Schools in Indiana are screening students for dyslexia and Concord is taking the step to educate parents.
Indiana’s Dyslexia Law requires schools to annually screen students in kindergarten through second grade for dyslexia.
Concord Community Schools held a meeting last night for parents to learn about the new process and what to expect.
Mickey Wagner is the Director of Elementary Education. He also has a daughter who struggles with reading.
“We know every student can learn. We know every student will succeed. Different students need different supports to succeed and our role is to figure out what those are and provide them.”
Wagner also says Concord Schools always screened students who were falling behind, but the new law made the process more standardized.
Students will be tested on six different areas - alphabet knowledge, sound symbol recognition, decoding skills, rapid naming skills, encoding skills, and phonological awareness.
The schools cannot diagnose a student with dyslexia, but the screening process will help determine what students are at risk for the learning disability.
Screening will begin for kindergarten and first graders between late January and early February. Second graders have already been screened.
Contact Annacaroline at acaruso@wvpe.org or follow her on Twitter at @AnnacarolineC16
If you appreciate this kind of journalism on your local NPR station, please support it by donating at: https://wvpe.thankyou4caring.org/