Kelsey’s Road to Reading Confidence at Scottish Rite

Kelsey’s Road to Reading Confidence at Scottish Rite

by | Jul 13, 2026 | Dyslexia & Learning Disorders

When Kelsey was 8 years old, reading felt impossible. The homeschooled Forney, Texas, student struggled to grasp the basics of recognizing letters and forming words. Her mother, Erin, had taught Kelsey’s three older siblings to read, but with Kelsey, nothing was sticking. They would practice the letter A at breakfast, return after lunch, and Kelsey would stare at the page and ask, “What letter is that?”

“She seemed so frustrated,” Erin recalls. “She would tell me she didn’t think she’d be able to read. As her mom, it was heartbreaking because I wasn’t sure how to help her.”

Something clicked for Erin one afternoon when she contacted a friend whose daughter had dyslexia, a learning difference that makes reading, writing and spelling a challenge. After researching options, Erin discovered the Luke Waites Center for Dyslexia and Learning Disorders at Scottish Rite for Children and submitted the paperwork for a diagnostic evaluation. Kelsey was officially diagnosed with dyslexia and a writing-related learning difference called dysgraphia.

“Once we had the label of dyslexia, it was such a relief,” Erin says. “We knew how to move forward.”

The center has served as a path forward for children like Kelsey for six decades. Founded in 1965, the center has built a reputation as a national leader in dyslexia identification, treatment and education. Its signature dyslexia curriculum, Take Flight, is used by schools, therapists and educators in 48 states and internationally, making it one of the most widely implemented evidence-based programs.

“Our expertise in dyslexia and related learning disorders is recognized because we set a high standard for creating effective programs and training educators to provide guidance for children with dyslexia,” says Sheryl Frierson, M.D., M.Ed., medical director of the center.

Dr. Frierson also emphasizes the importance of their research-driven approach. “What sets us apart is that our programs are not just evidence-based but research-validated, which means that we have conducted formal studies that show our programs improve students’ reading and learning capabilities,” she says. “We rigorously test every curriculum to ensure it truly makes a difference in children’s lives.”

In the fall of 2024, Kelsey joined the center’s Dyslexia Laboratory School, a free program offering specialized instruction for qualifying students in small groups at the Dallas campus. She was placed in Take Flight, a two-year, Orton-Gillingham-based curriculum that uses multisensory methods to address phonemic awareness, phonics, spelling, fluency and comprehension.

Kelsey’s teacher, dyslexia therapist Karla Tavarez, B.A., was eager to take on her first group of students while also studying to become a Take Flight therapist. For Tavarez, the experience was as much about helping her students grow as it was about learning from them. She recognized early on that Kelsey’s greatest challenge was not just decoding words. It was believing she could.

“Kelsey was aware she was struggling, and we had to first build that confidence,” Tavarez says. “What I try to maintain in the classroom is working on the emotional side, alongside learning how to read. I want to make them feel comfortable and let them know they are able to do hard things.”

Kelsey and her mother commuted 40 minutes, four days a week, for two years to the Dyslexia Laboratory School where she attended a 90-minute class. She never complained and rarely missed a class.

In Kelsey’s second year, a pilot program called Write Idea was introduced to complement the Take Flight curriculum. Designed specifically for students with dysgraphia, Write Idea is a 15-minute program led by Tammy Klinkerman, M.Ed., L.D.T., CALT-QI. The curriculum focuses on improving handwriting, spelling, orthography and written expression. By addressing these areas, Write Idea works hand-inhand with Take Flight to provide a comprehensive approach to supporting students with both dyslexia and dysgraphia.

Although writing in cursive was daunting at first, Kelsey embraced the challenge. Cursive handwriting, a cornerstone of the Dyslexia Laboratory School’s approach, plays a key role in helping students connect letters and sounds more effectively. “I wanted to give the program everything I had,” Kelsey explains. “I try to do better every day.”

“We instill in the students that they are in a safe environment and can feel comfortable taking risks,” says Klinkerman, who also coordinates the Dyslexia Laboratory School. “We give students a lot of support within the classroom.” Kelsey’s confidence grew steadily as she mastered the techniques taught in both Take Flight and Write Idea, demonstrating just how impactful these programs can be.

Reflecting on the center’s mission to meet the growing needs of children with dyslexia, Dr. Frierson shares, “Our goal is not just to address students’ immediate challenges but to empower them for a lifetime of success. As we continue to expand our programs, we are committed to ensuring that every child, regardless of where they live, has access to the support they need to unlock their full potential.”

Today, Kelsey is a confident, eager reader, and she intends to use her skills to continue her homeschool curriculum. Outside the classroom, she competes in archery and has her sights set on becoming a veterinarian someday — a goal that anyone who knows her would not doubt for a second.

