Reading, writing and serving

Nonprofit seeking help to stay afloat

By Ed Mahon

FERGUSON TOWNSHIP — During a tutoring session, Jacob Farris snaps metal clips onto a table to show he can distinguish between the "k" and the "c" sounds. The fun part comes afterward, when the 9-year-old uses a magnetic device to scoop up the pieces.

His other favorite moment comes at the end of the hourlong session.

“The reading, of course,” said Jacob, a blond third-grader at Easterly Parkway Elementary School who pores through Lego magazines and enjoys “Star Wars” and “Magic Tree House” books. At the end of a recent tutoring session, he read an excerpt of “The Boxcar Children” series to his tutor.

Jacob is one of 16 students with dyslexia being tutored at the 32° Masonic Learning Center for Children on West College Avenue. Children ages 6 to 18 attend the sessions twice a week, free of charge.

There are 59 such centers in 15 states, but that number will likely decrease. Citing the national recession and a loss from investments, officials from the center’s national headquarters in Massachusetts plan to close eight centers.

In Altoona, parents are attempting to raise more than $100,000 by August to keep their learning center open. Meanwhile, the Ferguson Township center will remain open and may even increase enrollment. But half of its operating budget for next year, expected to be about $115,000, will have to come from local donations. That percentage will increase each subsequent year.

The nonprofit’s board of governors has been working on possible fundraising options, such as jewelry sales and a capital campaign. They’re planning to host a walk-a-thon in August.

Parents say the center provides an invaluable service.

“I have seen huge improvements in spelling and writing,” said Julie Farris, who recalled “the pulling-your-hair-out kind of frustration” her son, Jacob, used to experience.

Tools to learn

The local center opened in 2007 in Suite 2 of Ferguson Square Park, and accepts students from throughout central Pennsylvania. The curriculum is based on the Orton-Gillingham method of reading instruction.

“We’re giving them the tools that they need to then learn on their own,” said

director Marsha Landis, who tutored at a similar center in Scranton. “What we do is they see it, hear it and feel it — so that they connect the sounds with the letters.”

That’s why Jacob uses the metal pieces during the lesson. Other parts of the sessions rely on similar methods that break down reading and writing into steps. Jacob will do finger spelling to tackle words such as twitch, splotch, handcuffs and lipstick.

The process works like this: listen to his instructor say the word and watch how her mouth forms the sounds; say the word; break down the syllables and sound them out; write out each syllable; proof the work by coding it, a technique used to pronounce different sounds correctly; then say the word.

Jacob’s twin brother, Joseph, is also enrolled in the program, but he has not been attending as long as Jacob. Joseph and his teacher will sometimes throw a ball back and forth, saying two letters of the alphabet before each toss.

For sentences such as, “Six flagpoles are made of concrete,” Jacob will use the C.O.P.S. method to proof his work — checking for capitalization, order, punctuation and spelling.

Jayne Cawthern, a tutor at the center and substitute in the State College Area School District, said she’s found the C.O.P.S method effective with non-dyslexic students.

“It’s just a way to remind them to check for all those different things that they might not have looked for on their own,” said Cawthern, who started as a tutor two years ago when the center first opened.

Hour of hard work

Tutors and students work one on one at the five-room center.

“This is a challenging area for him. So it’s an hour of hard work,” said Brenda Lucas, whose 9-year-old son Max was referred to the program through an eye doctor. The 15-to 20-minute reading session at the end is an important reward.

There are four paid tutors, and four instructors who will receive certification in the method once they log 100 hours of training experience. The center has a waiting list of 10 students.

Landis, the center’s director, expects to have 24 students next year with six paid tutors and six tutors working toward certification. Many of the tutors have education backgrounds, but all that’s required is a bachelor’s degree in any field.

Nancy Sommer is both a tutor and the parent of a student. She credits the program with enabling her daughter, a third-grader at Our Lady of Victory Catholic School, to get to grade level for reading. It’s also helped with self-confidence.

“She realizes how much she’s improved and she feels very good about that,” Sommer said.

Cracking puzzles

Dyslexia normally affects people of average or above average intelligence, and the symptoms vary. Max Lucas, a third-grader at Radio Park Elementary School, has difficulty with the physical act of writing, forming the letters and hearing the sounds in words.

For the Farris boys, reversing letters and numbers poses a challenge.

“One of the things they’re working on here is teaching them to write in cursive because it’s a lot harder to reverse letters in cursive,” said their mother, Julie Farris. “So they get kind of a head start on that.”

She said the center also has helped her twins keep their A’s in math — a favorite subject of theirs and one that requires more reading skills as they grow older.

She’s also found slips of paper around the house, with little code marks written on them. Coding sounds is one of the steps they learn to pronounce the words, and it has hooked the twins.

“It’s like a game or a puzzle to them,” she said.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: 32° Masonic Learning Center for Children open house

WHEN: May 12 and 13 from 4 to 8 p.m.

WHERE: 2766 W. College Ave., Suite 2

INFO:Call 234-2105 or e-mailmlccstatecollege@verizon.net

The center is seeking tutors, as well as donations of money, books and time.

Ed Mahon can be reached at 231-4619.