March 11, 2011
Clayton Pioneer • www.claytonpioneer .com
Mayor, from page 1 can see the report online at our website at www.ci.clayton.ca.us. The short version is this — despite the doom and gloom at higher levels, we remain “on budget.” This is notwithstanding having to, under vehement protest, remit over $400,000 to the state under their seizure of our local property taxes. This means we aren’t playing fast and loose with your (and our) money! We are doing what we can to ensure we don’t spend what we can’t pay. I only wish we could loan out (very briefly mind you as we need them) Merry and our staff to the state so we could fix their problems. Of course, we remain wary of further nightmares from Sacramento that may change our status, but I remain confident that if anyone can handle whatever comes next, it is our city! And speaking of how different we are from the state, did you know that all politicians, board and committee members in California have to take an ethics course and a test every few years? The difference with Clayton is that most state politicians fail this test their first time (ensuring reelection), while those of us in Clayton just can’t seem to fail no matter how many times we take it. Think about it before you email me. PLAY BALL “Put me in coach, I’m ready to play!” Spring is just around the corner and Little League baseball is ramping up, so get ready to hear the “ping” of the metal bats soon. This is my favorite time of the year and this year is going to be extra special as my new son, Charlie is playing. Since they did not have baseball in his native Ukraine, this will be his first year. It should be fun for him and the other 650+ kids getting ready to play ball. Sorry for the personal digression, but it just makes me feel great, and it is my column. HAPPY TRAILS And speaking of pet peeves. (Was I?) Uh, anyway, you all know about our wonderful system of trails throughout the city that allow runners, walkers, bicyclists, dog-walkers, kid-walkers, catwalkers, and small-varmint walkers to enjoy our beautiful city. While I know 98 percent of you dog-walkers (and 37 percent of cat-walkers) pick up after your pets, it really irks a lot of people (not me as I am just a pretty spokesperson) when those scofflaws leave their pets’ presents scattered on the trail for others to enjoy. And just because your pet’s present is left “off ” the trail in the grass doesn’t mean my kids (uh, I mean those people I am speaking for) don’t leave the trail in their exuberance, only to find those presents and track them through someone’s house. Come on people — let’s not ruin our trails for others. And I am sorry if the feline coalition feels picked upon here, but I am just a spokesman. Remember, if you have nothing good to say, become a politician so everyone has to listen. No, that is not what I meant to say, is it? Oh, well, I am out. Email me at shuey@rankinlaw.com.
DENISEN HARTLOVE Clayton Pioneer
Tucked in a corner of Concord near the Clayton border is a school that brings hope to 16 hard-working students and their families. Jesse Rule-Williams is one of the students at Hope Academy. At 12½ years old, his interests include drawing Transformers (Bumblebee is his favorite), learning about “blowing things up” in science class and reading the “Star Wars” series of books. In other words, he’s a normal kid. But like all of the students who attend Hope Academy, Jesse suffers from dyslexia. The language processing disorder plagues one out of every five people. People with dyslexia may have difficulty connecting sounds with letters and struggle with reading, writing or even pronouncing words correctly. Although some manage on their own, a smaller group needs extra help learning to “decode” language. Hope Academy is a small private school where students with dyslexia learn the language decoding skills that will help them succeed in life. Darien Rule, Jesse’s mom, described a conversation with a teacher at Jesse’s previous school. At the time, Jesse was 10 years old and struggling with reading even three-letter words. “One teacher said to me, ‘I tried four different reading programs this year. I just really don’t know what to do,’ ” said Rule. “I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, this is my son’s life!’ ” Judy Davies founded Hope Academy in 2007 to help students like Jesse and her own daughter Emily. Emily was diagnosed with dyslexia after attending kindergarten at a highly rated local private school. Emily’s teachers said she wasn’t learning her letters, and unlike others in her class, she couldn’t rhyme words like “cat”
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SOPHIA GENOVESE (LEFT) AND JESSE RULE-WILLIAMS benefit from some one-on-one help from Hope Academy Founder Judy Davies (left) and teacher Debbie Booker. Davies founded the school specifically to help dyslexic students learn the de-coding skills needed to overcome the learning disorder. and “hat.” “She would read the word ‘cat’ on one page, very painstakingly slowly; then there was the word ‘cat’ again and it was brand new,” Davies said. Davies immediately pulled Emily from school and hired tutors who specialized in working with children with dyslexia. But Davies wasn’t ready to stop there. She surrounded herself with education experts and teachers, and shortly thereafter, a school was born. “My passion for my own kids turned into a compassion for all of the kids who were in a classroom, like (Emily), and not succeeding,” she said. Today, students from third through seventh grades attend Hope Academy full time. They are taught everything from the basics of reading and math to music and art using an approach proven to work with dyslexic learners. For instance, students being taught to recognize letters may make the sound of the letter “a” along with the teacher, while the teacher draws the letter in the air in front of them. They then write the letter on a sheet of
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paper while saying the letter aloud once more. Davies said the school’s goal is having students re-enter mainstream academic environments equipped to learn. Perhaps as importantly as teaching the students to read and write, Hope’s faculty aims to rebuild self-confidence. Many children with dyslexia are bullied by other students, suffer anxiety and dread going to school each morning. But it has been proven that these students are every bit as capable of learning as anyone else. People with dyslexia have become politicians (Gavin Newsom), actors (Patrick Dempsey) and singers (Cher). Steve Jobs, founder of Apple Computers is reportedly ‘mildly’ dyslexic. Terri Lynn Genovese’s 10year old daughter Sophia started at Hope two years ago. Genovese described her daughter as essentially a “non-reader” when she started. Today, Sophia has a pile of books she reads from on a regular basis. “Going from not even wanting to look at a book because it is so fearful and laborious for her to not only picking it up but wanting to read out loud is huge for her,” said Genovese. “Huge!” Rule knew they were on the right track with Jesse shortly after his last birthday. “This year, (Jesse) read all of his birthday cards to me,” she said. “He could even read ‘Love Aunt Pat’ written in script. “It was the most amazing transformation. At that moment, I thought, ‘This is worth every single penny.’ ”
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