A Focus on Literacy

In 2006, Rhonda Mathieson of Atlanta needed lifesaving surgery. She later discovered that she shared something special in common with her neurosurgeon, Dr. Steven Wray.

Mathieson, now retired as chief financial officer of the High Museum, serves as a board member of the Atlanta Speech School, a campus of several specialized schools. The Wardlaw School there works with dyslexic students from K-5, and it just so happened that Wray was an alumnus, having attended in 1975-76.

As a young student, Wray’s path to becoming a third-generation doctor and neurosurgeon at Piedmont Hospital seemed unlikely. When he applied for a school, testing discovered he had a learning disability that turned out to be dyslexia.

“The results of that testing recommended that I not be enrolled in school and that I’d very likely not see a day of college,” Wray says. “Mercifully, my parents said, ‘Let’s see what our options are,’ and that was my early introduction to Atlanta Speech School.”

Dyslexia is a processing disorder in the part of the brain that handles language. Those who have it find it more difficult than others to read and spell. They have trouble identifying speech sounds and connecting them to letters and words.

Kids with dyslexia often, perhaps usually, go undiagnosed. The preferred method requires a long evaluation from a licensed professional that can cost $5,000. If this psychological-educational assessment finds dyslexia, parents face tough options.

Metro Atlanta boasts incredibly effective private schools that cater to students with dyslexia. They offer small class sizes, highly trained teachers and specialists in reading and speech therapy. Such resources don’t come cheap, however, and the tuition at these schools can run above $40,000 a year – far out of reach for most families. (The Speech School does herculean work to raise money for scholarships so kids aren’t turned away, but that can only go so far.)

With research showing that one in five people have dyslexia, our society must prioritize reading education and screen for processing disorders so that educators know what each student needs to thrive. We know what works. Now we must figure out how to scale it so kids in our public schools from every socioeconomic background have better opportunities in life.

Photo credit: Thomas C

Georgia is moving in the right direction. Rep. Bethany Ballard (R-Warner Robins), a former English teacher, authored and passed the Georgia Early Literacy Act in 2023. HB 538 changes the way reading is taught in public schools, implementing the “science of reading” with proven tactics.

“Children will learn the basic foundational principles of reading which will provide them with the tools to both break down words into their most basic sounds and syllables and then put them together again in increasingly more difficult combinations as they mature as readers,” says Ballard. “Using concrete building blocks, all children, including those with dyslexia, will be given what they need to succeed.”

Ryan Lee-James, the chief academic officer at the Speech School, is working with the Georgia Department of Education to implement the science of reading statewide.

Wearing a “Literacy and Justice for All” T-shirt while talking to me, Lee-James says 35% of Georgia third graders are reading on grade level. That doesn’t mean that 65% have dyslexia, she says, but it shows the need for prioritizing reading goes beyond kids with neurological disorders.

“Third grade predicts many outcomes with mental health, physical health and ability to contribute to our economy,” Lee-James says. Speaking specifically to dyslexia, Lee-James notes these tools will give students “self-awareness and strategies when things get hard for them.”

Lee-James helped advise Marietta City Schools on intense literacy training. Marietta prioritized reading by hiring 37 reading specialists, implementing up to 90 minutes of reading unit time in the mornings when students learn best and making sure that every child is in a reading group where the student-teacher ratio is 10-to-1.

It’s working already. On the 2023 Georgia Milestones testing, Marietta saw growth in its reading scores that was five times higher than the rest of the state and Metro Atlanta. If they can do that in a system where 65% of students are on free or reduced lunch programs, this is a program we can scale across the state.

The good news is, we are. Starting this fall, all public school students will undergo dyslexia screening, a step critical to keeping them from falling through the cracks.

Success stories like Wray’s are exceptional. But they don’t have to be.

Brian Robinson is co-host of WABE’s Political Breakfast podcast.