WFAA: Scottish Rite’s Luke Waites Center Drives Dyslexia Research and Education

WFAA: Scottish Rite’s Luke Waites Center Drives Dyslexia Research and Education

by | Nov 3, 2025 | Dyslexia & Learning Disorders, Press Coverage

WFAA recently featured the Luke Waites Center for Dyslexia and Learning Disorders at Scottish Rite for Children in honor of Dyslexia Awareness Month.

For more than 60 years, the Center has transformed the lives of children with dyslexia through innovative, research-based programs like the Dyslexia Laboratory School and the Take Flight curriculum.

Developed and piloted at Scottish Rite, these programs provide individualized instruction that builds reading skills, confidence, and independence. Now implemented in districts like Fort Worth ISD, their impact continues to grow.

Watch the full story on WFAA here.

Spectrum News 1: Fort Worth ISD approves launch of Bridges and Take Flight Programs

Spectrum News 1: Fort Worth ISD approves launch of Bridges and Take Flight Programs

by | Jun 30, 2025 | Dyslexia & Learning Disorders, Press Coverage

Fort Worth ISD is celebrating significant gains in 2025 STAAR test scores, with most grade levels and subjects showing improvement and several surpassing district targets.

At a recent board meeting, the district also approved the launch of two dyslexia intervention programs this fall, both developed by the expert team at the Luke Waites Center for Dyslexia and Learning Disorders at Scottish Rite for Children.

“The curriculum, scope and sequence, and lessons of both programs are the same,” says Debra Buchanan, Ed.D., the Administrative Director of the Luke Waites Center for Dyslexia and Learning Disorders. “Bridges uses the Take Flight curriculum, and so the difference is just the delivery. Bridges is assisted by the avatar, and they co-teach with the teacher who has the scripted lesson of Take Flight.”

Karen Avit, Director of Dyslexia Education, emphasizes that the purpose of these programs, much like other forms of therapy, is to prioritize and address the individual needs of each child. To ensure students receive specialized support, educators undergo additional intensive training beyond their standard credentials.

“The teacher is taught in a two-year program to become a therapist, past all their other schooling,” Karen says.

Both programs are set to begin in Fort Worth ISD this upcoming school year.

Watch the full report on Spectrum News 1.

DFWChild: Decoding Dyslexia and Depression

DFWChild: Decoding Dyslexia and Depression

by | May 9, 2025 | Dyslexia & Learning Disorders, Press Coverage

Scottish Rite for Children’s Luke Waites Center for Dyslexia and Learning Disorders was established to help identify and treat children with various learning disorders, such as dyslexia. Dyslexia is a learning difference which causes children to have difficulties with reading and spelling. In order to care for the whole child, it’s important to identify other factors, like depression, that may arise when receiving care for leanring differences. 

Read more in DFWChild. 

Scottish Rite for Children Creates Web-Based Dyslexia Program to Meet Growing Demand

Scottish Rite for Children Creates Web-Based Dyslexia Program to Meet Growing Demand

by | Apr 21, 2025 | Dyslexia & Learning Disorders, Press Coverage

Scottish Rite for Children has expanded its award-winning suite of dyslexia curricula with the launch of a web-based intervention that reduces teacher training time and cost while preserving high-quality, evidence-based instruction. The new curriculum cuts teacher training time from two years to 10 days by integrating a web-based virtual instructor who co-teaches each lesson. The research-tested curriculum accelerates student outcomes and gives school districts greater flexibility to meet the increasing demand for dyslexia intervention.

Bridges: A Dyslexia Intervention Connecting Teacher, Avatar and Student was written by the experts at Scottish Rite’s Luke Waites Center for Dyslexia and Learning Disorders. The curriculum is based on Scottish Rite’s Take Flight program, which is the national standard for dyslexia education for children 7 and up. While Take Flight requires an academic language therapist to teach the curriculum, Bridges provides classroom and special education teachers with scripted resources, interactive tools, and a virtual co-teacher, Ms. Hallie, who consistently delivers the new learning portions of each lesson via a large screen in the classroom.

“We developed our innovative Bridges curriculum to help school districts meet the growing demand for dyslexia intervention,” said Karen Avrit, M.Ed., CALT, QI, director of Dyslexia Education at Scottish Rite. “It’s designed to be more accessible while still offering a high-quality, research-tested program. We’re delighted to see the positive feedback from administrators and teachers alike, and the students love it because it’s fun and helps them succeed.”

Avrit is a leading expert in the field of dyslexia education, writing, editing, and teaching multiple dyslexia and reading comprehension curricula, including the widely used Take Flight: A Comprehensive Intervention for Students with Dyslexia. To create Bridges, Avrit worked with a team at The University of Texas Dallas to bring Ms. Hallie to life. Now, decades of dyslexia education expertise have been captured in a state-of-the-art virtual learning tool that will help children in classrooms around the country learn to read and comprehend.

