On May 30th Portland Public Schools (PPS) hosted
In this Together: A Dyslexia and Literacy Information Night - Partnering to Help your Struggling Reader
. The evening was organized by PPS staff in conjunction with the PPS Dyslexia Advocates Group. Community Partners besides PPS Dyslexia Advocates Group included Decoding Dyslexia, Books Not Bars, International Dyslexia Association-Oregon Branch, and FACT Oregon.
S
uperintendent Guadalupe Guererro warmly welcomed all and proceeded to announce a dyslexia priority line item of $435,000 in the 2019-20 PPS budget.
This budget includes hiring of a 1.0 FTE Dyslexia Program Administrator, purchasing of evidenced based materials, professional development funds to train teachers including Orton Gillingham training for 12 teachers this summer, and additional funds to communicate with parents.
Gretchen Schlag, PPS Director of Elementary Humanities
, led a group of presenters who discussed various aspects of PPS’s implementation of Oregon dyslexia legislation, and PPS long - term goals for change. The district seems to be proceeding earnestly toward making certain that:
- Teachers are aware of signs of dyslexia and know how to support students with dyslexia.
- Tiered levels of intervention will be implemented district wide.
- SPED staff know how to support students with dyslexia and they can also be a resource for general education teachers
It was truly exciting to see the largest district in Oregon talking about dyslexia in a very transparent and inclusive manner as they work together with families to improve instruction for all students who struggle.
You can find a link to the presentation and questions and answers from the evening’s agenda as well as other dyslexia related documents on the
PPS Dyslexia Resource Page
.
For anyone interested in applying for the Dyslexia Program Administrator Associate Humanities Department position, a job description and application can be found
here
.
Find out more about the PPS Dyslexia Advocacy Group on their
Facebook page.