Vanderbilt to open academy for dyslexic students
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Vanderbilt University is launching a research center and academy for students with dyslexia, thanks to a massive donation unveiled in September.
Why it matters: The Cleveland Clinic says experts estimate 7% of people worldwide are affected by dyslexia, which is "highly genetic and runs in families." The Roberts Academy will offer tailored education for dyslexic students, while the attached clinic will be a research and outreach hub.
- The clinic will provide after-school tutoring, reading help and other enrichment activities.
State of play: Dyslexia is one of the most common causes of reading struggles, according to a state Department of Education resource guide. Without early intervention, students struggle to develop foundational reading skills.
- As elementary school students go from learning to read to reading to learn, dyslexia can impact a student's entire learning experience, experts say.
Driving the news: The academy and research center were made possible because of a financial gift from Hal and Marjorie Hollis Roberts of Lakeland, Florida. It's the third academy and first research center the couple has funded in recent years.
Details: The academy will welcome its first class next year, starting with third and fourth graders. It will serve approximately 144 students. Vanderbilt is still finalizing plans for the location of the Roberts Academy, a spokesperson tells Axios.
- Tuition details are also still being finalized, a Vanderbilt spokesperson tells Axios. The Roberts Academy at Florida Southern College costs $9,450 annually for elementary students and $9,850 for grades 6-8.
- "The Roberts Academy is committed to making tuition affordable to students of all socioeconomic backgrounds. Need-based financial aid and scholarships will be available," the spokesperson says.
Of note: While having no previous relationship with the school, Hal Roberts lauded the dyslexia research already being conducted at Vanderbilt's Peabody College.
- He said in a press release the hope is the family's investment helps "transform education and the lives of children with dyslexia in the U.S. and around the world. To us, changing the lives of children is what matters most."
Zoom out: News of the academy and research center comes amid substantial policy wins by Tennessee's dyslexia advocacy community.
- The legislature passed the Say Dyslexia bill in 2016, requiring school districts to screen all students for characteristics of dyslexia and provide identified students with dyslexia-specific interventions. The law also requires schools to track a student's reading growth and send regular updates to parents.
- In 2021, Gov. Bill Lee's administration implemented the Reading 360 literacy program, which uses "science of reading," an approach dyslexia advocates say helps all students learn to read.
What she's saying: Anna Thorsen, a prominent Nashville dyslexia advocate, tells Axios she hopes Vanderbilt and the new academy embrace the state's growing advocacy community and the research already underway at places such as Middle Tennessee State University.
- "I am truly excited by the opening of this school and center, but I hope that families of dyslexia in Tennessee realize that they don't need to be one of the few students selected to attend this Roberts Academy to get help," Thorsen says. "All our Tennessee public schools are required by law to screen all students for characteristics of dyslexia three times a year."
- Thorsen urges parents with questions to read the state's resource guide.