Roberts Academy at Elon University, the school for students with dyslexia, has opened its application process. Roberts Academy will open on Elon’s campus next fall, initially serving students in grades three and four. Roberts Academy will temporarily be located in the Trollinger House, which currently houses the I-House Living-Learning Community.
This four-step application process begins with a prospective student form. This form asks for general information about the student and their family, and also asks about the child’s diagnosis and most recent comprehensive psychological/educational or neuro-psychological evaluation by a professional.
Dean of the Dr. Jo Watts Williams School of Education, Ann Bullock, said that this form is a way to see if the child is diagnosed with dyslexia. Bullock said that students must be diagnosed in order to apply for Roberts Academy at Elon.
“Just a very short, quick form,” Bullock said. “We want to do that so we can build a relationship with the family.”
Bullock said that multiple parents have already filled out this form. She also said that there are people at various stages throughout the process already. Bullock said that there have been around 80 inquiries about the application process.
If the prospective student form is approved, the student is invited to submit a formal application. After the application is approved, the student and their family are invited for an interview and screening. Bullock said that when looking for prospective students, there is a criteria the student has to meet.
“They have to be in third or fourth grade, and they have to have a primary diagnosis of dyslexia,” Bullock said. “They have to be a child that can learn best using a multisensory approach, which are gonna be most children.”
Classes start in August, but applications will only close once the classes are full. There will be 24 students in total: 12 third graders and 12 fourth graders, according to Bullock.
Annual tuition at Roberts Academy is $20,500. Bullock said that students can apply for state scholarships, along with financial aid.