Teachers take part in new dyslexia therapy degree program

HATTIESBURG, MS (WDAM) - About two dozen teachers from across Mississippi are in Hattiesburg this summer, learning how to work with students who have dyslexia and related disorders. They are the first educators to seek degrees in a new program being offered by William Carey University.

It's the Master of Education in Dyslexia Therapy.

Orientation was held Saturday.

Among those attending was State Representative Larry Byrd, who authored a law which will provide scholarships for students enrolled in the program.

He also has dyslexia.

"In the process of looking at legislation and trying to think of ways to get help for these children, I discovered that I have dyslexia and it explains so much of my life," he said. "And it's amazing to me how things have just come together with the right people at the right time," he said.

"I wanted to come back to school, get my master's in this and be able to help these children progress on to be better students," said Holli Hinton, a teacher at Laurel Christian School.

"My ultimate goal is to help every child with dyslexia, take them from where they are and move them forward," said Brandi Smith, a teacher at Northwest Rankin Middle School. "But, I also would like to be able to go back and help my fellow educators who don't have the training," she said.

The degree will require 30 hours of classroom study and 720 hours of supervised clinical work.

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