Blog Posts

Maryland Families Featured in National Documentary on Dyslexia, by APM Reports

9/18/2017

"And I talked to a lot of these upper-class white families who were able to take their kids out and send them to private school. I couldn’t afford to do that. But those kids are doing well now, and they’re able to go to college. And we didn’t have the opportunity." Pamela Guest, parent and Decoding Dyslexia MD State Leader in APM Report on Dyslexia

Pamela Guest, a state leader for Decoding Dyslexia Maryland, and her son Dayne, were recently featured in a documentary by APM Reports on dyslexia. The documentary features an in depth podcast on dyslexia and the problems parents and students face in Maryland public schools. Interviews are conducted with Baltimore County Public Schools officials and their responses to questions about dyslexia identification and interventions point to a change in efforts to help students with dyslexia in the school system.

"Rebecca Rider and Megan Shay are both relatively new to their positions. And they acknowledge the school system has a problem when it comes to kids with dyslexia. It’s something they say they’re beginning to fix. We need to do better."
Baltimore County Public Schools, excerpted from the full transcript

Please listen to the podcast, read the articles and watch the videos. This is a very thorough evaluation of the problems and solutions that exist today. If you have a comment on the podcast or article, APM reports would like to hear from you. Links to all of the documentary parts are listed below.

APM Documentary on Dyslexia: Links to Podcast, Videos & Resources

Hard to Read: How American Schools Fail Kids with Dyslexia

Full Transcript of Documentary

What is dyslexia? An interview with neuroscientist Guinevere Eden

Proven Techniques to Help Children with Dyslexia

A mother and her dyslexic daughter tell their story

Saying Dyslexia in Schools: An Interview with Michael Yudin

In Ohio, parents demand change for dyslexic kids

Cameron James: Letter about his son Joe

Kids w/ Dyslexia Not Getting What They Need in American Public Schools

4/4/2017

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.@EducatePodcast: Dyslexia in public school. "Teachers knew how to teach them but they didn't know how to teach me." https://t.co/Wse9oNLukd
— APM Reports (@apmreports) April 4, 2017

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When Parents Choose Public School: A Struggle to Graduate “College & Career Ready”

1/24/2017

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News Release 1.27.17

MEDIA ADVISORY

Dayne Guest and his mother, Pamela Guest. Dayne will offer his perspective on his public school experience and dyslexia on Dyslexia Advocacy Day.

Dyslexia Advocacy Day -- An Opportunity to Learn and ACT-vocate

Please join us and wear RED to show your support for erasing years of red ink on work with poor spelling and grammar, but full of great ideas that get lost in a sea of red. Join us to learn about dyslexia and reading solutions that will help narrow the reading and writing achievement gap in Maryland. These students are in every class, in every underserved subgroup and in every neighborhood -- they all need help early to prevent failure and the trauma that sticks to a child who thinks he or she is stupid, dumb or lazy.

WHEN: Thursday, February 2, 2017, 12:00pm-1:00pm

WHERE: Room 180, Lowe House Office Building, 6 Bladen Street, Annapolis, 21401

Morning Program

8:00 - 10:30am

Community Partner Open House
Lisa Blottenberger: Decoding Dyslexia Maryland: The Science of Reading: How to Help Struggling Readers Thrive!
Dr. Joan Mele-McCarthy: Chair, Task Force to Study the Implementation of a Dyslexia Education Program in Maryland: Task Force Findings & Recommendations
Delegate Anne Kaiser: Chair, House Ways & Means Committee, D-Montgomery: What Legislators Need to Know About Dyslexia & Reading
Marcella Franczkowski: Assistant State Superintendent, Special Education & Early Intervention Services, MSDE: Newly Released Technical Assistance Bulletin Drives Identification and Instruction for Students with Disabilities & Dyslexia
Susie Fowler: Director of Special Education, St. Mary's County: Practical Advice on How to Implement the Dyslexia Technical Assistance Bulletin
Rick Smith, CEO, International Dyslexia Association: How Revisions to University Accreditation on Reading will Improve Student Learning
Laura Schultz: Decoding Dyslexia Maryland: How to be an ACT-vocate for Dyslexia

Lunch & Panel Discussion: 12:00-1:00pm
Reading & Dyslexia Policy Solutions

Dyslexia Advocacy Day attendees listen to a presentation from MSDE before meeting with legislators.

On February 2 in Annapolis, Dayne Guest and Ella-Jane Miller will talk about their experiences with dyslexia in Maryland public schools to a room of legislators, parents and teachers interested to know of their experiences and solutions.

