Gunbarrel's Hillside School seeks to expand its intensive dyslexia program

Jul. 16—Gunbarrel's Hillside School is planning to expand to meet increased demand for spots in its intensive program for students with dyslexia, along with adding space for evaluations, community information meetings and teacher training.

"Just through word of mouth, our waitlist is increasing every year," said Lindsay Eddy, Hillside's development director. "Prior to COVID, we had a 35% increase in admission requests. We had even more during COVID. The demand is really strong. We were hearing from families who were feeling desperate to get their kids in, and we didn't have space."

Dyslexia is a learning disability that affects language processing and can range from mild to severe. Advocates say Hillside is the only school in Boulder County specializing in working with students whose dyslexia is moderate to severe.

The private school's request to construct a larger building and increase its enrollment to up to 136 students recently was conditionally approved by the Boulder County commissioners.

The school now operates in a 4,264-square-foot building, as well as renting classroom space at the adjacent Niwot United Methodist Church and using the church parking lot as overflow parking, if needed.

A final vote on the change, incorporating additional requests for a parking agreement and a drop-off and pick-up plan, is expected at a future commissioners meeting. Boulder County commissioners stipulated that, if the 40 church parking spots become unavailable, the school would need to decrease its enrollment before the start of the next school year.

Hillside opened in 2005, moving to its current location at 7415 Lookout Road in Gunbarrel Estates in 2017. After initially renting, Hillside bought the building in 2018. A school is allowed on the property under a previous special use agreement.

School leaders are proposing a new, 14,284-square-foot building with 13 classrooms that would be constructed in two phases at a total cost of about $8 million. In the first phase, the plan is to build onto the existing building to add classroom space.

At Hillside, one teacher works with four students on reading, writing and math in three-hour, intensive daily sessions. Students attend either a morning or an afternoon session. For the other half of the day, they attend regular schools or are homeschooled.

On average, according to the school, students return to their regular schools full time within two years.

"Our goal is to give kids the skills they need to transition out of Hillside," Eddy said.

The school's building accommodates 32 students in each of the morning and afternoon sessions, for a total of 64. Another 16 students — eight in each session — attend at the church. Altogether, the school now serves 80 students, ages 6 to 14.

The existing special use agreement allows for up to 110 students. The new agreement increases that number to 136, or 68 for each session. The expansion also would allow the school to add high school students.

Phase two would knock down the current building and add space for community outreach activities, including evaluations while families wait for a formal diagnosis.

"For kids flagged with a learning disability, there's usually a six- to 12-month wait list for an evaluation to be diagnosed," Eddy said. "We can't give a diagnosis, but we can talk about how their learning is impacted in the classroom and offer suggestions of what to do next."

The phase two construction also would add room for the speaker series and information sessions that are now offered online, as well as an information area for families with children who are newly diagnosed. Another addition would be space to hold training sessions for other public and private school teachers.

"The thing we kept hearing from our families over and over again was the lack of awareness about dyslexia in the classroom outside of Hillside," Eddy said. "Courses for teachers is something we want to grow. That's our grassroots way of helping the dyslexic community."

Several parents spoke at the recent Boulder County commissioners meeting about the need for Hillside's services.

Kym Hansler, who has an 11-year-old son at Hillside and can see the school from her front yard, said she understands construction may be annoying to the school's neighbors. But, she said, any inconvenience is outweighed by the school's potential to help children like hers.

She said her son was in kindergarten when he switched from a happy kid to one exhibiting signs of depression as he struggled with reading. A friend who is a reading specialist suggested a dyslexia evaluation.

Once diagnosed, he began attending Hillside in first grade. Now, she said, he's reading at grade level and thriving, along with making plans to attend MIT for college. She added Hillside taught him to see his learning differences as a strength, not a weakness.

"These students are so smart," she said. "They are so unique. It's a strength, if we can shelve our preconceived notions. For our kids, Hillside is a necessity."