Maris and her little sister before their first day of school
Maris having fun at a spa
WHO IS MARIS?
Maris just started third grade at Gillispie School in La Jolla. She is a gifted artist, a social butterfly and a precocious child who can engage in a stimulating discussion about anything from raising puppies to building robots.
But alas, Maris’ life has not been easy. Having dyslexia on both sides of her family, Maris was at risk for academic failure. Sure enough, she did not acquire the readiness skills that most preschoolers develop through osmosis, and unlike most kids entering kindergarten, she had not mastered basic phonics. While most of her classmates were already reading the Bob books, she was wrestling with the sound-letter pairs. She was near the bottom of her class!
The expose’ that follows describes how Cheyenne, Maris’ mother and first miracle worker, got her daughter the best possible education; and through the passion and talents of the brightest educators and dyslexia specialists in the business, got Maris on the right path.
Maris and her mother, Cheyenne, enjoying brunch at their favorite spot for a ladies day out!
Cheyenne, older brother Davin, littler sister Nalea, and Maris
MARIS’ JOURNEY
Maris has always been a loquacious child who can talk her way out of a paper bag. Fully aware of Maris’ intelligence, Cheyenne was determined that Maris would learn to read. They drilled and killed phonics… they reviewed and repeated the sounds and letters… but Maris wasn’t catching on. Cheyenne was certain that her sassy daughter was failing to try!
When second grade proved to be another obstacle, Cheyenne took Maris to Dr. Amy Ellis, a clinical psychologist who specializes in reading disabilities. Dr. Ellis diagnosed Maris with dyslexia. Shortly after, Maris was enrolled at Gillispie’s Student Learning Center. Their miraculous team provided Maris with a solid mastery of phonics and a bank of sight words, which got Maris’ reading up to speed. By the end of 2nd grade, Maris was reading at grade level!
MARIS’ SPELLING IS A DISASTER!
But her spelling! What was wrong with her spelling? It was a disaster! It was so bad that Maris’ writing was usually illegible!
“Girl noks bar draon slams dor in fase.”
Did you get that? Maris was trying to write, “The girl knocks, but the dragon slams the door in her face.”
You might be wondering how important is spelling? VERY IMPORTANT! Poor spelling impedes future education and career opportunities! Not only that, improving a student’s spelling automatically increases reading fluency AND comprehension!!
Tracy, Maris’ Literacy Specialist, targets her spelling using our unique integrated approach
Maris is using her new techniques to carefully spell out her words
THE SCHOLARSHIP WINNER
It was that concern that prompted her miraculous teacher, Mia Nielson, to nominate Maris for the Schuller Dyslexia Scholarship—a program right here in our Del Mar office for promising dyslexic students who are nominated by their teachers based on their great work ethic and financial need.
So now it’s our turn—we are the newest members of Maris’ Miracle Team. We have created a spelling curriculum just for Maris! With a solid program of phonemic awareness, morphemic awareness and basic spelling rules, we can help Maris spell over 90% of our English words. We will give Maris the groundwork for a lifetime of success.
Maris’ scholarship will run from Summer through Fall. We will report back on her progress in future newsletters. We are thrilled to have this opportunity to give Maris a brighter future!
Spotlight on Success
Meet our new Literacy Specialists!
Yashna Bowen, B.S., M.S.
Yashna comes to us with a B.S. in Cognitive Science and an M.S in Child Development. As a bilingual speaker of Hindi and English, combined with her extensive experience in early childhood mental health, Yashna brings great value to our practice.
Tracy Sinclair, B.A.
After growing up in Texas, Tracy moved to Southern California to complete her Bachelor’s Degree. While attending USC, she was hired as a tutor with their Readers Plus program, where she honed her teaching skills. With her extensive experience and passion for teaching, it is our great fortune to add Tracy to our team!