To evaluate the effectiveness of the Bridges curriculum, dyslexia researchers compared literacy outcomes for students in the Bridges program to students receiving the already highly-validated Take Flight intervention. Researchers conducted the IRB-approved study (Institutional Review Board) in public school classrooms across several North Texas-area school districts, comparing the progress of 162 students during two academic years. Results indicated that the two groups demonstrated comparatively similar growth in oral and written language skills, suggesting that the tech-assisted Bridges program and the traditional Take Flight program are similarly effective in improving literacy outcomes for students with dyslexia.

The percentage of students diagnosed with dyslexia is growing. In Texas, it doubled from 3% in 2017 to 6% in 2023. School districts are under pressure to identify and provide help for students diagnosed with dyslexia. A new Texas law passed in 2023 has brought the issue to the forefront, reshaping dyslexia education and intervention in public schools. Dyslexia education now falls under special education.

“At Scottish Rite, we are focused on giving children back their childhood, and we are proud to partner with school districts to meet the mounting needs of students with dyslexia. Our goal is to offer greater access to an evidence-based, structured program that gives students confidence and skills to learn and reach their full potential,” Avrit said.

Bridges is a two-year program designed for children ages 7 and older. Students can participate in hour-long lessons four days a week or 45-minute lessons five days a week. The virtual instructor uses 15 to 20 minutes of each lesson to deliver the more complex aspects of the dyslexia intervention. This includes the proper mouth and facial movements associated with making the correct letter sounds. The certified teacher provides live instruction based on scripted materials and interacts with students to answer questions and control the rate of instruction. This combination of teacher and avatar ensures the student receives the most consistent, accurate instruction while progressing through the curriculum at a pace that works for them. The Texas Education Agency has included the Bridges curriculum on its list of approved dyslexia interventions.

Additional information about Bridges, including its newly lowered price for the 2025-2026 school year, can be found here.

Levi Soars To Success With Take Flight

Levi Soars To Success With Take Flight

by | Oct 4, 2024 | Dyslexia & Learning Disorders

“We thank God for connecting us with Scottish Rite,” says Levi’s dad, Josh. “Levi was unable to recognize his letters when we first arrived, and now he’s reading chapter books.”

Nine-year-old Levi, of Arlington, is a creative spirit with a passion for reading. Each book offers him a chance to immerse himself in new adventures. With support from his family and care team at Scottish Rite, Levi is confidently navigating life with dyslexia.

Levi is the second youngest out of eight children, all homeschooled by their mom, Kelly. When it was time for Levi to start kindergarten, Kelly recognized his struggle with reading from her past experiences.

“Our second oldest daughter, Grace, was in first grade when my wife noticed she was having difficulty reading,” Josh says. “We were still living in Austin at the time, and Grace was diagnosed with dyslexia. We worked closely with a local language therapist to provide Grace with the tools she needed. She just graduated college in 2023!”

At age 5, Levi was evaluated by experts at Scottish Rite for Children’s Luke Waites Center for Dyslexia and Learning Disorders. After his assessment, Levi was diagnosed with dyslexia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

“If parents suspect there might be an issue, we encourage getting your child evaluated as quickly as possible,” Josh says. “Once you know dyslexia is the diagnosis, don’t panic. There is nothing wrong with your child. Your child’s brain just processes things differently. In fact, Kelly and I view dyslexia as a gift.”

According to the American Psychiatric Association, 5 to 15% of children have a learning disability, and approximately 80% of all children diagnosed with a learning disorder have dyslexia. Dyslexia is a condition which causes difficulty with reading and spelling. This results in a child’s trouble to read aloud, express themselves and connect sounds to written words or letters. ADHD is characterized by an inability to focus on one task and excess movement during tasks. Programs, like Scottish Rite’s Take Flight: A Comprehensive Intervention for Students with Dyslexia , are designed as an early intervention to equip children with essential learning strategies and boost their overall school performance.

“We were looking into finding private language therapy for Levi, just like we had done for our daughter,” Josh says. “It turned out there was an opening for Levi to enroll in the Take Flight program at Scottish Rite. We jumped at this chance.”

With help from his instructors and language therapists, Levi discovered what learning looked like for him. His writing, reading and math skills improved over the 2-year curriculum, and he began taking medication for his ADHD to help him focus on different assignments. Now, he has discovered a new passion for learning!

“We have seen a great progress since Levi started this program,” Josh says. “Levi’s language therapists helped him in ways we could only dream of. His confidence has grown exponentially as a result.”

Now in second grade, Levi has officially graduated from Take Flight’s program. His motivation to learn and passion for reading has only grown since then, and it is a gift to us to continue to watch him flourish!

 “At times, it brings tears to our eyes to hear Levi read,” Josh says. “He has come so far in such a short amount of time. We are incredibly thankful for the impact Scottish Rite made in Levi’s life.”