oplar Bluff High School Junior Carson Davis, son of Matthew and Jeannette Davis of Poplar Bluff, attended a summer school program at The Gow School in South Wales, N. Y., a prestigious school which has served dyslexic students since 1926. Davis was awarded the Breck Davis Award for his determination to overcome his challenges, working hard to improve his skills, being a positive role model to the younger students and upholding the four pillars that guide the Gow School -- kindness, respect, honesty, and hard work.
His severe dyslexia has made school very difficult for Carson since early elementary at Oak Grove. Most teachers want to do what they can for students, but educators, like Carson's mother, simply aren't taught about dyslexia or what to do for the students who struggle because of it. The Gow School experience helped give Carson a taste of success, as well as opportunities to meet students and teachers who understood exactly what he was going through as a dyslexic learner.
"Being dyslexic," Carson said, "is hard."
"For the first time in his life," Carson explained, "school was not stressful -- it was fun." The Gow experience surrounded Carson with students who had similar problems and educators who understood how to reach them. That was a first for him. Not only did they understand his problem, they sent Carson home with transferable skills which he has been able to implement this fall.
"They taught me tricks which have made reading easier," he said. "I really wasn't looking forward to going to Gow. I didn't think I would like it. I was wrong! I really liked it." He added, "I hope I can go back next summer."
"When I picked him up from Gow this summer," his mother said, "I could see the impact it had made on him. He was confident. He KNEW he was smart and capable. He had made great friends and met wonderful teachers. He realized that success in school was something out there and that it could happen for him when he had teachers who teach him the way he learns. The people who dealt with him daily and deeply couldn't say enough wonderful things about my son.
"The State of Missouri (among other states) has no program, support, remediation, or specialized instruction to help dyslexic students in school," Mrs. Davis added. Research bears out the fact these children are smart. Unfortunately, they appear "lazy" to teachers. The thinking seems to be -- if they would just try harder. Consequently, dyslexic children fall through the cracks, many drop out of school. To make matters worse, our prisons are comprised of inmates (about 70%) who are dyslexic.
Mrs. Davis began searching for and begging for help through the school district, but there was nothing.
"When Carson continued to fall behind his peers," Mrs. Davis explained, "I began summer school reading programs with him through our schools, but his skills never strengthened. I purchased and worked 'Hooked on Phonics' with him, read for hours, studied everything we could, practiced 100s of flashcards, and still no improvement. When Carson was 3-4 years old, he knew every dinosaur we read about, whether they were herbivore, carnivore, or omnivore, and details about their appearances. We knew he was smart. By the third grade, I had him tested for special ed because I knew something was wrong. He worked so hard . . . stayed inside instead of playing with friends, worked at the dining room table for hours as he tried to learn material and complete homework. Every year I had more testing and evaluations done to try to find the problem. Every year he got further behind. By fifth grade he began disliking school and withdrew from everything he used to love. He quit all sports and recreational activities and became depressed. He felt inferior to everyone and decided he was dumb. Period.
"When he was in sixth grade," she continued, "I began researching in order to help my students who were also struggling readers. I discovered that most children who have average or higher IQ but couldn't read on grade level were dyslexic. Red flags about my son started popping up all over the place. I'm a teacher and had no clue about dyslexia (other than the myths about seeing letters/words backwards) or what to do about it. I wanted him tested, but no one in town at the time did that type of evaluation. Finally when he was in the eighth grade, I was able to get him evaluated by a physician in town. He was diagnosed with severe dyslexia. He reads on a third-sixth grade level or lower, has great difficulty spelling, has very poor writing skills, and has problems with his memory and processing skills. All of this affects his ability to learn and progress in school."
Her search finally led her to The Gow School and their summer program. "I just wanted to find something Carson could attend that might help him, or give him a better outlook for his education, or help boost his self-esteem, or allow him to meet others like him so he would feel normal for a change rather than as the outcast." The Gow School only accepts students who have learning issues they can help with. As part of the admission process, they submitted Carson's evaluations and results, diagnosis of dyslexia, letters of recommendation from his teachers, and a load of personal information. The Gow School determined he would be an excellent fit for their school. "In fact," his mother explained, "they accepted him to their full-time program before they approved him for summer school.
"My husband and I saved the money in order to send him for the five weeks to New York. Carson was pretty nervous. I was allowed to talk to him once a week. My husband visited him on parents weekend after the third week. Carson was excelling, had made friends, and was having a blast. His teachers all said the same thing -- excellent manners, very good relationship with peers, hard worker, gaining self-confidence, great kid!"
The five-week program, which was held from Sunday, June 25 - Saturday, July 29, 2017, is designed for students, ages 8 -16, who possess the potential to excel but who had struggled in school or who have been diagnosed with such learning disabilities as dyslexia, central auditory processing disorder, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, ADHD, and ADD.
"Summer school" doesn't begin to cover Gow's exciting and challenging summer program, designed for students who have been experiencing academic difficulties or who have language-based learning disabilities. Employing the expertise that has made The Gow School a leader in language remediation, the summer program helps participants improve academic performance by teaching skills as well as material, enhancing confidence, and instilling discipline and sportsmanship. It also provides plenty of opportunities for enrichment, recreation, new experiences, and fun.
Their website provides a history of The Gow School which was founded by Peter Gow, Jr., in a visionary effort to rethink the learning process. After 20 years of teaching at Choate Rosemary Hall, Nichols School, and The Park School, he had become concerned that so many intelligent students were encountering academic difficulties, especially with print language. Gow theorized . . . the key to success lay in small classes and intensive drill. He moved his family to South Wales and converted the farm where he had run a summer camp into a boarding school for boys.
Over time, The Gow School has continued to evolve and innovate. In 2012, the school extended its reach to coed day students. The Gow School is guided and unified by a set of core beliefs, embodied in their four pillars.
"At the beginning of the fourth week," Mrs. Davis said, "I received a call from the director of admissions. He had received many recommendations from the teachers and counselors at the camp. Coaches wanted to recruit Carson for sports for the fall of 2017. Carson was offered a 50 percent scholarship -- the highest they can offer -- to attend school for his junior year. While that is truly generous and such an incredible opportunity for him, a dream come true for me to have my son educated in an atmosphere were 100 percent of their graduates get accepted into the colleges of their choice along with multiple scholarship offers, and where they know how to teach my son in the manner in which his beautiful brain learns, my husband and I had to turn it down."
Unfortunately, the tuition for the 2017-18 school year as a boarding student at The Gow School is $64,000. Even with a 50 percent tuition scholarship, this family of five could not to afford to send him there.
Mrs. Davis added, "I still get a lump in my throat that I can't provide my son the opportunity to be educated properly. Instead, he is here at PBHS where his GPA is low, his self-esteem is like a roller coaster, and his successes are few. Don't get me wrong, my other two children will receive perfectly fine educations here. They aren't dyslexic."
Carson and his parents are grateful he had the opportunity to attend the summer school program and wanted to share his experience at The Gow School, shining a light on dyslexia and on Carson's summer achievements.
Talking with Carson, it is obvious he is confident about his future. Even though he hasn't settled on a career, he plans to visit a number of colleges with his parents to find the best match for his learning style. The sky is the limit for Carson Davis!