COLORADO SPRINGS — Orton Academy, an independent Colorado Springs school serving students with dyslexia, has been approved to enter into a charter contract with Colorado Springs School District 11.
The District 11 School Board approved the transfer application during a special meeting Wednesday night. Cindy Kanuch, Principal of Orton Academy, said she hopes the move will bring more resources and attention to the needs of their students.
“I think it makes us more visible and you know I’m hoping we can have some great interaction with D11 and work together as part of the district so that we can make sure that all students with dyslexia and reading disabilities get what they need for instruction,” she said.
Kanuch said many students with dyslexia struggle to learn in traditional schools, but Orton Academy’s structured language approach puts their needs first.
“Our students get dyslexia therapy all day. They rotate to the therapy as one of their classes. So they’re not pulled out of their classes to go to therapy,” she said.
Not only does Kanuch serve as the principal of the school, but she also teaches her own class at the academy as a certified academic language therapist. She said Orton Academy provides speech therapy that many parents of children with dyslexia at traditional schools would have to pay for through private tutoring.
“We just felt like we needed a place where students can get that for free," said Kanuch.
The school has been open for four years and serves 115 students from second to eighth grade. The goal is to provide them with the tools they need to succeed in whichever high school they go to after the academy.
“That’s our goal that by the time they get to eighth grade that we’ve closed the reading gap for them. We’ve given them tools and strategies they can use so that when they go to the traditional school they are able to succeed.”
Latrica Chavez is a parent of two children at Orton Academy. She said her kids, both with dyslexia, were not thriving at traditional schools.
"My son hated school, hated,” she said. "Being pulled out of classes and stuff it just doesn't work when you're constantly pulled and you look different."
Chavez said when her son started at the academy, he could barely write a sentence. Now, he is writing paragraphs.
"I think three times already this year I've been in tears,” she said. “Once he came, he started making friends. All the kids here are on the same page. They stick up for each other because they're all going through the same thing."
According to The Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity, around one in five people have some form of dyslexia and it is the most common of all neuro-cognitive disorders.
Kanuch said despite its prevalence, there is not enough discussion surrounding dyslexia. She hopes the contract with District 11 will bring more awareness to the learning disability and promote better instruction for students who struggle with it.
“These students have true struggles. It’s a neurological difference in the way that they learn, and a traditional school doesn’t necessarily teach them that way.”
She said the school will continue to practice its mission as it works through the contract negotiations with District 11. Michael Gaal, District 11 Superintendent, said the academy will be the ninth charter school. It would be the only school authorized by D11 dedicated to solely teaching children with dyslexia.
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