I n preschool, a set of twins demonstrated their knowledge and reasoning skills differently than other children. The sisters had trouble remembering the shapes and sounds of letters.

Their special education teacher, Berinda Turk—a four-time graduate of Georgia College & State University—wasn’t sure, but she thought the twins might be dyslexic. She couldn’t get them out of her mind and heart.

 

“I wanted to learn more about dyslexia so this year, if I was presented with the same type of characteristics,” Turk said, “I’d be able to help kids like that a little better.”

Last spring, Turk signed up for a new dyslexia endorsement program at Georgia College.

She earned her bachelor’s degree in business administration in 1992 at Georgia College; her master’s in special education in 2008; and her specialist degrees in curriculum & instruction and educational leadership in 2011 and ’17.

But as advanced as she is in her knowledge of teaching, Turk said her experience with the twins was puzzling. She wasn’t sure how to identify and meet their specific needs.

Then two things happened.

1.    In March 2023, state legislators passed Bill HB538, Georgia’s Early Literacy Act (K-3). It prioritized the detection and remediation of dyslexia in children and youth. It called for teachers to be trained in “structured literacy, knowledge of the science of reading” and other high-quality educational techniques.

2.    Across the state, 20 higher-ed institutions and Regional Education Service Agencies (RESAs), previously approved by the Georgia Professional Standards Commission (GaPSC) to offer dyslexia endorsement programs for K-12 teachers, received funding from the Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) to increase awareness and support for children with reading difficulties.

These developments led to the creation of Georgia College’s Dyslexia Endorsement Program, part of a nationwide push to ensure early and effective intervention for students who find reading difficult.

As many as 20 percent of the U.S. population—one in five people—display mild or more severe signs of dyslexia, a neuro-cognitive disorder, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). In addition, 37 percent of fourth graders in the United States score below basic reading levels, according to the Nation’s Report Card—issued in 2022 by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).

In Georgia, Jan. 31st is designated “Dyslexia Day at the Capitol.” The International Dyslexia Association of Georgia invited legislators for lunch and a group photo on the Capitol staircase.

 

In time for this celebration, Gov. Brian Kemp recently earmarked more than $5 million for a list of approved statewide screening assessments to detect signs of dyslexia as early as kindergarten.

“There are lots of different states across the country who are all now passing similar legislation,” said Dr. Alexandra Berglund, assistant professor of Reading, Literacy, and Language Education and co-principal investigator for Georgia College’s Dyslexia Endorsement Program.

“But Georgia is on top of the wave,” she said, “with the big push for schools in the state to have programs like these, in addition to the mandatory dyslexia screenings that are going to start.”

Early screenings will be helpful in Turk’s job. She co-teaches preschool at the Early Learning Center in Milledgeville. Up to now, there weren’t any protocols to measure dyslexia in children that young.

When Baldwin County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Nora Price notified teachers about the dyslexia program at Georgia College, Turk jumped at the chance to sign up.

The university received its first grant of $106,000 from the GaDOE in 2022, followed by another grant of nearly $92,000 to continue the program this year. Funding pays tuition and fees, making the program completely free for teachers in Georgia.

Turk was in the university’s first cohort of 20, a mix of teachers from elementary and middle schools from across the state, as well as high school special education, English language and math teachers. The new cohort just started with 11 additional students.

Georgia College’s Dyslexia Endorsement Program is designed for graduate students, like Turk, who are already teaching in schools. This allows busy educators statewide to access the university’s top-notch literacy programs, said Dr. Linda Bradley, program coordinator for Reading, Literacy and Language in the department of Professional Learning & Innovation.

In 2023, Georgia College earned an A+ rating for teaching the science of reading from the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ), putting the university among the top 48 schools in the nation and the only program in Georgia to go above standards set by literacy experts by using evidence-based practices.

The university recently ranked number two in the nation for “Best Online Master’s in Early Childhood Education Programs” by Best Colleges. Georgia College is also home to the Sandra Dunagan Deal Center for Early Language and Literacy, which opened in 2017.

