On Friday, November 15, The Lexington School will celebrate the 10th year of their Learning Center with a cocktail reception and program featuring a guest speaker.
The Learning Center is a program for students with language-based learning differences also known as dyslexia.
“Students with dyslexia have difficulty learning in a traditional classroom in spite of having average to above average cognitive abilities and talents,” says Jane Childers, Director of The Learning Center. “The Learning Center is a specially designed program to meet the learning needs of these students.”
Asked about a moment when she saw firsthand how The Learning Center has impacted its students, Childers responds, “The Learning Center is in its 10th year. Since then, it’s had 135 students pass through the doors to go on and be successful in high school and in college. But one student clearly stands out to me.”
She continues, “This little boy came to the center in second grade having been unsuccessful in the traditional classroom. He was very frustrated, unhappy, and sometimes angry. After making his transition back to the classroom in fifth grade, he went on to become a self-confident and outstanding student, eventually President of the Student Body and graduated with high honors.”
The 10th Year Celebration will begin on Friday and continue through Saturday. Mr. Dean Bragonier, a dyslexic himself and the founder of Noticeability.org, was chosen as the guest speaker. Noticeability.org, focuses on helping students realize and build their strengths.
“The desire is that once they have embraced their strengths they will be more inclined to embrace their educational experience and fulfill their personal and professional potential, says Childers.”
During the day on Friday, Bragonier will visit with student groups in the center and address the student body in an assembly about his journey with dyslexia. In the evening, he will speak to current and former Learning Center parents, faculty, and board members at a reception in the library. There will also be tours of the new classrooms where students’ work will be on display as part of Learning Differences Awareness Week.
On Saturday, the center will host its Saturday Series. Mr. Bragonier will be the keynote speaker at the event that will then be followed by break-out sessions on various topics of interest to teachers and parents of dyslexic students. The community is welcome to attend the Saturday Series from 8:30 am to 12:15 pm.
Childers explains that The Learning Center is considered a school-within-a-school program because the students come to the center for their core academic classes and attend art, music, PE, & drama with their same age peers. The classrooms are small with a 4:1 student to teacher ratio, and all teachers are trained in the Orton-Gillingham approach, which allows students to transition back to a traditional classroom within a few years.
“As founding director of The Learning Center, it is my passion to work with students who learning differently. I see the incredible talents they possess and I am committed to helping them succeed in their educational journey and later in life.”
The Lexington School will host the 10th Year Celebration of The Learning Center on Friday, November 15 with a cocktail reception from 6 pm to 8 pm with a short program featuring a guest speaker at 6:30 pm.
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