Page 72 - South Mississippi Living - April, 2022

story by Lynn Lofton photos by Arielle Victoria
In 2020, a school was started in Ocean Springs to meet the educational needs of students who were not being served. Lighthouse Academy for Dyslexia came into being specifically for the remediation of dyslexia present in the community. Approximately 80 percent of people with learning disabilities have dyslexia, which makes it the most common learning disability, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics Joint Technical Report on Learning Disabilities, Dyslexia, and Vision. The Academy is one
of only three schools in the state designated as a special purpose school and is accredited through the Mississippi Department of Education.
“A group of educators came together and began the arduous task of starting from scratch to get a school off the ground,” said school spokeswoman Stephanie Hill. “We started with four classrooms, 33 students, and 11 employees. In our first year of operation, we offered free screenings
to the community where we screened over 50 students for dyslexia.”
By the beginning of the school’s second year, it received state accreditation status and hosted a major Southeastern Dyslexia Summit for 170 teachers on the Gulf Coast. Currently, Lighthouse Academy serves 42 students in grades two through six.
“The evaluation process for dyslexia enables identification in specific learning disorders, including reading and writing, language-speech disorders, and related academic challenges. Students must have a primary disability in dyslexia to apply for the school,” Hill explains. “Dyslexia affects one in five of our population, yet it is largely unknown still to the regular classroom teacher.”
She points out that there are many signs of dyslexia, some as early as preschool age. Students who struggle
with reading, writing, and spelling, but who are otherwise of average or above-average intelligence are most likely dyslexic learners. “Many of these students go undiagnosed or misdiagnosed, and the ones who are labeled as dyslexic are often put into the Special Education classes, which is not where they should be. Students with dyslexia are just as smart as their peers. Dyslexia has nothing to do with intelligence,” Hill added.
Chelsea Haynes’ 10 year-old daughter Makya is in her
first year at Lighthouse Academy. “It has been amazing for Makya. Lighthouse Academy not only changed Makya’s life but it has changed my life as well,” Haynes said. “Makya has struggled since kindergarten. She hated school. When it came to reading, she would have melt downs and completely shut down. As a parent that’s hard because there was nothing I could do.”
Haynes says she did everything that was suggested but,
A BEACON TO A BRIGHTER FUTURE
72 | April 2022 www.smliving.net | SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living