Every child in the United States of America, is entitled to a free public education. Because of this, certain provisions are required to make reasonable accommodations to ensure that every child is educated as equally as possible. However, the perpetual question in education is, "are we doing enough?" The education system in the United States makes great advances all the time toward making sure every child is appropriately educated. However, there are some groups of students who still aren't receiving the help they need. Some learning disabilities are so common, yet almost nothing is being done to advance our abilities to help the students struggling with them. One of these learning disabilities crying out for more attention in our schools is dyslexia.
Approximately one out of every ten Americans is dyslexic. According to the International Dyslexia Association, "Dyslexia refers to a cluster of symptoms, which result in people having difficulties with specific language skills, particularly reading. Students with dyslexia usually experience difficulties with other language skills, such as spelling, writing, and pronouncing words." (Dyslexia, 3) Dyslexia is a learning disability that follows anyone who has it through life. It manifests itself in different ways in every individual case, making it difficult for students with dyslexia to succeed academically and creating challenges for educators to know the best ways to help their students who are struggling with dyslexia. While in severe cases dyslexia can present challenges with spoken language, the most common challenges people encounter focus around reading, spelling and writing.
A key to effectively helping children with dyslexia to be successful in school is early diagnosis of the condition. If dyslexia is identified early in the educational journey of a child, specially tailored instruction can also begin early on to limit the severity of the condition. Following this idea, the specific methods teachers use are just as vital as getting a proper diagnosis, as is making sure teachers have a solid understanding of exactly what dyslexia is. A major problem we see in the United States is a lack of understanding in elementary school teachers of how to identify dyslexia. Therefore, they aren't prepared with intervention strategies to help students cope with it.
Without any kind of preservice training for educators, the myths and misconceptions that persist about dyslexia will persist and cloud our ability to help our students succeed. Some of these misconceptions include the following: people with dyslexia read words backwards, dyslexia cannot be diagnosed until the third grade, and dyslexia can be outgrown, just to name a few. (Debunking)
Imagine encountering a doctor who had no clue how to treat someone with the flu. Imagine someone going through all those years of schooling and medical training and not being trained in how to treat one of the most common ailments in the world. He or she won't know the right thing to do when they inevitably encounter one of their patients with the flu. Their only option will be to try a myriad of options, hoping one works eventually. Now imagine the other side of this scenario. Imagine being a parent taking a child sick with the flu to a doctor, only to find that the doctor is unequipped to properly treat the child. As a parent, you trust the doctor to have adequate knowledge to treat the most common physical ailments, just as a parent trusts a teacher to have adequate knowledge to help a child with a common learning disability. Yet so many teachers are like the doctor who doesn't know how to treat the flu, blindly trying everything, hoping something works eventually. No teacher wants to get caught in the dark trying to help a child. They're frustrated that they can't treat such a common condition. Perhaps an even more apt comparison would be to a doctor without the proper knowledge to set a broken bone. Without proper intervention, dyslexia will challenge an individual for the duration of his or her life, just as a broken bone will have lasting physical challenges if set improperly.
While dyslexia is slightly different for each individual dealing with it, this is no excuse to choose to ignore it or remain ignorant to potential solutions. We need to begin training teachers in Sacramento County on specific methods they can use in the classroom to help the students they teach who deal with dyslexia be successful.
The major problem facing teachers trying to assist students with dyslexia is simply a lack of training. Most people in the United States who go to a university to participate in a teacher education program still do not receive training on dyslexia and strategies for helping dyslexic students. Alison Pankowski points out in a post on the Department of Education's blog, "higher education often does not include coursework on dyslexia in teacher preparation programs." (Pankowski) In California, the state's Commission on Teacher Credentialing lists no specific requirement for individuals seeking a multi-subject credential to have training on any specific learning disabilities, including dyslexia. (Multiple Subject Teaching Credential Requirements) Lisa Greene, a second-grade teacher in Sacramento County who attended a state university, reported receiving absolutely zero training on dyslexia. Our teachers come out of their college programs blind as to how to help their dyslexic students.
The International Dyslexia Association accredits teacher preparation programs in the United States that appropriately train and educate teachers to treat the condition. The association lists these programs on their website. Currently, there are only twenty-five universities in the country with teacher preparation programs that have been accredited. These twenty-five universities are spread over only twelve states, with five being in Ohio alone. Most other programs are spread along the East Coast or Midwest. The closest universities with accredited programs to the West Coast are in Texas and Colorado. This accreditation program reveals how rare and unreliable it is for an aspiring teacher to receive the training he or she needs to help the greatest number of students possible.
