19 in Los Angeles. In February, the school captured its first first-place win at the Orange County Academic Decathlon. California’s winning high school was Taft High School in the San Fernando Valley. TV writer Stephen Cannell remembers the battles “I just kept flunking everything,” Stephen Cannell recalls of his early education. One of television’s most prolific writers, he became famous writing for “The Rockford Files,” “The A-Team,” “21 Jump Street,” “The Commish” and others. He is dyslexic. And, as he told more than 300 people at a recent fundraiser for The Prentice School, “I had a tortured high school and elementary school career.” At the University of Oregon, taking a film class, he received a note from his professor: “See me.” “I’d gotten notes like that before,” he said with a laugh. However, this time the news was good. The professor told Cannell that he was one of the most talented students he had ever had: “You have a gift; God has given you a gift.” Cannell’s message the other night: “Keep the spirit high; keep the flame up.” More on Dyslexia Difficulties with reading, writing, math, handwriting, spelling, memory, even rhyming may be signs of a language-based learning disability called dyslexia. Children often struggle in a traditional classroom because they have processing difficulties and learn differently. Dyslexia is neurologically based and interferes with the acquisition and processing of language. Difficulty may be with: • Receptive language: Listening, following directions, comprehending the spoken word. • Oral language: Delayed spoken language, problems with articulation and remembering vocabulary, and difficulty in expressing thoughts. • Written language: Inaccurate spelling, illegible or labored handwriting, lack of organization. • Reading: Recalling names or letter sounds, reading single words, reversing letters (b for d) and their order in words (was for saw), fluency and problems with reading comprehension. • Memorization of math facts: Reversing or transposing numbers, or solving story problems. Dyslexia is life-long, but many respond successfully to appropriate intervention. Source: The International Dyslexia Association What Prentice offers The private, North Tustin school with 200 first- through eighth-graders uses a specialized instructional program called the Slingerland Simultaneous Multi- sensory Approach to Language Arts, which teaches dyslexic children how to understand and use language. There are three major learning pathways – visual, auditory and kinesthetic (memory of sequential movement). Students are taught to use a strong learning pathway to strengthen a weaker one. While meeting each of the standards of the state of California, the school has science, computer, art and music programs, and teaches social skills. Information: 714.538.4511 or www.prenticeschool.org. |
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