Ella Beaudoin, who is a sixth-grader, has largely overcome dyslexia to win an essay contest sponsored by the National Geographic Society, according to an article by Emily Kaiser that appeared in the Minneapolis (MN, US) Star Tribune. Ms. Kaiser attributes Ms. Beaudoin’s success to is a transfer from a public to a private school when Ms. Beaudoin was in third grade.
Dyslexia was disrupting Ella’s ability to read and write, dividing her from the rest of the class. Some kids called her stupid.
Now in sixth grade, the 11-year-old Minneapolis girl is a winner in a national essay contest that will send her to the Galapagos Islands on the first National Geographic Kids Expedition Team.
The differences between public and private schools, especially those that specialize in helping children with disabilities (Groves Academy, in this case) are many. Ms. Kaiser refers to the small pupil-teacher ratio (an important feature of special education), but there are also other potentially important factors. Indeed, I’d have to guess that there was probably someone at Groves Academy who knew how to teach literacy skills effectively.
Link to Ms. Kaiser’s article about Ella.
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