Page 14 - South Mississippi Living - December, 2020

COAST NOTE
story by Susan Ruddiman photos by Arielle Palady
OPENS IN OCEAN SPRINGS
The Lighthouse Academy for Dyslexia
in Ocean Springs is a small school with a large purpose. It is the only special purpose school serving children in rst through sixth grades from Baton Rouge to the west, Mobile to the east and Petal to the north.
A group of 33 elementary aged students from Hancock, Harrison and Jackson counties are fortunate to get an education that speci cally addresses their learning issues.
According to the Lighthouse Academy website, dyslexia is a learning disability that is neurological in origin. It is characterized by di culties with accurate or uent
word recognition and by poor spelling
and decoding abilities. This could result
in problems in reading comprehension, reduced reading experience and impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge.
A school specializing in dyslexia came
to the area three years ago as the 3-D School out of Petal near Hattiesburg. The Mississippi Gulf Coast campus found a home in the former Taconi elementary building on Ward Avenue behind the Mary C. O’Keefe Cultural Center. In January 2020, the 3-D School announced it would close its doors because the administration
decided to concentrate on expanding in the Pine Belt area.
Based on need in the area, the Lighthouse Academy for Dyslexia was formed, said Traci Barrientos, executive director. Its
rst day of class was August 3. Research has shown the sooner a child gets help for dyslexia, the better the school experience is for the child.
There is a higher teacher-student ratio at Lighthouse Academy. Each day starts with a reading lab and language arts intervention when the students are fresh. Their lab instructors are adult students from William Carey University who are earning their masters degrees in dyslexia therapy. The rest of the school session is taken up with regular lessons, physical education, art classes and more.
Looking ahead, Barrientos said the Lighthouse Academy would like to o er
its own comprehensive evaluation services, work with local universities to be a learning facility and form partnerships with school districts to help more students.
“We hope to expand to double our size, reaching all six coastal counties,” Barrientos said. “We take calls everyday with more requests to take students than we have spaces.”
Lighthouse Academy of Dyslexia
610 Ward Ave., Ocean Springs 601.447.3023 www.lighthousedyslexia.org
Lighthouse Academy Teachers
Art Class
14 | December 2020 www.smliving.net | SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living