This program update was prepared by Jack Latta, Reading Labs Coordinator.
As May comes to a close, the Settlement’s Dyslexia Program is wrapping up our school-based Reading Labs for the academic year, both in-person and virtual after-school tutoring have concluded, and we are making final preparations for our 43rd annual Summer Tutoring Program.
Despite the challenges the school faced this year with lost facilities and materials, our commitment to the students we serve, their families, and our entire community remains as strong as ever. Last fall, our tutoring staff served 51 virtual students and 8 in-person students in our after-school program. Our virtual students had an overall average reading gain of 4 months and in-person students achieved an average gain of 3 months. Given the circumstances that many of our students were dealing with this year following the devastating floods, we were thrilled with their overall scores.
This spring, a total of 61 students took part in after-school tutoring. We look forward to sharing the overall progress of these students and those who receive daily intervention in our 20 reading labs across Bell, Knott, Leslie, and Perry Counties as those results are finalized. In the interim I would like to spotlight one this spring’s after-school students, my daughter Cecilia.The science shows us that a child of someone with dyslexia has a 50% chance of inheriting those traits. Drawing from my own experiences, my wife and I recognized the signs and symptoms of dyslexia early on. My wife and I had Cecilia screened in 2nd grade and found her reading well below grade level with scores of 1.0 in word identification, 0 in word attack, and 1.3 in passage comprehension. She started participating in the Settlement School’s Dyslexia Program in 2018. The years since have been difficult, as they often are with dyslexic children, but the results have been terrific.
Now in 6th grade, Cecilia most recently completed level 7 of the Barton System for Reading & Spelling, which is the Orton-Gillingham-based curriculum used by our tutors. In her most recent assessment, she had over 3 years of overall gains and is now reading above grade level! Specifically, she is now scoring above grade 10 in word identification, above grade 8 in word attack, and above grade 7 in passage comprehension.Precocious and determined, she is thriving now in school, excelling in both her own self-confidence and academic progress. She works diligently in her virtual tutoring sessions and celebrates every level passed.