The lack of schools accredited to train teachers on dyslexia throughout the country becomes an even bigger problem when compared with the statistics on where most people go to college. The Washington Post reported on a study done by Niche Ink, an education analytics company. The study found that 58% of students attend a college less than one hundred miles from their hometown and 72% of students attend a college in the same state they live in. (Chokshi) When comparing these numbers to the schools equipped to train aspiring teachers on dyslexia, it doesn't take long to notice that the vast majority of students in the United States probably aren't even considering the small number of schools with the right programs. On the same note, California, one of the largest states in the nation, lands well above the national average, with 90% of its high school graduates choosing to remain in the state to attend college. (Chokshi) So, any of those students going to college intending to become educators don't have a single option in California, let alone within a thousand miles, that provides a complete training. Many students are likely unaware that the training they're receiving in California is incomplete in the first place. Unless they are already familiar with the International Dyslexia Association, they most likely are unaware that some colleges have more specialized programs, or they may not know how common dyslexia is in children in the US.
Referring to a study from the National Center for Education Statistics, an article in The Atlantic notes that between 1989 and 2013 the percentage of students with learning disabilities who spent 80% or more of the school day in a general education classroom increased from about 32% to nearly 62%. (Mader) This is a large increase, especially considering that teacher education hasn't progressed almost at all. The same article reports that most teacher preparation programs include only one course providing an extremely basic overview of various learning disabilities one may encounter in the classroom. This is hardly enough education if we plan to keep more of our students with learning disabilities, including dyslexia, in our general education classrooms. Children with learning disabilities only reap the benefits that come from spending more time in general education settings if our general education teachers are properly trained to know how to properly incorporate them into the classroom, which is something that is not happening. Right now we are only doing students with dyslexia a disservice by keeping them in classrooms with teachers who don't have the requisite knowledge to adapt mainstream learning to their specific needs. Obviously, dyslexia isn't the only learning disability present in those students who are being kept in general education classrooms for more of the school day, but it is one of the most common. So, it seems only fitting that it be among the first for which we provide further training.
One problem that stems from the widespread lack of training on dyslexia is the inability of so many teachers to accurately identify dyslexic and potentially dyslexic students, especially early in the child's academic career. One professor at Yale University, Dr. Sally Shaywitz, is well aware of how few children with dyslexia are getting properly diagnosed in order to begin early intervention and has made an attempt to fix this problem. Dr. Shaywitz has developed a system to quickly and easily identify children in kindergarten and first grade who are likely dyslexic. The test is called the Shaywitz DyslexiaScreen and "is delivered in less than five minutes per student, making it simple for schools to implement and use in evaluation of early readers." (First-of-its-kind Screening Tool) The test is distributed at a low cost through Pearson, making it possible to implement even in low-income schools across the country.
This test takes an important step toward helping our teachers achieve success with their dyslexic students, being able to identify the condition so early on, but it doesn't address the whole problem. The problem isn't only that teachers can't identify the condition, they also are not trained on how to intervene with dyslexia. The way the test facilitates the diagnosis of dyslexia is fantastic, but without more widespread training on dyslexia intervention it will only be useful to a handful of teachers at a handful of schools. The way things are right now, the majority of teachers, especially in California, would find out which of their students are dyslexic but couldn't do anything with that information. The test may be too new to determine whether or not it is successful. Although the Shaywitz DyslexiaScreen holds enormous potential, it will remain of little use to most schools unless something is done about the way teachers are trained.
Another potential solution to help get our teachers trained to assist their dyslexic students comes from an organization called the Dyslexia Training Institute. This organization offers a variety of online classes including "What is Dyslexia? An In-depth Look" and "Reading Comprehension Strategies" as well offering an online program to receive a dyslexia certificate. At first glance it sounds like the Dyslexia Training Institute is an excellent solution to the problem facing so many of our teachers.
However, there are certain aspects of the DTI's offerings that may put these resources out of reach for many teachers. First is the time required. The courses offered range from four to six weeks in length, requiring 20-30 hours of time for the four-week courses and 30-40 for the six-week courses. The DTI's website also states, regarding the dyslexia certificate program, "It will take approximately 110 hours (approximately 20 hours per class, plus three two-hour webinars) of class work plus and additional approximately 45-60 hours for the practicum to complete the certificate program." (Dyslexia Certificate Program) That is 110 hours over approximately three and a half months. This works out to be 5-6 hours per week for each online class and almost 8 hours per week during the certificate program. Now, 5-8 extra hours per week may seem like a small amount, especially if spread out during the week. But it is a great request to make of our already hard-working teachers. A study published by Scholastic and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation found that teachers are working more than ten-hour days on average. With that in mind, it becomes difficult to ask to teachers to tack on another hour or so of training every day for weeks at a time.
There is also a prohibiting cost to these resources. The online classes offered range in cost from $199 to $450 and the certificate program costs $1950 plus a $100 registration fee and a required textbook which must be purchased in addition to the previously mentioned fees. Each online class offers a different subject on dyslexia and if one teacher took all six courses it would cost a grand total of $1695. Some of the subjects covered by the classes are covered in courses included in the certificate program but not all of them. So, to get all the training offered by the Dyslexia Training Institute you have to pay well over $2000. This is a price many teachers cannot afford for themselves and certainly a price almost no school would be able to pay for each of its untrained teachers. So, while the organization offers a wealth of resources available for educators, they are likely too time and cost prohibitive to be a worthwhile solution.
