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Plans for Staten Island School for Dyslexic Kids to Go Before Parents

By Nicholas Rizzi | February 9, 2017 2:41pm
 Borough President James Oddo will host three public information sessions around the borough for his proposed charter school dedicated to students with dyslexia.
Borough President James Oddo will host three public information sessions around the borough for his proposed charter school dedicated to students with dyslexia.
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DNAinfo/Nicholas Rizzi

STATEN ISLAND — Plans for a charter school dedicated to Staten Island students with dyslexia will be discussed at public meetings being held by Borough President James Oddo this month.

Oddo announced three public information sessions for his proposed school.

"We understand the frustration that many of our children are feeling. They are bright and intelligent, but cannot seem to learn to read and process as easily as their peers," Oddo said in a statement.

"Our goal is to create a school whose classroom staff is trained to recognize and teach students with dyslexia and other language-based learning difficulties. The planning team that we formed has done a wonderful job developing this new charter school, but we also want public input to make sure we are serving the needs of our community."

The first session will be on at 10 a.m. on Feb. 11 at St. Joseph by-the-Sea High School, at 5150 Hylan Blvd.

A second will be on Feb. 13, at New Dorp High School, 465 New Dorp Lane, at 7 p.m. A session originally scheduled for Thursday at Central Family Life Center, 59 Wright Ave., was pushed back to Feb. 15 at 7 p.m. because of the snowstorm.

Last year, Oddo announced he was working to set up a charter school dedicated to students with dyslexia after parents complained of a lack of options in the borough.

He later appointed longtime Staten Island educator Tim Castanza as the school's executive director and plans to file a full application next month.

The school would use the Orton-Gillingham method of teaching students with language-based disabilities and would allow them to return to other schools once they master skills, Oddo said.

If approved, Oddo hopes the school will open in 2018.