See the Macon school for dyslexic students that’s attracting families from around Middle GA

Looking for a suitable school for her dyslexic child, Sarah Weldon didn’t expect the answer to her prayers to be nearly an hour-long drive to Macon.

Sarah Weldon of Lamar County said she didn’t expect the answer to her prayers of finding a suitable school for one of her dyslexic children to be a nearly hour-long drive to Macon.

The Lamar County resident’s 9-year-old daughter, Scout, struggled academically at a private school that did not have persistent language-based services, she said. But now with Roberts Academy at Mercer University set to open in August, Scout will enroll as a fourth grader and receive quality education that assists her learning disability.

About 15 to 20% of the U.S. population has dyslexia or shows signs or having it, according to the International Dyslexia Association. Scout, who was formally diagnosed in the second grade, began having panic attacks and developed a dislike for school when she couldn’t timely read or comprehend schoolwork instruction on her own, Weldon said. They turned to homeschooling. But she feels that Roberts offers a better environment.

“At Roberts, she can feel comfortable not only learning in a classroom with other kids that learn the same way she does, but she’s now not having to feel any different for learning the way that she learns,” Weldon said.

Macon school is affordable, comprehensive

With a building capacity of 180 students, Roberts Academy is the only transitional elementary school of its kind operating outside of Atlanta, said Jamie Dickson, the school’s marketing communications director. The school is expecting to serve 40 second-through-fifth grade students this year, with the possibility to expand enrollment and grade levels, she said.

“There are schools in Middle Georgia that address learning differences, but there are no schools that specifically and only address dyslexia,” Dickson added.

Joy Wood, the academy’s founder, expressed her excitement for the school’s inaugural year, which so far has nearly 30 children enrolled from nine Middle Georgia counties, as well as Henry and Laurens counties.

“The students can look forward to being in a safe environment that is going to help them specifically with their learning difference of dyslexia,” Wood said. “We give them foundational skills so that they can succeed later in a traditional setting and return to the age-appropriate grade once they leave Roberts Academy.”

The academy will teach a comprehensive curriculum that aligns with the Georgia Standards for Excellence, allowing students to keep pace with the learning progress of other students in Georgia public and independent schools, Wood added.

Math, computer science, fine arts, English, and enrichment classes are among the subjects included in the curriculum. For each subject, teachers will use the Orton-Gillingham approach to remediate dyslexic students through action-oriented learning that combines auditory, visual and physical movement to teach basic literacy concepts, Wood said.

“It’s a win for the schools that the children will eventually go back to because they will get the skills and the tools they need to be successful in that classroom,” Dickson said.

Weldon said another significant benefit of her child attending Roberts Academy is that she can receive many language-based services at a reasonable cost.

Scout was diagnosed with dyslexia in a private school setting, which Weldon said prevented her family from qualifying for financial support through the Georgia Special Needs Scholarship Program to help cover tuition, tutoring and school-based occupational therapy fees.

“Normally, these language-based schools for children with dyslexia have tuition that ranges for $25,000 to $40,000 a year,” Weldon said. “Roberts Academy tuition is very affordable compared to all these other schools that I wish Scout could have gone to, but we just couldn’t afford to send her.”

Thriving despite disabilities

Wood said because traditional education settings often fail to meet the specific needs of dyslexic learners, she wants both incoming and prospective students to know that the academy’s goal to create a dynamic and positive environment will help them develop self-confidence and self-advocacy skills to reach their full potential.

Dickson said a school like Roberts Academy is crucial to Macon-Bibb because it prepares students to become successful adults with promising careers.

“If it you think about literacy and how important it is to the success of a community, and when you consider that dyslexia is such a common learning difference, it only makes sense that our community would want to have a school like ours,” she said.

Weldon said she is super grateful that the academy is able to help her and other families who have “these very intelligent and capable kids who have reading comprehension issues that keep them from feeling comfortable in a traditional academic environment.”

“I’m really excited for school to start because I can’t wait to see what this year holds and how Scout is going to do,” she added.