 

“What really makes us unique is we’re in a state where there is now a real emphasis on dyslexia—where teachers, policy makers and our accrediting agencies are committed to ensuring that students have every opportunity to learn to read successfully,” Bradley said.

“I think we’re also unique in the sense that this is for graduate credit. That’s important for a lot of our teachers. Collectively,” she said, “we’re working with educators across the state to make a difference.”

Georgia College’s Dyslexia Endorsement Program consists of three online, graduate courses in the spring, summer and fall.

Each course meets three times on Saturdays. Teachers learn about the foundation of language; literacy development in special populations; dyslexia and language difficulties; structured interventions; and how to identify, access and support students with dyslexia. They work on strategies for helping children with dyslexia recognize letters and words.

Between classes, teachers are given additional reading, group discussions and activities to complete. At the end, teachers are asked to create a portfolio as a final project. In it, they reflect on concepts and strategies they’ve learned and how to apply them in the classroom.

 

A big surprise for Turk was hearing from teachers at different grade levels. Some middle and high school teachers said their students struggle in ways similar to what she sees in preschoolers.

“That has been an eye opener,” Turk said, “to let me know we need to start laying a better foundation. They’re still talking about having issues in middle school and high school with literacy. That blew my mind.”

Educators are getting better at making sure readers get the support they need, Bradley said. Helping students with things like expressive language, letter shapes, phonetic awareness and word decoding increases self-confidence—a critical ingredient for success.

Last summer, teachers were asked to practice new strategies with one student. Turk immediately chose a preschool boy who rolled on the floor screaming and crying for most of last year. He wasn’t able to absorb academic lessons and express himself through oral language.

 

“I chose him as my student for this particular class, because he’s active,” Turk said. “It’s hard to get him to sit. He’s a genius, though, and we didn’t know because we’ve never been able to get much out of him. What we didn’t know was what he knew, because all he did was run around with very severe behavioral issues.”

Turk applied strategies she learned in Georgia College’s dyslexia program. She knew the boy loved music. She used this interest to gain his attention. He also works well with his hands, so she incorporated plenty of hands-on techniques.

“I tried to get to know him, to figure out what would motivate him,” Turk said. “He loves manipulating things on the board. He got it every time. He’s very smart. That little boy is a genius. But it’s been hard for us to show that, because we had to combat the behavior first.”

This year, the boy is doing better. He’s able to pay attention and share his emotions in more appropriate ways.

Kensley Brown, another Georgia College alumna, works as a preschool special education teacher at the Early Learning Center too.

 

She was in the program’s first cohort with Turk and enjoyed learning multi-sensory strategies like clapping out word syllables, using rhyming activities and tracing the shape of letters on sandpaper or in shaving cream.

Much of her job is engaging students in prereading tasks and modeling good conversation skills.

During these activities, she notices signs that possibly point to dyslexia, like inventive spelling.

“We might not know if they have dyslexia yet, but we know when there are issues,” Brown said. “This course has helped me know what we’re doing with these kids is so important. It encouraged me to keep doing what we’re doing, so kids have a good foundation of literacy by kindergarten and first grade.”

Bradley and Berglund said they’ve learned a lot from program participants too.

They’re inspired each day by the dedication of teachers statewide, who truly care about their students.

Some teachers participated in the program, because they had dyslexia as children and wanted to share their stories and coping strategies.

 

Older readers with dyslexia often talk about feeling dumb, because they couldn’t read like everyone else or do school tasks the same way others around them could.

 

“Dyslexia has nothing to do with intelligence,” Bradley said. “Someone who is experiencing difficulty with reading may often demonstrate creativity and highly intelligent problem-solving skills. Being neurobiologically diverse simply means the wiring is slightly different in how they put things together.”

“For me, one of the goals of the dyslexia endorsement is to bring a joy, a motivation and an awareness that there are many ways to be successful with reading,” she added. “It’s about the empowerment and independence that reading and literacy can bring.