Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Florida School Unveils New Building for Students with Dyslexia

  • By Yvonne Marquez
  • 09/14/20

Middle school students began classes on Monday at the newly constructed building at Roberts Academy, a private school for students with dyslexia, reports The Ledger. Students in sixth through eighth grade have their own building apart from two other buildings used by students in second through fifth grade.

Founded in 2010 and located on the campus of Florida Southern College, the school is the only transitional elementary school in Florida dedicated to students with dyslexia, Head of School Kim Kelley told the Ledger. The school uses the Orton-Gillingham Approach for teaching language comprehension to students with dyslexia. The school has 145 students and 75 are in grades six through eight.

Construction on the new building began in March, after the school began remote classes for the rest of the school year. The fall semester began on Aug. 24 with in-person classes, but the new building wasn’t ready until Monday.

Blue, red and yellow primary colors are found throughout the two-story building. The new building has a bigger cafeteria than the original building, but it isn’t in use yet due to COVID-19 precautions. On the second floor, the school will eventually have an information technology room with the science lab in the adjoining room. In addition, the school has new smart boards in each classroom.  

“It’s beautiful,” Marissa Smith told The Ledger. “I’m so excited to have the space and a place where middle school can really feel like it’s their own and thrive and grow and learn.”

About the Author

Yvonne Marquez is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • New City School

    Turning Crisis into Opportunity: Transforming New City School

    When New City School in St. Louis suffered catastrophic flood damage in July 2022, the event could have marked a serious setback for the 100-year-old institution. Instead, it became a forward-looking opportunity.

  • Harvard Announces Replacement Facility for Native American Program

    Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., recently announced that construction will begin this spring on a new home for its Native American Program, according to university news. The 6,500-square-foot, all-electric building will stand three stories and serve as the central hub for the Harvard University Native American Program (HUNAP).

  • How a Portable Sink Helped an Art Classroom Run More Smoothly

    Classroom design decisions can have outsized effects on instructional time and safety at schools juggling mismatched infrastructure, strict budgets, and crowded schedules — particularly in the arts. Between spilled paint and dirty brushes, art classes run smoother with a sink in the studio. But many schools don’t have a sink in every art classroom.

  • Spaces4Learning Launches 2026 Education Design Showcase Awards

    Spaces4Learning has opened submissions for the 2026 Education Design Showcase! The awards program launched in 1999 with the goal of celebrating innovative, practical solutions in the planning, design, and construction of K–12 and higher-education facilities. EDS recognizes new developments that help achieve optimal learning environments, as well as the architecture firms that brought the ideas to life.