As Jacqueline Blake and Elissa Aten spent the last two years advocating for dyslexic students through their organization PC READS, one trend became apparent: Dyslexia can be a mystery even to the best educators.
“We have talked to many teachers in the district and out of the district,” Blake said. “So many of them have shared with us that they’ve never had any education on many learning disabilities, dyslexia being one of them, and don’t really know what to look for — when they do see it, they’re not sure what it is. So for us, this first awareness factor for teachers is so important.”
To that end, PC READS is devoting its efforts to educating teachers, administrators, parents and other community members about dyslexia. It has organized a free event, called Dyslexia for a Day, scheduled for Saturday, April 23, from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Utah Olympic Park. Space for the event is limited. To register, visit parkcityreads.org.
The event is being put on with the help of financial contributions from the Ty & Karen Hall Charitable Foundation. The Halls, who are relatively new to Park City, also have a dyslexic child and see the event as a way to make a difference in the community.
Karen Hall said teachers in Florida were often unable to give her son the help he needed, and she had to advocate for him throughout his school years. She hopes the event makes it so some families here don’t have to go through a similar experience…