Local group aims to help students with learning disabilities
Posted Jan 2, 2016 4:40 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
According to the Learning Association of Alberta, 19,000 students across the province have been diagnosed with a learning disability.
Statistics from Alberta Education show, almost 40 per cent of those diagnosed don’t graduate high school.
Judy Gray is one of the program developers with ReThink Charter Academy. She said the numbers show that right now, kids are falling through the cracks.
“The definition of someone who has a learning disability is that this person is at or above average intelligence. So it’s a huge societal waste that these individuals, who are smart individuals, are not able to finish their formal education,” she said.
Currently, both the public and Catholic school systems in Calgary offer specialized programs, but they only accomodate a combined total of less than 450 students.
Parents looking for private programs for their children are looking at a price tag of anywhere between $15,000 and $20,000 a year.
For Gray, this is why there is a huge need for a specialized school in the community.
“There are so few options. There are really no congregated options available for families without paying those kinds of tuition fees,” Gray said. “It seems to the team of us who are developing ReThink, that there was an opportunity here, for a public charter school, to kind of fill in that gap.”
ReThink is designed for children ages eight to 11 who have been diagnosed with dysgraphia, dyscalculia and/or dyslexia.
Gray and her team are still waiting for the green light from Alberta’s education minister David Eggen, who is reviewing the application. A final decision is expected later in January.
Those who support the school are hoping Calgarians will contact Eggen, and ask that the school be approved. For more information, visit ReThink’s website.