7th grade student Ella-Jane Miller, Montgomery County Public Schools and Dayne Guest, recent graduate, Baltimore County Public Schools, will offer their perspective on the impacts of delayed dyslexia identification and the fight for effective reading instruction. Unfortunately their stories are joined by a chorus of Maryland students who continue to struggle through school without identification or appropriate instruction for their reading difficulties. Many families join Decoding Dyslexia Maryland to tell their stories and to work for educational change; students, parents and teachers alike provided testimony during the public comment period for the Task Force to Study the Implementation of a Dyslexia Education Program; public TESTIMONY is available at this link.

Additional panelists include Calvert County Public Schools teacher educator Amy Siracusano, who will offer her perspective about what we can do differently to help teachers. Also joining the panel are Pennsylvania School District Superintendent Monica McHale-Small, Dr. Fran Warkomski, Dyslexia Pilot Coordinator for the PA Department of Education and a Q&A session, time permitting.

Solutions for Students & Families with Dyslexia

Over the last 4 years, Decoding Dyslexia Maryland families tirelessly advocated for change by forming coalitions, working with the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE), meeting with stakeholder groups and participating in the work groups, Task Forces and advisory committees to shed a light on the problems and solutions. That work produced two important changes for families and educators:

1) The “Task Force to Implement a Dyslexia Education Program in Maryland” commissioned by a joint effort by the Governor & the MD General Assembly, produced six compelling solutions to change literacy education in Maryland. The report was created by a diverse group of Maryland leaders including the MSDE (education department), MSDE (teachers union), MSPA (school psychologists), leading speech language pathologists, MABE (school board association), PSSAM (school superintendents), parents, Decoding Dyslexia MD, and MD teachers and administrators.

This diverse group developed "Best Practices for Dyslexia," "A Pilot Program for Dyslexia," and 6 policy recommendations on dyslexia identification, instruction, teacher preparation and professional learning. There are also a number of useful appendices that review dyslexia programs and laws in other states, funding opportunities (both private and public) and a cost analysis.

LINK: Dyslexia Task Force FINAL REPORT.

2) The second important change is the Maryland State Department of Education's Technical Assistance Bulletin on Specific Learning Disabilities, with a Focus on Dyslexia, Dysgraphia and Dyscalculia. This bulletin from Maryland's education leadership recognizes and attempts to fill a knowledge gap in schools about dyslexia -- the technical assistance defines dyslexia, provides a brief summary of early warning signs for dyslexia and and lists the elements and principles of effective instruction, known as "structured literacy."

Teaching the structure of language shows positive results for students with learning disabilities as well as culturally and linguistically diverse students. Structured literacy is marked by several elements and principles: elements of instruction include: phonology, sound symbol association, syllable instruction, morphology, syntax and semantics and principles of instruction that are: systematic, sequential, explicit, comprehensive, and individually diagnostic. Brain scans of students with reading difficulties show that the brain can be re-wired using a structured literacy approach to teach reading and writing (Norton, Gabrieli, Wolf, 2016).

What's Next?

Although families feel empowered by the new Dyslexia Technical Assistance Bulletin and are hopeful about implementation of a Dyslexia Pilot Program, more advocacy work remains. Families report that school teams continue to avoid the term dyslexia and don't know how to identify dyslexia or provide effective instruction. A few school districts are providing structured literacy professional learning to their teachers, which we applaud; but there are many classrooms without an educator who can identify and provide interventions for dyslexia.

Students from Wye River Upper School pose for a picture before heading off to visit with their legislators in 2016.

Structured Literacy:
Effective Instruction for Dyslexia & Reading Difficulties

Who Can Benefit?

Struggling Readers in Response to Intervention in K-2 (general education students). In 2016, Partnership for the Assessment of Readiness for College & Career (PARCC 2016) results showed that 60% of all students in Maryland read below grade level. Similarly, 2015 National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP) data revealed that 63% of Maryland students are below proficient in reading. Maryland community colleges report that students are not college ready and those who enroll in remedial courses in English are more likely to drop out of college.
Economically Disadvantaged Students – 82% of MD 4th grade low-income students read below proficient (NAEP 2015) and 78% of low-income 4th grade students read below grade level as measured by the PARCC 2016.
English Learners (culturally & linguistically diverse students) – 97% of 4th grade MD English Learners (EL) are below grade level in reading (PARCC 2016) and 93% of ELs are below proficient according to NAEP 2015.
Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD)/Dyslexia – SLD is the largest disability category of students with disabilities (SWD) in MD who receive special education. 89% of MD 4th grade SWD read below proficient on NAEP 2015 and on PARCC 2016 91.4% read below grade level.

