The Children’s Dyslexia Centers began in 1994 as a charitable program of the Scottish Rite of the Masonic Lodge in America, founded by forward-thinking members who recognized how urgently dyslexic children and their families needed help. Today we are one of 42 centers across 15 states. Each center operates independently, drawing partly on Masonic support but relying mostly on its own fundraising. Looking ahead, the goal is a nationwide network of independent, self-sustaining Children’s Dyslexia Centers.
The Portland Children’s Dyslexia Center has a straightforward mission: we deliver one-on-one tutoring using a specialized reading method for dyslexic students in grades 1 through 12. Families are never charged for this vital service. Our Board of Governors safeguards the quality and consistency of our programs and continually seeks ways to extend the reach of this mission.
Our specially trained tutors use the Orton-Gillingham model to help students overcome the distinctive perceptual hurdles that come with dyslexia. This method is rarely used in public schools, where dyslexic children frequently struggle. We also train new tutors in this approach so our program can continue running smoothly well into the future.
We want to make sure no child falls behind because of the unique gift known as dyslexia. People with dyslexia are often intuitive, creative, and persistent, yet without early reading skills many never reach their full potential. That is where we step in. The Portland Children’s Dyslexia Center works every day to help make that potential a reality.
WHAT IS DYSLEXIA?
Dyslexia is a neurological learning disability that makes reading, writing, and spelling difficult for both children and adults. It affects as many as one in five people and occurs equally among boys and girls.
When dyslexia goes untreated, children often face serious personal consequences and are more likely than their non-dyslexic peers to leave high school without graduating. Research shows that untreated dyslexia can lead to adults who underachieve and are unable to contribute to society at their full capacity.
OUR APPROACH
What is Orton-Gillingham?
Orton-Gillingham is a reading-instruction framework created in the 1920s and 1930s by Samuel Torrey Orton and Anna Gillingham. This structured, multi-sensory method teaches students to break words into individual letters and sounds, understand how sounds connect to their symbols, and then build on that knowledge as they work through blends, spelling rules, prefixes, suffixes, and language roots. The multi-sensory element invites students to explore letters and words through several senses at once—for instance, seeing a word on an index card, hearing it read aloud, and feeling it written in sand or shaving cream. The approach works well for most learners and is especially beneficial for those with dyslexia.
"We love the dyslexia program and Orton-Gillingham...it has saved Liam's LIFE!
Not an exaggeration!"
- Lindsey M
Our students show meaningful progress with the Orton-Gillingham approach year after year. Whether teachers train at our Center or within their own school district, student performance improves at the same pace. Click here to read more in our Student Progress Summary.
Board of Governors
Reuben Bell
Chairman
I am relatively new to the Board of Governors of the Portland Children’s Dyslexia Center, having first discovered the Center in 2017. I was amazed by what I found: a place where children who cannot read the way schools teach them can learn to read in their own way, because their way is very different. Yet not every child can or does. About 20% of American children show some degree of dyslexia—a very large number. Only a small fraction of them will ever reach the specialized teaching format we use at the Portland Center. Many of the rest fall behind in reading, in math, in social skills, and eventually in life. Some do find their own path, swimming upstream against the current of conformity. I managed to do just that, though not without some interesting circumstances; dyslexia was not well known when I was in school.
But much has changed. Dyslexia is no longer obscure. Research and practice have brought it out of the shadows and placed it squarely in the middle of the neighborhood, where it belongs.
Once I learned what the Portland Children’s Dyslexia Center does, I was thrilled to become Chairman of our Board of Governors and to do whatever I can to help this small but vitally important organization grow and thrive. We teach the teachers who teach the children—and then those teachers teach the children. I wish you could see our kids’ faces as they come out of their shells and move to the head of the class. It is an honor to be part of the Portland Children’s Dyslexia Center. I encourage you to learn more about us and to become a friend and supporter.
Reuben Bell, Chairman
Jane Hunt, Vice Chair
John Bond, Sr.
Donald Cyr
Josie Dupal
Robert Ferguson
Nancy Greenblatt
Bradford Blake, Secretary
Brian Wolcott, Treasurer
Ward Grossman
Lee Hapworth
Andy Nightingale
Steve Raymo
Lisa Whitis
Facebook Fundraisers
Did you know that donating through Facebook carries zero processing fees? We receive 100% of your gift. You can start a Facebook fundraiser at any time right from our Facebook page. We are grateful to everyone who marks a birthday, graduation, Giving Tuesday, or other occasion by fundraising with friends!
AmazonSmile
Go to smile.amazon.com. On your first visit, you will be prompted to choose a charity to support. Enter “Portland Children’s Dyslexia Foundation.” To switch your charity to us, just choose “Change Your Charity” under “Your Account.” Sign in to your Smile account each time you shop on Amazon, and The AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price on eligible AmazonSmile purchases. It all adds up!
Events
We host a range of events throughout the year, including a fall Silent Auction, the spring Dash for Dyslexia, restaurant nights, and more.
Volunteer Opportunities
Join us in planning and promoting fundraising events, or lend a hand on event day to keep things running smoothly. For details, contact Emily at [email protected]
DID YOU KNOW
55%
of Maine 3rd graders not meeting expectations in reading
20%
of the population is dyslexic
-Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity
Only
4.5%
of Public School students identified as dyslexic
-American Public Media
It takes
4x
as long to intervene in 4th grade as it does in late kindergarten
-National Institute of Child Health
We can identify dyslexia with
92%
accuracy by age 5.5
-National Institute of Health
It takes
4x
more resources to help a child read in year 4 vs year 1
-Specific Learning Difficulties Association of New South Wales, an IDA Global Partner
12 - 22%
of Maine HS graduates requires remedial reading instruction in college
-USM Center for Education Policy, Applied Research and Evaluation, 2016
60 - 80%
of the prison population is functionally illiterate
-US Department of Education and Moody, et. al ‘Prevalence of Dyslexia Among Texas Inmates’
HOWEVER
We know that more than half of our third graders are not meeting literacy expectations. We know that many of those students are dyslexic and that most are never identified. Yet we also know that early identification is possible and highly accurate—we can identify dyslexia before students endure years of failure. Early intervention is a cost-effective approach for public education, secondary education, and arguably for other long-term community resources such as public safety.
Your informed voice on this issue can make a difference with local schools, legislators, the Department of Education, and others. Help us spread the word that universal screening for incoming kindergartners and teacher training in Orton-Gillingham can turn this trend into a Maine success story!