Teachers Praising Teachers

I am a high school Dyslexia Interventionist from Fort Smith, Arkansas. In my first year using the Lindamood-Bell program (with high school students) I was extremely lucky to have met and worked with Alex Koss (pictured below), the Lindamood-Bell Project Director, who taught me so much and provided me with a strong foundation to build on. I was always able to lean on Alex if I needed help with a particular section of the program or if I had a question about a student that struggled during a lesson. Four years have passed since Alex was my coach. We still speak on a regular basis, and I consider him an asset and a friend.

 The Lindamood-Bell (Seeing Stars) program made a tremendous impact on my students as well as myself. As I reflect upon our success, many students come to mind, but one particular student named Eric stands out the most. Eric was in the middle of his tenth-grade year when he joined my dyslexia group. He was reading on a sixth-grade level and had struggled with reading fluency for many years prior. By the end of his junior year, Eric was fluently reading ninth-grade level stories. Not only did Eric improve his reading fluency that year, but he also scored PROFICIENT on the reading section of the ACT test. His mom sent me an email stating this was the very first time Eric ever scored proficient on a standardized test. This was by far one of my proudest moments! Eric was just one of the many success stories I have witnessed while using the Lindamood-Bell program. 

Throughout the many years of utilizing this program, many of my students have stated they are more confident with reading aloud in and out of class because of the many Lindamood-Bell tools and strategies they learned. This program truly provides teachers with the materials they need to help their students to become stronger readers. It also allows students to gain confidence in their reading so they can be successful in other classes. I attribute much of the success of this class (over a four-year period) to the Lindamood-Bell program and coaches. My high school students and I appreciate all the information the Lindamood-Bell coaches have provided us over the years. 

- Jenni Dunn, Fort Smith Public Schools