Dyslexia program transforms students’ lives at Neshoba Central
The Dyslexia Program at Neshoba Central offers highly structured therapy 50 minutes a day, serving an average 60 to 65 students, annually. Therapist Mary Lou Johnson, right, has witnessed numerous success stories from the therapy with students such as Lakelyn Darby, left, and Mary Margaret Garner, among others.
By Debbie Burt Myers
“Books are my enemy” is a phrase sometimes heard from students when they first enter the dyslexia program at Neshoba Central Elementary School. By the end of their first year, however, many discover a love for reading and go on to achieve success as honor roll students and even Beta Club members and officers.
The program offers highly structured therapy for 50 minutes each day, serving an average 60 to 65 students, annually. Therapy begins in elementary school and continues into middle and high school when needed.
Students work in small groups of two to four, allowing for focused, individualized support.
Dyslexia is a specific learning disability of neurobiological origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding ability, among others.
A student with dyslexia is born with a brain that functions differently from that of a non-dyslexic student, affecting areas such as phonological processing skills, rapid naming, word recognition, reading fluency and comprehension.
In Mississippi, all students are screened for dyslexia in the spring of kindergarten and in the fall of grade one using a State Board of Education-approved screener.
Parents are notified if a student fails the screener, though this does not serve as a diagnosis. Schools, like Neshoba, use the results to guide early interventions, while formal evaluations may later be administered by licensed professionals.
Neshoba Elementary Principal Tiffany Plott calls the program “truly life-changing.”
“We are so fortunate to have one of the best therapists in the state working with our students, and the growth we’ve seen is nothing short of inspiring,” she said. “Just last year, one of our second graders came into the program reading well below grade level and struggling to even pick up a book with confidence.
“After working consistently with our therapist, that same student is now in third grade, reading fluently and one of the top Accelerated Reader point earners. Moments like that remind us why this program is so important—it opens doors and gives our students the confidence to believe in themselves as learners.”
The dyslexia program at Neshoba Central began in the 2018-19 school year, funded by two, three-year $45,000 annual grants, which covered salaries, in part, teacher training, materials and instructional resources. Now expired, Neshoba’s administration continues to fully support the program.
“Early on, we saw a need and knew it would be beneficial to our kids,” Plott said. “We wanted to move beyond just screening for dyslexia but also adding the therapy for students who flag on those screeners or students who come in with a dyslexia diagnosis.”
Dyslexia therapist Mary Lou Johnson said in the first year the program saw a remarkable increase in grade-level iReady Reading diagnostics, progress which continues today.
She attributed the success to teamwork.
“Having the administrative and teacher support can make or break dyslexia therapy,” she said. “You have to have everybody on the team.”
Over the years, Johnson has compiled a library to support students who have a hard time participating in the Accelerated Reading program.
Many of the students had never read an AR book before joining therapy.
“They get so excited when they do it,” Johnson said. “It’s about more than reading skills. It’s about building self-esteem. We have witnessed many success stories.”
Neshoba Central now has two dyslexia therapists and two trained interventionists, Tonya Rushing and Bobbie Dewberry.
Success stories
One of those stories is Mary Margaret Garner, who was retained in first grade and later diagnosed with dyslexia. She is now a thriving fifth grader.
“She is secretary of the Beta Club and gave a speech in front of inductees, parents and others last week,” Plott said. “For her to have the confidence to speak in front of 300 people at the Beta induction is a great testimonial to our program.”
Her mother, Lindsay, said that Mary Margaret’s confidence and ability to run for office and speak before a crowd would not have been possible if it weren’t for the intensive dyslexia therapy she received.
“Mrs. Johnson has been a God-send and because of her Mary Margaret continues to soar,” Garner said.
Another success story is Lakelyn Darby, the 13-year-old daughter of Shay and Shelley Darby. She was diagnosed with dyslexia at the start of third grade.
“She loved to listen to others read, but we began to feel like something was unusual as she was learning to read because she would often skip words, make up words, and would become very anxious and unable to sit still when reading,” her mother said.
“We just could not understand why a child, who was so smart, would dislike reading as much as she did.”
Answers finally came after testing at Mississippi College confirmed that she had dyslexia.
“It was like a weight was immediately lifted off of her and us as her parents—just knowing the ‘why’ for the struggle made such a difference,” Darby said.
Lakelyn was able to participate in dyslexia therapy during school hours which allowed her to continue enjoying extracurricular activities after school.
“Teacher involvement and understanding of dyslexia is paramount to student success,” Darby said. “Lakelyn works hard, but we owe her teachers an immense debt of gratitude for being so gracious to work with her, push her and encourage her along the way.”
Darby described Johnson as “an absolute God-send” who worked with Lakelyn through elementary school as was therapist Erika Gray, who worked with her when she transitioned to middle school.
After sixth grade, Lakelyn no longer required dyslexia therapy. She was inducted into the Beta Club in fourth grade and has maintained an academic average that has allowed her to remain in the organization throughout her elementary and middle school years.
“We do not mention this to boast, but rather to show objectively that there is hope for students and the parents of students who may be struggling,” Darby said. “Dyslexia does not have to hold kids back!”
The therapy provided through Neshoba Central “has undoubtedly given Lakelyn the resources and the confidence to pursue a career in engineering where her unique abilities and perspective will certainly be an asset,” she said.