Our Advantage

“What makes Bright Academy different?”

At Bright Academy, the class sizes are very small. We assess your child’s weaknesses as well as strengths to determine a starting point in all of the instructional areas. Each child is unique in their abilities and challenged accordingly.

At Bright Academy, your child will be receiving 1 hour of Language Therapy each day. It is designed to meet the needs of children who are struggling with reading and/or spelling difficulties. Students are required to have completed one year of kindergarten before entering this program. Most first graders begin with the Reading Readiness Program to form a foundation before beginning Level 1. Basic Language Skills Level 1 is used for first year students of all ages, with the followed by Basic Language Skills 2 and Basic Language Skills 3. Our students have shown great gains in reading after completing the Level 3.

Our program uses an Orton-Gillingham approach to give explicit and direct instruction that incorporates multi-sensory teaching so students can discover and apply concepts by linking listening, speaking, reading, and writing. The program is cumulative; therefore, new information is built on from previously learned material because concepts resurface continually. Decoding is balanced with comprehension, and the mechanics of writing are balanced with creativity and composition. Although all students can benefit from this scientific, research-based curriculum, it is designed for students with dyslexia.

Within each day, the same amount of time is spent on math instruction. We utilize a math program that is taught with a ‘hands-on’ approach as well. Much time is also spent playing math games in small groups to practice the skills they have learned. Children also have access to math games in the computer lab to reinforce skills.

Also with our program, the children have time to unwind with physical education, art, and music. An art teacher works with the children each week, specializing in techniques and artist studies. Social Studies and Science concepts are mostly taught through projects the children make in class. Dyslexic children are very creative and learn more by building and expressing themselves through projects and creating PowerPoint presentations.

The students spend time in the STEM lab learning about robotics, drones, problem-solving, creating with 3D printers, and many other fun activities. Our students are ‘out-of-the-box’ thinkers and will become the problem solvers of tomorrow. They need time to explore and experiment with new ideas and inventions.

Homework is kept to a minimum. By the end of the day, the children have been in such intense instruction, they need some time to unwind and just be kids.

Report cards are issued each quarter to indicate the progress the children have made in mastering the skills they have been taught. Our goal is for the child to learn, not stress. We want them to be confident learners and be ready to enter middle school with assurance and independence.

If children who are dyslexic get effective training using the Orton-Gillingham methodology beginning in 1st grade, they will have significantly fewer problems in learning to read at grade level than do children who are not identified or helped until 3rd grade or after.

74% of the children who are poor readers in 3rd grade remain poor readers in the 9th grade. Often they will be poor readers as adults. Our goal is to combat that statistic.