Originally from Florida, the Hall's brought their family to Park City to ski for many years. "We loved Park City. We heard the schools were great, so we took the plunge and moved out here."
There was a lot more than just a big move at stake. The Hall's son, Alex, was going to be a junior. And, he had dyslexia.
"I was one of those parents that just knew something was wrong," says Karen. "I knew my son was intelligent and a deep thinker, but as he went through kindergarten, he wasn't getting certain associations. One night his teacher called me and said you're right - something's not right.
"We were very lucky. We got Alex private testing and into a multi-sensory program for a year. The intervention was huge. I feel it was literally lifesaving.
"At Park City High, he had amazing help and care and support, better than our expensive private school in Florida. And, he met his best friend, who also had dyslexia. Unfortunately, his friend hadn't been diagnosed until middle school, and still had a lot of struggles. We were inspired by him to make a difference. We decided we wanted to help with early detection.
"At about the same time, we met up with the folks from
PC READS. They helped us work with the District and figure out the best way to utilize the gift we wanted to make. Multi sensory curriculum and training for teachers is very expensive, so we are using our gift to test this out, and, if the implementation goes well, hopefully it will spread to Park City's other elementary schools. The purpose of our Foundation is for early detection and treatment of children with the gift of dyslexia, and to help the Park City School District become nationally recognized as a leader in this cause.
"Alex's doctor calls dyslexia a gift. He told us, 'Alex will develop a great work ethic, he will have compassion for others, and he will learn not everything can be bought or given to you. He will learn to think outside of the box.' Our hope is to give Park City children who struggle with reading and dyslexia that gift.
"By giving to PCEF, we can help make this happen, and, they will assess and evaluate the pilot's implementation. Through PCEF, we can help PCSD go beyond what public education provides.