The solution to equipping general education teachers in Sacramento County with the knowledge they need to help their dyslexic students is two-fold. First, teacher preparation programs at California universities need to be revised to include specific instruction on dyslexia intervention techniques. This would ideally constitute its own specific course including some sort of case study or real-world experience. Second, teachers currently employed by Sacramento County school districts need to receive training specifically dedicated to dyslexia intervention techniques they can implement in their classrooms. This could take the form of one staff development day per year. Each district could bring in a reading specialist to provide a day of training either at each school in the district or to all district teachers at one time.
The most important component of the solution is the need to revise teacher preparation programs at California universities. As we begin to solve this problem, I propose that California State University Sacramento be used as a test program as we observe the potential efficacy of changing established programs. In California, a post-graduate teacher credential program is required to become certified to teach in the state. Currently at CSUS, students in the credential program are required to take six different courses regarding teaching in a diverse classroom and only two of these courses specifically focus on language and literacy. In addition, a prerequisite to the program is an additional course which provides an overview of teaching students with disabilities in inclusive classrooms. These courses are no more than survey courses and are therefore inadequate to prepare teachers for specific cases.
Contrast this with Southeastern University's Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education and the program's course list provided on their website. The required courses for the major include three courses focused on reading. These courses deal specifically with the assessment, diagnosis, and evaluation of students' reading ability. Therefore, when teachers come from this program, they already have been taught how to look for, identify and even adapt instruction for students struggling with reading. This would include dyslexia, as this is one of the few programs accredited by the International Dyslexia Association. This accreditation certifies that Southeastern University's teacher preparation curriculum meets specific standards, these standards encompass topics such as the following: foundations of oral and written language, structure of language, dyslexia and related learning disorders and assessment. (Liptak) It should be noted that Southeastern University is able to provide specific reading instruction in three courses included in a bachelor's degree than CSUS can do in six courses in a post-graduate certificate program. Surely, CSUS could find a way to rework the six courses providing instruction on teaching to disabilities in inclusive classrooms to focus at least one or two courses on the assessment, diagnosis and evaluation of reading levels in students. Now, this would certainly require someone certified to teach dyslexia to be on the faculty. The best way to accomplish this would be for the university to fund a current faculty member to participate in a dyslexia certificate program. This would be a one-time cost and will be much cheaper than hiring a new professor to teach the subject. There are dyslexia certificate programs all around the country, but it would be easiest to do online. Remembering the Dyslexia Training Institute, their certificate program costs a little more than $2000 and then there would be a professor certified to train others regarding dyslexia.
Even if that is solved, we still need the right way to provide training to teachers currently working in Sacramento County schools. The website for the Northern California chapter of the International Dyslexia Association offers a solution that I believe would be the most time and cost-effective. They have a kit that can be purchased from their website called "Experience Dyslexia". The kit is available at a cost of $285 and is reusable. Additionally, each school only needs one kit to serve its entire faculty. The kit includes almost everything required to carry out the experience. The only materials not included that are required for the experience are mirrors, pencils, and a listening center. This a very small list and constitutes a very small additional cost. The mirrors required are the small handheld type which are relatively inexpensive. Also, pencils and listening centers are commonplace in virtually every elementary school and wouldn't necessitate any additional spending in most cases. Some schools may want to purchase a listening center to keep with the kit, but most can probably use a teacher's classroom listening center for the day the kit is administered. A video on the website includes statements from both parents and teachers regarding their experiences and gives additional details as to what the experience with the kit is like. The experience the kit provides places participants in the role of a child with dyslexia showing them examples of the different areas affected by dyslexia, including reading, writing, and speech. Teachers come away from the experience with greater understanding of what dyslexia is like for children and ideas they can implement in their classrooms to help direct instruction to the students with the condition. At its current cost, providing one kit to every school is entirely possible, even in the largest school districts. This is a one-time cost rather than an annual one, so there really is no reason for any school district to claim they can't afford it. Once acquired, I propose school districts dedicate one professional development day a year to administer the kit. This could be a current professional development day on the schedule that gets repurposed or an additional day a year. Even teachers who have had dyslexia training would benefit from refreshing what they know with the experience provided by the kit. I believe that if this kit were used in conjunction with the Shaywitz DyslexiaScreen, dyslexia intervention in Sacramento County schools would be completely transformed.
While dyslexia and current intervention strategies, or the lack thereof, are a major problem in Sacramento County elementary schools, it clearly does not to be this way. The problems currently plaguing these schools have persisted for years with little to no change. However, as I laid out previously, there are many different strategies available to try to remedy these problems, with the two-fold solution of reformed teacher preparation at California universities and increased professional development in schools being shown to be the best option. I am confident that if these changes are implemented, Sacramento County elementary schools will come to be seen as leaders in dyslexia intervention.