Curriculum

Indiana Code 20-35.5 requires that all Indiana Non-public and other Eligible Schools screen students in kindergarten, grade one, and grade two each school year for learning characteristics related to dyslexia.  

 

According to The International Dyslexia Association, “Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurobiological in origin.  It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities.  These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction.  Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge.”

 

Dyslexia is a multi-faceted, life-long neurological condition that combines auditory, memory, and language-based learning difficulties.  People with dyslexia lack the basic phonemic awareness that most individuals have, and they may have a hard time with reading comprehension, spelling, writing, vocabulary, and fluency.  It is referred to as a learning disability because dyslexia can make it difficult for a child to succeed academically in a typical classroom setting.

 

Early warning signs of dyslexia include:

 

• Frequent spelling mistakes

• Letter or number reversals after first grade

• Slow, choppy reading

• Guessing after repeated exposure to letter or words

• Poor comprehension

• Poor memory for sight words (they, were, does)

• Difficulty following instructions with multiple steps

• Trouble memorizing math facts

 

Note.  From “Orton-Gillingham and Dyslexia,” by Orton-Gillingham.

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As a result of Indiana Code:

 

• Schools must notify parents that universal screening for learning characteristics related to dyslexia will occur

• Notify parents of screener results

• Identify students who may be “at some risk” or “at risk” for learning characteristics of dyslexia

• Students who transfer or enroll after the start of the school year must participate in the universal screener if they have not participated in the administration of an approved universal screener at their previous school in the same school year.

• Students may be exempt from screening if they meet one or both of the following criteria:  

• The parent (or legal guardian) of the student objects to the screening, or

• The student is already receiving dyslexia-related interventions

 

Students in grade three and beyond must participate in universal screening if a classroom teacher identifies that the student struggles with the following skills:

 

• Phonological and phonemic awareness;

• Sound symbol recognition;

• Alphabet knowledge;

• Decoding skills;

• Rapid naming skills; and

• Encoding skills.

 

The number of students at Granger Christian who received learning characteristics of dyslexia intervention during the previous school year:  0 after the universal screener administration.

The number of students at Granger Christian identified with dyslexia during the 2024-2025 school year:  0 after the universal screener administration.