Maumelle, Arkansas – Today marks the last day of Dyslexia Awareness Month, and at one Maumelle school, serving the needs of pupils who struggle with dyslexia is the main objective.
A private school exclusively for dyslexic pupils up to the eighth grade is called Friendship Aspire Lab School for Dyslexia. Teachers and therapists devote each day to kinds of instruction designed especially for each student, whether they struggle with arithmetic, reading, or writing. There are 36 full-time students and 27 satellite students.
“On Tuesdays I go to therapy and the therapy ladies are super nice to me and we always make little treats,” satellite student Carlaysia Dunbar said.
This school offers a unique approach to education, combining classroom instruction with therapy sessions. In addition, physical activity helps students learn by stimulating their brains and easing some of the learning challenges associated with dyslexia.
Some reported that before enrolling in Friendship Aspire Lab School for Dyslexia, their student spent years in primary school unable to read.
They all concurred that their students had felt more alone in their former classrooms, lacking the sense of belonging they now experience from other children who share their needs.
“Coming here, it was life-changing for her,” Carmen Patterson said, referring to her daughter who is a student at the school.
The LEARNS Act’s Education Freedom Accounts are being used by the school to begin accepting full-time students this year. Even though EFAs do not pay for all tuition, they do support families who must make financial concessions in order to give their children the education that is best for them. According to the principal, all full-time students at the school are getting scholarship money through EFAs this year.
The school’s teachers and parents expressed their excitement for this to continue expanding in the upcoming years and predicted that enrollment will rise as more children become aware of what the school has to offer.