For a student with dyslexia, the learning process can be a lot like trying to fly on a bicycle: no matter how hard he pedals, chances are, he's not going anywhere.

Dyslexic students are often extremely intelligent, capable of achieving great scholastic success, if only given the right tools. This probably isn't in the student's thinking, but his learning. Former Itawamba County teachers Cathi Jefcoat and Judy Franks, heads of the county's Reading Success Program, hope to give these students what they need to find success in the classroom.

Working with Itawamba County school district officials and teachers, Jefcoat and Franks have brought a new learning system to Itawamba County, targeted at those students who exhibit the characteristics of dyslexia.

"From our experience teaching dyslexic students through the years, we were given this opportunity to get a program up and running in our county," Jefcoat explained, stating that dyslexic students simply learn in different ways than average students. Having previously taught several dyslexic children, Jefcoat said she understands how trying to adapt to traditional learning can be difficult.

"Learning is very frustrating for [dyslexic students]," she said. "They're able to accomplish a lot in the classroom, but they have to compensate and work extra hard to achieve those good grades."

The program, called the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital Dyslexia Training Program, is quickly being introduced into each of the county's elementary schools, targeting dyslexic students in grades 2-5. The two-and-a-half year program is designed to help these students relearn how to learn, making it much easier to achieve scholastic success.

"The student has to hear it, see it, say it and write it down," Jefcoat said. "It breaks down the alphabet and teaches lifelong reading skills. "This isn't going to get a student over having dyslexia. A student with dyslexia has it for life. What this will do is teach a student to study the way he or she needs to study."

According to Franks, the program has been implemented in one county school so far, but should be present in all five elementary schools by the end of the year.

Dyslexia defined

The term "dyslexia" is broader than many people realize. Typically thought of as a student seeing or reading words backwards, the learning disability can cause students to confuse similar letters, misread similar words and have trouble forming letters. According to the Mississippi Department of Education, dyslexia affects approximately 10- to 15-percent of any given population.

In order to determine whether or not a student needs to begin learning under the new program, a fairly rigorous set of guidelines must be passed.

"We have several indicators we look for to determine if the child is right for the program," Jefcoat said, adding that the range of complications created by dyslexia makes pinpointing students who suffer from it difficult.

Students who perform poorly on the mandatory Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills exam (DIBELS) are issued hearing and vision tests. Based on how the student performs on these tests, his or her teacher may be contacted to determine whether or not he or she is having difficulty in the classroom. Afterwards, Jefcoat and Franks meet with the student's parents to determine if the dyslexia program is right for him or her.

According to Franks, approximately 60 students are already enrolled in the program, under the tutelage of 43 teachers who recently trained for the program.

"Teachers were very interested in it," Franks said. Teachers who will be working with participants trained for the program recently, ensuring they were as familiar as possible with both the disability and how to work with it.

The next step, Franks said, is moving the program into higher grades.

"We would very much like to expand it to the junior high school and high school literacy levels," Franks said.

"We know the program is going to be very successful in Itawamba County," Jefcoat added. "We're so fortunate in our county to have administrators and a school board who support this program."

Adam Armour can be reached at 862-3141, by e-mailing adam.armour@itawamba360.com or by visiting his blog at itawamba360.com.