QUESTION: How does the day begin at the school and how is class time and teaching organized?

ANSWER: Students have multi-age homerooms and classes with up to 12 students in each. The day is arranged around 7 one-hour blocks. Teachers specialize in various subject areas so all students, even at the primary level, rotate through a class schedule that includes art, music, engineering, science, cooking, and electives. Daily learning in reading, spelling, writing, and math is individualized for each student.

Q: : Pinnacle specializes in teaching kids with dyslexia and related learning differences. What is dyslexia, and what are some of the learning characteristics that would bring a child to your door?

A: While no two children with dyslexia are the same, let’s look at the example of “Jason.” Jason is a 9-year-old boy. His mom reports that he still struggles with some of his letters and the sounds associated with his letters. Jason reads with great difficulty. He has trouble writing a good paragraph. Many of his numbers and letters are written backwards. He can’t spell and his handwriting is poor. Some of his relatives have experienced difficulties with reading. Mom and his teachers are puzzled since Jason is very bright and likes math, computers, and art. He can talk very well about almost anything, but is doing poorly in many of his subjects at school. Some people think he’s just not trying. Jason is getting increasingly frustrated, and is beginning to think he can’t learn.

Jason has dyslexia, which means he has difficulty processing information. His brain is not storing and retrieving in a way that he can consistently access. Not all children with dyslexia will reverse letters. Some can read very well, but have difficulty with writing. Some have greater difficulty with directions, like telling left from right, following sequences of steps, reading a ruler, or memorizing multiplication tables.

Q: Why do children with dyslexia need a different approach to teaching and learning? Or do they? Can they do all right without such special instruction?

A: Children with dyslexia are wired to be visual, auditory, and hands-on learners. Without multi-sensory, project based teaching, they have difficulty linking information and concepts for later use. It’s almost like trying to find a file on your computer desktop that is not labeled. You know it’s there, you know you learned it, but you can’t find it. While all students would benefit from this type of instruction, dyslexic students need it. Without it, most will not reach their potential, and instead of being excited about learning and exploring their natural gifts and talents, they will become frustrated, lose confidence, and often grow to dislike school. Early intervention is especially important. Many dyslexic children who get the appropriate teaching approach from an early age are able to return to other school settings very successfully. That’s why we started our kindergarten program last year. After the right amount of time at Pinnacle, many students go back to public schools and are on the honor roll.

Q: Can you give us an example of how a particular lesson might go in one of your classrooms versus how the same materials might be addressed in a standard classroom?

A: Overall, work is presented both visually and orally, complex tasks are broken down into sequential steps, and students are given examples. We use a variety of teaching techniques, including modeling, demonstrations, hands-on learning, discussion, etc.

For example, during a primary spelling lesson, students will divide into groups to focus on only one (phonemic, like the ‘str’ in “strong”) pattern, learn the rule for the pattern, participate in oral drills and other activities to practice the letter sounds and spelling, discuss words individually that use the phoneme, learn definitions by using them correctly, and often draw pictures to reinforce the meanings. We do this consistently and those approaches are reinforced, even in other “non-language” classes, by every teacher.

Q: How does Pinnacle’s curriculum match up with a more standard curriculum? Will a Pinnacle student have mastered the equivalent material, in say, history or social studies as a public school student at the same grade level?

A: Educators today are trying to use standards to help ensure that all students are getting exposure to important concepts while at the same time focusing on helping students develop 21st century learning skills, inquiry skills, and the ability to use technology and information. At a recent conference, teachers were asked, “How many facts do you remember from fourth grade? Now, how many of you would know where to go to get that information?” Like New Tech High, and other progressive schools throughout the country, the Pinnacle curriculum is based on project-driven, research-based, proven methods and the scope-and-sequence recommendations of national education organizations. Most of our graduates have gone on to successful careers and college.

Q: Is there any financial assistance for people who think their child might benefit from Pinnacle but who are squeezed financially?

A: Almost a third of our students receive scholarships or are sponsored. Pinnacle School is a non profit organization, and relies very much on generous donations by alumni, the local community, and people who care about dyslexia, literacy and education. We are committed to keeping our overhead costs down and making our education available to children with dyslexia, dyscalculia (aka “math dyslexia”) and similar differences in learning. Pinnacle costs about 40 percent less than comparable quality programs in the Midwest. Anyone who has a question or wants to help can call Director Denise Lessow at 339-8141 or www.pinnacleschool.org.

Q: Is dyslexia a barrier to success for kids as they grow up?

A: It can be if students don’t develop the necessary literacy skills, along with learning tools, strategies and self-advocacy skills. There are many highly successful dyslexics pursuing careers in a variety of fields. They have had to work hard to get there. Fortunately, most dyslexic children have gifts that are very useful in today’s economy. They are extremely bright, very creative, can be excellent problem solvers, strong oral communicators, and have a natural tendency to think outside the box. Many have strong abilities to visualize, and are very skillful with their hands. Children with dyslexia tend to gravitate toward careers in science, math, health and engineering; technology; all of the arts including music, drama, and culinary; and entrepreneurship or other areas of business. A focus of our work at Pinnacle School is building on those talents, helping them understand how they learn, and how to develop their own strengths as they pursue their lives and careers.
 

© 1997 - 2008 Hoosiertimes Inc.