Click to enlarge Photo by Derek Harrison Alyssa Pukkila has a lot of experience with dysle...
Alyssa Pukkila has a lot of experience with dyslexic children. She was a private educational therapist who helped children learn disability correction at Post Falls for 15 years. Her 21-year-old son also has dyslexia.
Pukkila says he knows from his own experience that it can be difficult for regular schools to help children with dyslexia and dysgraphy.
This is what led the Wired2Learn Academy to open in autumn 2018. The Wired2Learn Academy is a school for children with disabilities and working with students in third through twelfth grades.
Such a school is not cheap. It's a tuition fee of $ 20,000 a year. She acknowledges that few parents can lose $ 20,000 a year if they raise a child. The Wired2Learn Foundation that was founded last year hopes to help here.
We sat down with Pukkila to talk to the school about the Wired2Learn Academy and its purpose. The duration and clarity of this interview have been changed.
INLANDER : Can you give us a brief summary of the Wired2Learn Academy?
PUKKILA: We are the first day school in the state of Idaho that only serves children with learning difficulties. We have a three-step approach. We do cognitive rehabilitation. By working in the areas of the brain that cause learning difficulties, we are performing a competency-based correction, much like I did as an educational therapist. We will therefore take the children out to a very good intervention based on researching their specific needs. And then the academic part is dealt with in project-based learning.
What does the campus look like? How many students do you have
We have 21 children with an adult student who has just entered cognitive class and we are on 4 1/2 acres right off Highway 41 in Post Falls. It was important to me because the amount of immersion in nature that children need is really important. Everything we do there is based on the needs of the brain. We really know that children need free time, especially if they train like this. They have to have a time when they don't think about it, and it's really important to be outside, dig in the ground, and climb trees. It is also only important for your sensory wellbeing.
How big are your employees?
We are three.
What are the backgrounds of the other two employees and what are the tasks of each of you?
Tracie Schmidt works in the cognitive rehabilitation class and has been teaching for 20 years. Caelyn Caulfield carries out competence-based corrective measures or so-called clinical corrective measures. He is also solely responsible for the emotional wellbeing of our students. She has a degree in psychology. Therefore it is very suitable for this area. Then I have a master's degree in psychology and teach project-based learning. This person should be like a cat of all professions.
I know the academy is less than two years old, but did you have graduates?
Not yet. Conducting our cognitive rehabilitation program for a typical child with a learning problem requires three to four years of work to bring it up to a level where it is considered neurotypical or peer. Where areas of the brain work like peers. The idea is that they can go through this cognitive rehabilitation program, this intensive program, and when they want to leave school, they can go without learning disabilities.
If you stick to the Wired2Learn Academy, will you receive a diploma that you can then follow to continue your education? How it works
I am not accredited The academy is not accredited. You can graduate, it's like graduating from another private school that is not accredited. The University of Idaho will accept it; Most of our universities now accept degrees from non-accredited private schools. It is very similar to home school, but they will have a certificate. You can show, "I did that." ♦
Beer for the mind
On Saturday, February 22nd, the Wired2Learn Foundation is organizing a rare beer festival at the Coeur d'Alene Innovation Collective. Breweries such as Founders, Stone, Belching Beaver and Grand Teton donated special beers for the event. The free flowing beer is combined with dishes from Honey Eatery and Social Club and Collective Kitchen. Participants will also receive a personalized glass of beer and an event shirt. Single tickets are available for $ 100, pairs for $ 185. More information and tickets can be found at w2lfoundation.com .
