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If you ask a seven and a half year old
dyslexic boy who struggles with reading what his favorite subject is at
school you would not expect him to answer “reading”.
That is what Marty Satterfield, a student
at Huntsville’s Greengate School considers his favorite subject and Mark
Allen, 12, in his second year at Greengate, claims literature as his
favorite subject. For both boys, their answers are nothing short of
wonderful.
"I like to read a
lot. I like to read books that are interesting. I like books about things
and books that are stories. I think I do more reading here. Tutoring is
fun and I get to play fun learning games," Marty said.
"Literature is my favorite subject. I also
like our expert projects. We each study one topic that we pick for the
whole year. My topic this year is praying mantises and last year it was
beetles,” Mark said.
Greengate school, a not for profit school
for children like Marty and Mark with specific learning differences in
reading, spelling or writing, is now in its second year. The school
started in 2003 with three students and has more than doubled this year
with eleven students.
"It is more fun because there are more
people to learn with and more people on the playground. I like the
classes and my favorites are math and science," according to Janie
Alexander, 11, a second year student at Greengate.
Greengate School takes up the top floor of
the fellowship hall building of Sherwood Baptist Church on Old Madison
Pike in Huntsville. The church donates the space to Greengate as a
community outreach to students who struggle because of dyslexia.
According to the International Dyslexia
Association, Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is
neurological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate
and or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding
abilities.
Secondary consequences may include problems
in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede
growth of vocabulary and background knowledge. It is estimated that
between 7% and 15% of the general population struggle with some form of
reading disability. While some cases are mild and only cause occasional
issues in school, others can be severe. Children may find themselves
unable to read at grade level, struggling with each syllable they read
and having little or no comprehension of what they are reading.
Second year student Christopher Combs, 12, says the school is different
this year.
"This year we are more
organized with more rules and we are doing more things".
Another second year student, ten year old
Coulter Wright, likes that his school Greengate has grown.
"We have
more kids and more teachers and I like that. We have more friends at our
school".
Greengate uses curriculum designed for kids
with dyslexia like EVERYDAY MATH. Courtney Volinski, 10, used to hate
math but since coming to Greengate she has totally changed her mind.
"Math is my favorite subject. At
regular schools there is not as much “hands on”. This school is lots of
“hands on”. In math you don’t have to just write it, you do stuff with
your hands and that is fun."
The children are grouped into skill levels
instead of traditional grades. There are three skill levels: the
Unicorns, the Pegasus, and the Centaur, named after mythological
creatures since the school mascot is a griffin.
Daniel Puckett,10, loves his skill level
group the Unicorns.
"I like science. I like writing in my
science book. I like everything about it. We are doing research about the
body of the caterpillar," Daniel said.
Science has really caught the imagination
of Abigail Bayer,7. With a shy smile Abigail Bayer gives the writer a hug
and then invites her into the science room to show off their butterfly
project, a net cage with one butterfly and several chrysalises ready to
hatch into butterflies. Abigail is in her first year at Greengate.
"It’s good because it is
really fun. I like everything." Abigail said.
Her fellow science fan Casey Frederick is
really enjoying their butterfly project.
"Our caterpillars are
my favorite thing. Mine are in a chrysalis and one hatched and it was
Marty’s and it is a butterfly," Casey said.
This is Casey’s first year at Greengate.
"The best thing about Greengate is that the teachers are really nice. I
like the schedules. I like all the subjects. Tutoring is good. They help
us read," Casey said.
Philip Hall,7, is also in his first year at Greengate but he says he has two favorite things.
"Tutoring and science are my best things. I get to read in tutoring and
my tutor teacher gets to read to me. About science, my caterpillar is in
a chrysalis and my other caterpillar is in a J- position." Philip said.
Each student gets a one hour dyslexia
tutoring session each day, one on one with a tutor and that helps them
make reading progress.
"I think Greengate is a very good
school. It’s a lot better here. I am really making higher progress here
than I ever have before. I feel good about that. It is easier to read and
I never could really understand how people could read that fast and now I
am starting to understand. I am reading faster and a lot easier,"
said new student Ian Briggs.
Faster and easier, two words about Ian’s
reading that no doubt bring relief to the hearts of his parents.
Greengate School director Marcia Ramsey
says having more students this year has been good for all the children.
"Even in these first four weeks we have seen
improvements. For a start we have seen a
change in their attitude and that is a huge thing for dyslexic children,
who have faced so many failures and they are not encountering that now.
They feel differently about school and that is good. For the older
children the new rules and routine make them feel better," Ramsey
said.
Plans are for the children to be at
Greengate through eighth grade and then move on to regular schools.
"They will be ready!" Ramsey said.
For more information about Greengate School, call 551-4439, or visit
its Web site, www.greengateschool.org.
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