Policy Solutions that Can Improve Reading Outcomes in Maryland

Require Universal Early Identification of Dyslexia. MD statistics show that special education identification increases in 4th grade after a student fails. Dyslexia is identifiable using simple screening tests in Kindergarten (Final Report of the Legislative Task Force to Study Implementation of a Dyslexia Education Program (Dyslexia Task Force))
Transform Maryland Teacher Preparation in Reading at the Undergraduate, Graduate and Professional Development Levels. 20 years of NAEP results show that a segment of students is not learning to read in public schools. “Professional preparation programs have a responsibility to teach a defined body of knowledge, skills and abilities that are based on the best research in the field.” (AFT, Reading is Rocket Science: Adams, 1990; Pressley, 1998; Osborn & Lehr, 1998; Moats, 2009 & Dyslexia Task Force Recommendation #5)

Why Should We Care about Reading Reform?

The costs of reading failure are extraordinary and these costs begin with emotional, financial and downstream socio-economic impacts on individuals and communities. Young students believe they are stupid – they read less and struggle more than their peers; and those without a support system at home often end up as a statistic in the school-to-prison pipeline. Some academics like to say that poor readers “lack motivation” and just need to read more; but if you talk to parents they will tell you their children work harder than their peers. Motivation is one symptom of a crisis in Maryland’s teacher preparation programs. Teachers often report that they “never learned about dyslexia and they don’t know how to teach struggling students to read.”

What is really needed? A change in the approach and practice of teacher education in reading instruction in Maryland university teacher preparation programs, along with state and district-wide professional learning that focuses on the science of reading and the principles of effective instruction.

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The State of Reading & Dyslexia in Maryland: Policy Solutions

1/15/2017

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The State of Reading & Dyslexia in Maryland

Reading & Dyslexia Policy Solutions

FREE EVENT, REGISTER HERE

Thursday, February 2, 2017 ~ Room 180 ~ Lowe House Office Building, Annapolis, Maryland

2016 was a year of solution finding for families and educators concerned about access to effective instruction for dyslexia and reading. The “Task Force to Implement a Dyslexia Education Program in Maryland” completed its recommendations and provided a report to the Maryland General Assembly and the Governor. The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) developed a Technical Assistance Bulletin on Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD) with a focus on dyslexia to help facilitate and implement effective instruction for students with dyslexia, dysgraphia and dyscalculia.

But we must do more. Join us to learn about dyslexia and reading solutions that will narrow the reading and writing achievement gap in Maryland. Many students with average to above average intelligence have trouble learning to read, write and/or spell in Maryland public schools. The 2016 Maryland state assessment (PARCC) for 4th grade students shows that 91% of special education, 77% of African American, 98% of limited English proficiency and 79% of students in poverty are not on grade level for reading and writing. Maryland can change this outcome with your help.

Dyslexia Advocacy Day 2017

PROGRAM

8:00 - 9:00am -- Community Partner Open House

8:00am -- Delegate Al Carr, Montgomery County, Welcome Message

9:00 - 9:20am -- Lisa Blottenberger: Decoding Dyslexia Maryland: The Science of Reading: How to Help Struggling Readers Thrive!

9:20 - 9:35am -- Dr. Joan Mele-McCarthy: Chair, Task Force to Implement a Dyslexia Education Program in MD: Best Practices to Serve Students with Dyslexia in Maryland: Task Force Update

9:35 - 9:45am -- Delegate Anne Kaiser: Chair, House Education Subcommittee, D-Montgomery
What Legislators Need to Know About Dyslexia & Reading

9:45 - 10:00am -- Marcella Franczkowski: Assistant State Superintendent, Special Education & Early Intervention Services, MSDE: Newly Released Technical Assistance Bulletin Drives Identification and Instruction for Students with Disabilities & Dyslexia

10:00 - 10:10am -- Susie Fowler: Director of Special Education, St. Mary's County: Practical Advice on How to Implement the Dyslexia Technical Assistance Bulletin

10:10 - 10:20am -- Rick Smith, CEO, International Dyslexia Association: How Revisions to University Accreditation on Reading will Improve Student Learning

10:20 - 10:30am -- Laura Schultz: Decoding Dyslexia Maryland: ACT-vocate for Dyslexia

10:30 - 11:45am -- BREAK -- Pre-scheduled individual/group legislator meetings

12:00 - 1:00pm -- Panel Discussion (see below)

Lunch & Panel Discussion: Reading & Dyslexia Policy Solutions

12:00 - 1:00pm
PANELISTS -- Moderator: Karleen Spitulnik, Decoding Dyslexia MD, State Leader

