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Professional Learning

Dyslexia Symposium

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Empowering Students Who Think And Learn Differently Symposium features keynotes and a variety of breakout sessions addressing a range of topics including Language Remediation and Literacy Instruction, ADHD, Social Emotional Wellness, Executive Functions, and Innovative Classroom Practices.  Explore new strategies for success and learn about emerging trends from top-notch speakers.

This year's Keynote Speakers:

Pete Shrock is the Chief Content Creator @KGH Leadership. Pete is a visionary executive and leadership strategist with 20+ years of experience helping organizations develop resilient teams and navigate change. Pete’s career spans corporate leadership, military consulting, and trauma-informed strategy development, working with Fortune 500 firms, U.S. Navy Seals, professional athletes, and high-growth start-ups. Pete’s journey from struggling dyslexic learner to successful entrepreneur and visionary executive brings a unique and authentic perspective that you won’t want to miss. 

Dr. Joanna Christodoulou is a professor at MGH Institute of Health in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She holds a BA in Biology - Psychology and Biomedical Engineering from Tufts University, a MA in Child Development from Tufts University, a EdM in Mind, Brain, and Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and an EdD in Human Development and Psychology from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. 

The Symposium will be held on Friday, October 3, 2025. Please contact Dr. Scott Bray if you have questions. 

Dyslexia Simulation

Held each year in October, during Dyslexia Awareness Month, the Dyslexia Simulation is designed to offer a glimpse into what our students experience on a daily basis. Attendees gain a deeper understanding of students' unique experiences and the barriers they encounter in and out if the classroom.

 

Keystone Course

This 30-hour course is an introductory survey course of The New Community School’s structured literacy approach. Students with dyslexia and language-related difficulties require this approach to close the gap between their intellectual potential and reading and spelling achievement. The course begins with an introduction to dyslexia and characteristics of dyslexia, followed by an overview of the Keystone approach and manual, and includes opportunities to discuss case studies of students, their cognitive profiles, administration and analysis of language testing, and diagnostic and prescriptive instruction.

Course participants will:

  • Create a student notebook as they learn to teach reading through a diagnostic and prescriptive instructional approach,
  • Learn multi-sensory techniques to improve reading and spelling accuracy,
  • Learn to develop materials that provide flexibility for individualizing instruction and for reference and review, and
  • Receive guidance for teaching individual students as well as small group instruction.

Each participant will receive a copy of the instructional manual, Keystone: A Guide for Teaching Language Structure. The manual outlines an explicit, systematic, sequential and cumulative system for reading instruction that uses multi-sensory intervention strategies and develops student skills in phonology, sound-symbol correspondences, syllable patterns, and morphology.

Questions? Contact Beth Petzer, Keystone Course Facilitator