Established in 1989, the program is designed specifically for adults with reading disabilities, said Program Director Melody Kinder. Learning disabilities are more widespread than many people believe. In fact, about one out of every six people in the United States, including Tom Hanks, Cher and Robin Williams, have a learning disability called dyslexia. One of the most prevalent types of learning disabilities, dyslexia affects an individual's ability to develop skills related to reading, including spelling and writing. At this level, most people are unable to read or write well enough to understand an ATM screen or to take down a simple telephone message.
Students attend classes four days a week, two hours a day, either at night or during the day.
Read to Succeed is a two-year program and the average improvement is four grades per year. Kinder said the average Read to Succeed student is 40 years old and 75 percent have graduated from high school. Many have college degrees. Joe graduated from a local public high school, where he played football and learned to get by. Joe knew he had a problem from the first time he tried to read.