Dayne Guest, Recent Graduate, Baltimore County Public Schools: What I Needed from my School
Ella Jane Miller, 7th grade student, Earle B. Woods Middle School in Rockville: What I Need for School Success
Amy Siracusano, MS, Ed., Maryland Teacher, Literacy Coach, Higher Education Adjunct: What Teachers Need to Know about Reading and Dyslexia
Monica McHale-Small, Superintendent, Saucon Valley School District, PA & Dr. Fran Warkomski, Dyslexia Pilot Coordinator, PA Dept. of Ed: Creating and Sustaining Reading Achievement Through Teacher Training
Delegate Anne Kaiser, Chair, House Ways & Means Committee and Member, Task Force to Study the Implementation of a Dyslexia Education Program
Next Steps for Reading and Dyslexia Policy

1:00 - 4:00pm -- Pre-scheduled legislator meetings

Downloadable Advocacy Day Flyer, 3-color, Legislator Invite

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Downloadable Dyslexia Advocacy Day Panel, Multi-color Legislator Invite

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Downloadable Advocacy Day Flyer, Public Flyer Invite

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Downloadable Advocacy Day Program, 2017

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Media Alerts, Advisories & Press Releases

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Register Now for Dyslexia Advocacy Day 2017!

12/21/2016

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Dyslexia Advocacy Day in Annapolis 2017!

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MD Dept. of Education Says Dyslexia -- Issues Technical Assistance Bulletin to Help Schools Identify & Support Students

11/18/2016

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KEY ELEMENTS

Defines dyslexia, dysgraphia and dyscalculia (p. 5, Definitions)
Early Screening: Clarifies that MD Public Schools do NOT screen for dyslexia, dyscalculia and dysgraphia, but acknowledges that early screening is a best practice (p.6, Identification, Do Maryland Public Schools screen all students for these conditions?)
Identification of dyslexia, dysgraphia and dyscalculia: provides information on who can identify these conditions both within and outside the school system. Within the school system a school psychologist, speech language pathologist and reading specialist are named as qualified to identify dyslexia (p. 6, Identification, Who can identify one of these conditions?)
The IEP and Dyslexia: Clarifies that dyslexia, dysgraphia and dyscalculia can be referenced in the IEP to address the student’s needs resulting from that disability; further clarifies that the IEP should include information about the disability and how it relates to eligibility, educational needs, and specially designed instruction to address dyslexia, dyscalculia and dysgraphia (p. 7, Can these conditions be referenced in a student’s IEP?)
Lists general problems experienced by students with dyslexia, dysgraphia and dyscalculia (p. 7-8, Instruction)
Instruction: Acknowledges that dyslexia, dyscalculia and dysgraphia may impact achievement across academic content and explains that ALL students should be provided evidence based practices and interventions “matched to their identified area of need.”
1. Progress Monitoring: clarifies that general education students who receive interventions for reading, writing and/or math and who are not achieving adequately may require more intense specially designed instruction and should be evaluated for an IEP. (p. 8, Instruction: How do I know if one of these conditions requires specially designed instruction?)
2. Dyslexia Assessments: Lists assessments (universal screeners) known to identify dyslexia including Rapid Automatized Naming (RAN) and Rapid Automatized Spelling (RAS) (p. 9, Instruction)
3. Specially Designed Instruction: Delineates the elements and principles of Structured Literacy, “a highly recommended approach” to address dyslexia. The elements of structured literacy include phonology, sound-symbol association, syllable instruction, morphology, syntax and semantics and is taught in an explicit, systematic, cumulative and diagnostic way (p. 10, Instruction, What might specially designed instruction look like?).

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RESOURCES:

Dyslexia Technical Assistance Bulletin (TAB), Maryland State Department of Education, November 2016
DDMD Summary of MSDE Dyslexia TAB (coming soon)
Federal Department of Education Dyslexia Guidance Letter, October 2015
DDMD Summary of Federal DOE Guidance
DDMD Dyslexia TAB Press Release (coming soon)
Maryland Reading Scores, 2015 and 2016

Dyslexia, Dysgraphia and Dyscalculia

Maryland Technical Assistance Bulletin, November 16, 2016

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Join Decoding Dyslexia Maryland & #saydyslexia in Washington, D.C., July 11-14

7/7/2016

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Don't WAIT for a Child to Fail before Providing Reading Help!

4/22/2016

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Indicators of dyslexia and reading failure are noticeable in Kindergarten and pre-school. Children can be screened and identified and teachers can provide specially designed instruction to close the reading gap before a child begins the downward spiral of failure and self defeating behaviors.

