LAUREL, Md. – March 21, 2011 – Kelly Coffey used to agonize over reading about extreme Rollerblading more than he’d worry about popping an “Ollie” or pulling a mid-air “Indy.” At 16, Kelly could skate like a champ, but he said he could barely read.

“I would just look at the pictures in my extreme Rollerblade or BMX bike magazines then shove them off to the side. I didn’t care about reading,” said Coffey, of Jessup, Md. “But, reading doesn’t intimidate me anymore. I’ve done a ‘180.’ I have more confidence in myself when I see words on a page.”

Now 19 and in his third year at High Road Academy, Coffee’s reading skills are dramatically improved. He isn’t alone. More than 350 “special needs” students who attended High Road Academy over the past eight years show “accelerated progress” in their basic reading and math skills said academy director Ellen Gaske.

“Studies show that youngsters who are poor readers at age 9 continue to be poor readers the rest of their time in school and that gap only widens,” Gaske said. “We work hard at High Road Academy to close that gap. Instead of losing ground, our students are gaining ground and their performance is accelerated.”

Gaske explained, when it comes to identifying words, High Road students exhibited 3.1-years worth of progress in just two years. Their ability to comprehend what they read improved 3.3-years over two years and it improved by 3.7-years over a two-years period for reading technical material like science texts. Similarly, the 350 students Gaske tracked showed 3.3-years worth of progress in comprehensive math skills during a two-year period at High Road Academy.

“These accelerated progress rates are just phenomenal. Our dedicated High Road staff is making a real difference in these students’ lives. As a result, our students are truly ahead of students at every other school of this kind in the country,” said Michael Kaufman, President & CEO of Specialized Education Services Inc. (SESI), the Yardley, Pa. firm that operates the school.

School districts in Carroll, Montgomery, Anne Arundel and Howard counties, and the District of Columbia, refer students to High Road Academy, which specializes in instruction for 4th-through-12th grade students with language-based learning disabilities such as dyslexia, auditory processing disorders, Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

High Road Academy teachers use research-based techniques that have proven effective at raising academic performance in students with learning disabilities, Gaske explained. “The difference is we apply these methods with more frequency and intensity than most other schools can provide.”

“Once we identify each student’s weaknesses in reading, language arts and math, we create an individualized program for them,” said reading specialist Debbie Anderson.  “Our students get a daily, two-hour dose of reading instruction. Those lessons are re-emphasized throughout the day during their other lessons. In our 6½ hour day, they get five or six hours of reinforcement. That’s amazing.”

How amazing? Ask Kelly Coffey. “Our teachers help us stay focused. We spend a lot of time on reading, but they also keep the classroom fun and comfortable. It wasn’t like this at my old school,” said Coffey, who came to High Road from Hammond High School in Columbia, Md.

To learn more about the High Road Academy in Laurel, Md., and the other 43 schools that SESI operates in 11 states and the District of Columbia, please visit www.sesi-schools.com.
                               
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– Tony Gallotto,  for Jaffe Communications Inc.