Outreach
Bodine School serves as a dyslexia resource center for the entire Mid-South.
Mission and Services
Many schools have neither the training nor the resources to screen struggling readers or equip educators to identify and remediate students with dyslexia. With an estimated 15-20% of all students displaying characteristics of dyslexia, we cannot overcome the achievement gap or increase the high school graduation rate, nationally or locally, unless more children with learning differences can read at grade level. Bodine School’s services include:
- Community presentations defining dyslexia and developmentally appropriate literacy benchmarks
- Referrals to outside resources (ie: psychologists, tutors)
- Professional development and training opportunities for Mid-South educators to strengthen identification of and intervention for students with dyslexia
- Free and public outreach events to increase awareness of dyslexia and how it relates to other learning differences
Professional Development Offerings
Bodine School is pleased to offer a selection of free professional development seminars for Mid-South schools. For more information or to book your session, please email Sheri James, Director of Student Services and Transition, at sjames@bodineschool.org.
2025-2026 Lunch & Learn Series:
September 25th, 11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m.: “Dysgraphia Awareness” with Pam Demato of RISE Learning Center
October 21st, 11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m.: “Educational Leadership Panel Q&A”
January 29th, 11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m.: “The Emotional Journey of Learning” with Lori Keith Ph.D.
April 16th, 11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m.: “The Big Picture: Rethinking Dyslexia” documentary screening
Orton-Gillingham Summer Training
Introductory Course: This 30-hour course leads to a basic understanding of Orton-Gillingham instruction, including reading acquisition, knowledge of the structure of the English language, basic assessment tools, and development of an O-G lesson for a single student, a small group, or a classroom.
Intermediate Course: This 15-hour course deepens the Orton-Gillingham practitioner’s knowledge. Topics include interpreting psychoeducational evaluations, administering a full battery of literacy assessments, monitoring and communicating student progress, and teaching composition skills using the O-G approach. Prior training in the remediation of dyslexia is a requirement.
Return to this page in March 2026 to register!
The Erika Center
The Erika Center is named after Erika Yunkun, who began attending Bodine in 2007. In 2012, The Erika Center was made possible by a donation to honor Erika Yunkun, a Bodine student, who passed away in 2011 due to a brain tumor. Erika’s work ethic was eclipsed only by her compassion for and encouragement of her classmates to succeed. The donor asked that the Center’s work would preserve and honor the memory of Erika. The Erika Center was designed to emulate to the larger community the compassion that Erika showed her classmates.
