From left, Noelia Zuniga, DSPP; Cindy Aldredge, M.Ed, CALT; Molly Ellis, M.Ed, LDT, CALT; Sharon Stracener, dyslexia interventionist; and Misty Zeleskey, CALT.
October is Dyslexia Awareness Month and St. Cyprian's Episcopal School is celebrating by hosting a Dyslexia Awareness Celebration at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
The event takes place in the school's Imaginarium in the library and will last approximately an hour.
Light refreshments will be provided as parents and family hear about tools that not only help students with dyslexia but also help them to thrive in their educational journey.
"Dyslexia is often misunderstood, so taking the time to learn more about it can lead to better support systems in education and work environments," said Misty Zeleskey. "Awareness promotes the message that with the right tools and understanding, people with dyslexia can thrive."
The school has partnered with Learning Ally, a nonprofit volunteer organization that has provided services to individuals with print disabilities and their families for more than 75 years.
The training will primarily focus on the importance of audiobooks in engaging the students and fostering a love of reading, something not always easy when reading is difficult.
"Their intellect is there, just that their reading, writing or spelling is not," said Molly Ellis. "It's about matching their reading level with their brain level.
"You don't want to see them struggling and taking forever to complete a single book, because then they lose some of that joy of reading."
Enter the modern educational audiobook, intended to combat the struggle some young readers face.
While a 2024 consumer survey by Edison Research showed that about 38% of American adults listened to an audiobook in the past year, the ones intended for educational purposes are special.
"While they read the words they hear what a fluent reader sounds like," said Cindy Aldredge. "So many of our students love them. They'll come in talking about what they read last night. It just instills such a love of literature."
Thousands of files with both text and spoken audio can fit on a student's mobile device or tablet, meaning this tool can also encourage reading outside of the classroom.
"The state of Texas has recognized the importance of audiobooks and set up Texas Talking Books," Ellis said. "These are human-read, and the kids can model how good readers sound. This helps with their fluency."
The Talking Book Program provides free library services to qualifying Texans with visual, physical or reading disabilities.
"If you have a fourth-grade student reading on a first-grade level, they see their friends reading 'Harry Potter' or 'The Lightning Thief,' and they want to read these larger, tougher books," Ellis said. "These audiobooks can absolutely help struggling readers and expose them to vocabulary they otherwise would not be."
However, use of the technology to encourage young readers is not across the board.
"A lot of parents and even school teachers think (audiobooks) are not really teaching them how to read," Ellis said, "but the research has been done. It increases fluency and comprehension."
St. Cyprian's previously celebrated Oct. 8, World Dyslexia Day, by wearing red, the color teachers traditionally used to make corrections and feedback in the classroom.
"We celebrate our kids every day, but we enjoy having special days to really lift them up," Aldredge said. "The whole campus was red. It was amazing."
St. Cyprian's Dyslexia Therapy Program uses basic language skill lessons and provides students with individualized one-on-one therapy for 45 minutes each day.
Learning Ally maintains a digital audiobook library of more than 80,000 titles.
Dyslexia is the most common learning disability, affecting 3-7% of the population.
Those interested in attending the event are encouraged to call the St. Cyprian's office to RSVP at (936) 632-1720.