Darlington School's Accelerated Learning Program for Dyslexia is well-known as a leader in Northwest Georgia for its cutting-edge approach to dyslexia remediation. That's why Berry College recently sought out the expertise and leadership of Jessica Laliberte, director of the Teaching & Learning Center, to be a guest lecturer in the field of dyslexia and learning differences.
In addition to speaking at Berry, Laliberte invited a group of Berry students to Darlington to learn from the best teachers in the area, and see our top-notch Teaching & Learning Center in action.
Under the innovative leadership of Laliberte, Darlington's Accelerated Learning Program for Dyslexia (ALP) is turning the heads of other educational leaders in the greater community. The ALP is a signature, fee-based program within the Teaching & Learning Center that serves students in grades K-5 with dyslexia.
One such leader at Berry College, Dr. Francis Roe, director of field experiences and clinical practice, felt that her elementary education students would greatly benefit from more exposure and knowledge in the area of dyslexia. That's why she invited Laliberte to be a guest speaker at Berry College on Oct. 17. Laliberte delivered a 30-minute presentation about dyslexia and structured literacy to 22 undergraduates, offering the latest research and insight into what dyslexia is, how the dyslexic brain learns, and an overview of how Darlington School's Accelerated Learning Program for Dyslexia delivers top-notch reading and writing remediation.
Laliberte and Roe decided to take their collaboration to the next level, knowing that field experience is a great way to solidify learning. Laliberte curated a two-hour tour of the Teaching & Learning Center for the Berry undergrads, where they could observe dyslexia remediation at work and hear more about best practices at Darlington School.
On Oct. 19, Roe and the group of undergrads arrived on campus ready to witness high-quality teaching in action. Their field experience included a Q&A session with Laliberte about how data informs instruction, what the psych-educational evaluation process looks like, and how it potentially leads to a diagnosis of learning differences.
“I wanted Berry students to understand the value of what we do here at Darlington is not only our incredible instruction, but also in how we form partnerships with parents,” said Laliberte. “We help parents understand how incredibly smart and creative our dyslexic students are and the unique ways we teach reading to support how the dyslexic brain learns best.”
Later in their tour, Berry students were given the opportunity to observe small-group lessons with students in grades 3-5 containing skills and concepts such as phonology, sound-symbol correspondence, syllabification, morphology, syntax, and semantics delivered by Orton-Gillingham-trained Learning Specialists Molly Jordan, Dr. Julia Houston, and Kaleigh Tutorow.
One hallmark of the Orton-Gillingham approach is that it is multi-sensory in nature. Laliberte and her team curated a collection of the program's most dynamic games and lessons that involve a combination of sensory experiences such as auditory, tactile, visual, and kinesthetic modalities.
“Writing words in a sand tray or with shaving cream on a table are just two examples of a multisensory approach, carving new pathways within the dyslexic brain,” said Laliberte. “And it’s no secret that our learning specialists make learning so much fun with multi-sensory lessons, too!”
To round out their tour of the Teaching & Learning Center, Berry students met with Dr. Celeste Rivers, the middle grades learning specialist, and learned from her how the school supports dyslexic students throughout grades 6-8. She spoke about the 5 Rs, which are keys to creating an optimal learning environment in the Teaching & Learning Center: routine, repetition, review, reflection, and remembering.
“The latest research in the field of dyslexia and literacy is clear – students with dyslexia need a great deal of structured practice and immediate, corrective feedback to develop automatic word recognition skills which are the building blocks necessary to develop fluent reading and comprehension,” said Laliberte. “And knowing that every dyslexic student is different, it’s important to be aware that learning occurs in different ways and at varying paces.”
Darlington’s approach weaves together explicit Orton-Gillingham instruction in the Teaching & Learning Center with highly supportive and immersive literacy lessons in classrooms.
“I am proud of the ways our learning specialists work very closely with classroom teachers to provide literacy-based accommodations and individualized support for our students with dyslexia,” said Laliberte. “This model is what separates us from other dyslexia programs, and is also what makes us so successful.”
Click here to read more about Darlington’s Accelerated Learning Program, the gold standard in Greater Rome and Northwest Georgia for dyslexia remediation.
