‘Set an example’: Parents call for dyslexia resources in West Ada School District

Some parents in the West Ada School District are calling for more action to help students with dyslexia.

West Ada School District Board Chair Lori Frasure hosted a town hall meeting at Owyhee High School last Wednesday where parents could express concerns. Frasure said the first thing on her mind was growth, and she asked parents what they would like to see done in the district.

There were complaints about lengthy bus commutes and repurposing old buildings, but one group of parents said their biggest concern was the lack of resources offered to students with dyslexia — even with new legislation in place meant to alleviate that.

In 2022, Idaho passed a law requiring schools to offer screenings to students with characteristics of dyslexia and provide training for K-12 teachers “not later than the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year.”

According to the State Department of Education website, the schedule for training teachers has not yet been decided.

The Idaho Statesman previously reported that the new law directs districts to provide evidence-based interventions that align with Idaho comprehensive literacy plan and the state dyslexia handbook.

Parents with Decoding Dyslexia Idaho said at the town hall that they continue to spend thousands of dollars out of pocket on outside specialists so their children can learn to read. The group’s president, Robin Zikmund, said West Ada has a responsibility as the largest school district in the state to set a precedent in terms of its dyslexia resources.

The West Ada School District serves nearly 39,000 students, according to fall enrollment data from the Idaho Department of Education. The district includes 58 elementary, middle and high schools.

“I pay 800 a month for my son, and that’s a sacrifice for my family because we’re not getting help at school,” one mother said at the meeting. “I can afford that, even if it’s a sacrifice, but what about all the other families? It’s one in five.”

Dyslexia, defined as a language-based learning disability, is estimated to affect 15% to 20% of the population, according to the International Dyslexia Association.

Frasure said she understands the concerns of the parents and indicated that her mother has dyslexia.

“We’re just weeks into having the proper legislation that we’re hoping to get funding to move forward with that, and then we’re waiting for the district to present to us what they’d like to see,” Frasure said at the meeting. “I know they’ve talked to us recently about putting together a task force.”

Frasure asked what three things the district ought to do to help its dyslexic students, to which parents said the district must provide training, more intervention tactics and transparency.

Parents said the district ought to train teachers how to recognize and help students with dyslexia, first and foremost.

According to the Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity, early signs of dyslexia include difficulty recognizing rhyming patterns, trouble reading and remembering the names of letters, the inability to sound out simple words, poor memory recall and mispronouncing words.

Parents said the second thing the district must do is offer a defined intervention program that keeps track of a student’s literacy progress. They also asked that the district be transparent with the steps and resources it takes to help students.

“We came here tonight because I’m tired of being told they don’t have money,” Zikmund told the Statesman. “I expect some action from West Ada at this point. I’ve played nice for six years and I moved my efforts to the state level. Now I’m ready for West Ada to set an example for the rest of the school districts.”