Just like the beloved teenage hero in the Percy Jackson series, students struggle daily with dyslexia.  Dyslexia is a learning disability that affects 5-17% of school age children.  Approximately 70% of students who struggle with reading show characteristics of dyslexia or have been identified as having dyslexia.  Multi-sensory instructional strategies have been proven successful in reaching these learners and allowing them to feel success in the classroom.

A cohort of five teachers from Forest Oaks Elementary will attend the Orton-Gillingham Institute this summer to be trained in multi-sensory instruction utilizing a $10,000 grant awarded from Fund for Teachers.   The teacher cohort consisting of Christine Sexton, Mary Ramsey, Virginia Carroll, Abigail Brock, and LeAnn Cox are joining eight other teachers who have also been selected this year as Fund for Teachers Fellows.

“Fund for Teachers appreciates educators by distributing grants of up to $10,000 for self-designed summer fellowships,” the organization said it a press release. “Over the past two weeks, 475 teachers in 35 states and the District of Columbia received checks and the message: ‘You’re worth a $1.8 million investment and so are your students’.”

Each fall, the national not-for-profit invites preK-12 public, private and parochial school educators to analyze learning gaps and propose unique solutions for bridging them.

A total of 72 teachers from Alabama have been selected as Fellows since the organization was established in 2001.  Fund for Teachers is one of the largest funders of teacher learning in the country, investing $24 million in more than 6,500 teachers since its inception.