At a literacy convention recently, Decoding Dyslexia Maryland was asked by a group of teachers: "where can we find training? What can we do on Monday to help our kids?" Teachers also wondered why they didn't learned how to teach kids with dyslexia in their college reading courses. Where to find training just became a whole lot easier for teachers -- here are some options:

Dyslexia Educator Training in Maryland:

The Center for Effective Reading Instruction: There is a new training and professional development opportunity available for schools, teachers, districts and states to ensure all teachers are up to speed on dyslexia and reading disabilities -- it's called the CENTER FOR EFFECTIVE READING INSTRUCTION (CERI). CERI is located in Baltimore and offers an array of training and certification levels for interested students and teachers. CERI also accredits university education programs: LINK HERE
The Atlantic Seaboard Dyslexia Education Center: ASDEC's graduate-level training in structured multisensory language instruction enables teachers, tutors, parents and other educators to teach success to students with even the most severe learning disabilities. For educators interested in learning more about dyslexia and how to work with students with language learning disabilities, a new option for this summer will be taught by Sandra Thompson, QI, CALT author of Language Foundations who will present this Orton-Gillingham Structured Literacy Curriculum in Rockville. This course prepares candidates for certification as Academic Language Practitioners (aka Licensed Dyslexia Practitioners).
Orton-Gillingham Training, by bowman educational services (Fran Bowman): Offers training courses throughout the summer for educators who would like to learn about the Orton-Gillingham approach to teaching reading, writing and spelling.

When teachers learn the structure of the English language and how to teach struggling readers, they can and will make a difference for students. 63% of Maryland students read below proficient -- it's time to change the way we teach reading, writing and spelling so we can reach all our students and narrow the reading gap in Maryland.

SOMEDAY SOON, THE STORY BELOW WILL BE CONSIDERED "THE OLD WAY"

The following summary is from the Wright's Law web site, a rich resource for parents and teachers of students with special needs. Below is an excerpt from the website that explains a legal case where the child had dyslexia and the parents removed him from school and won reimbursement because the IEP was too generic and did not meet the child's individual needs.

Alex Gerstmyer v. Howard County Public Schools

"After the Supreme Court issued the decision in Carter, an interesting case arose in Columbia, Maryland. This case involved Alex Gerstmyer, a 6 year old child who also had dyslexia. Although Alex had "red flag" problems in Kindergarten, the staff at Alex’s school waited before testing him—they thought that he might "grow out of his problems."

When Alex began first grade, he had still not been evaluated. There was no IEP in place for him. Alex quickly realized that he was different from the other children—he was not learning how to read. At home, he was distraught and said that he was "stupid." His alarmed parents had him evaluated by a private sector psychologist—this testing confirmed that Alex had dyslexia.
Later in the Fall, the public school did propose an IEP. The parents felt that the IEP was vague and did not provide Alex with the help he needed to overcome his dyslexia. Alex was becoming more upset by the day—saying that he was stupid and didn’t want to live. Presented with an inadequate IEP for their son, his parents removed him from the public school program and placed him into a Montessori school (non- special education school) and asked for tuition assistance. (Gerstmyer v. Howard County Public Schools, 850 F. Supp. 361, 20 IDELR 1327 (D. MD 1994)

In his decision, Judge Motz described the public school IEP as ". . . nothing more than a collection of forms prepared for other students stating only general goals and not at all tailored to Alex’s special needs."

Because the IEP was not tailored to Alex’s unique needs as a child with dyslexia, Judge Motz awarded Alex’ parents reimbursement for their son’s education at the Montessori school."

You can find Maryland legal information here:

Reports
State Complaint Letters of Finding

Fiscal Year 2016
Fiscal Year 2015
Fiscal Year 2014
Fiscal Year 2013

Due Process Hearing Decisions, and End-of-Year Hearing and Mediation Outcome Reports by Public Agency

Fiscal Year 2016
Fiscal Year 2015
Fiscal Year 2014
Fiscal Year 2013

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Teachers & Parents Advocate for Dyslexia & Reading in Baltimore County

4/11/2016

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On Tuesday night, four members of Decoding Dyslexia Maryland spoke at the Board of Education meeting for Baltimore County Public Schools about dyslexia.
First speaker: 43:00
Second speaker: 55:48
Third Speaker: 59:40
Fourth Speaker: 1:07:31
And a special 5 second bonus by another surprise speaker at 1:10:00!!
It was a great night of sharing many different aspects of the mission of Decoding Dyslexia MD. Thank you to our speakers who represented us so well!