Charlotte's Education Fund KGMS

This is Charlotte. She is a brilliant, super creative, industrious and helpful 11 year old with dyslexia. She doesn't have your average dyslexia because she has been diagnosed with very acute dyslexia. I first realized that she was dyslexic at about 3 ½ years old  when I tried several different types of learning programs based on 4 types of curricula with her and none seemed to help.  I am exhausted and desperate to teach my girl to read!!!

 

I was an EAL and specialty teacher in Taiwan where I taught at a Taipei European school. I understood how to teach language because I had learned eight languages through travelling as a child as well while I was escaping communism and  in refugee camps. I had the ability to adapt and learn and yet every day I fail with Charlotte. At the age of 11 Charlotte has come a long way. She is a great artist and leader and is gifted in several areas. She also has a high IQ  but unfortunately she can only read at a low grade 2 level. Like Einstein school is a struggle .

 

As the years of hard work have worn on , she has become exhausted from work, cognitive fatigue , teasing and not succeeding . Two months ago she got kicked in the head at school and got a concussion with a fractured cheek. She now has headaches and sleeps even longer . She is in pain! Despite all of this Charlotte keeps persevering . I wish this was the first time she was hurt or bullied, but it isn’t. I need her to be resilient and to thrive. This girl is going places.

 

She practices reading , phonemes and the program Lexia every day . She practices violin and piano to train her brain to track letters and she uses apps to scan books so she can follow along .

 

I personally gave up a career in Taiwan to move back here where I believed she would get the help she needed. I have taken OG courses so that I could help her more. I am applying for CKNW bursaries, Variety, and I have contacted the boys and girls club.

 

But thousands of dollars later, 4 years in Canada and an international move has left me feeling hopeless.

 

We need help! I would like for Charlotte to go to Kenneth Gordon for 1-2 years so that she may actually improve her reading skills. Kenneth Gordon is a specific private school that will give her OG every day. They will also let her repeat grade 6, since she was skipped from grade 1-3 when we arrived. She needs two years to catch up and actually learn in an environment that will enable her to thrive. We want her to succeed and have a full life . We humbly beg for your help. She would like to become a firefighter , but she knows she needs at least two years of post-secondary for that and without reading this is a tragic state .

 

I have tried to make enough money, but Kenneth Gordon is 28 000 per year. We may qualify for a slight reduction 280-400 a month less. It costs 2600 per month to go. There are 10 kids per class and the instruction is Ortan Gillingham based and their teachers are trained.

 

I have also applied for Variety which is a max of 4000 if she qualifies .

 

We have even tried to apply for her grandfather’s status , since Charlotte in 1/8 Squamish . We have tried but now we are out of time .

 

We ask for any small amount. But we will update if she gets any of the bursaries mentioned. I will make the finances transparent. I also have asked Kenneth Gordon if they could give a tax receipt. So if you donate directly to Kenneth Gordon for Charlotte, they will give you a tax receipt. Just contact Carrie Baker or contact me for the email.

 

I can also accept etransfers. I will update all the tracking and finances and see how far we get. Basically we could afford it if we didn’t pay rent, and moved into our VAN. She needs this so badly, I would be willing to live in a van.

 

Please help us so that Charlotte can read and write.

 

We are grateful for your support, kind words and encouragement. We want more kids like Charlotte to get the help they need and hopefully campaigns like this will draw attention to the problems these kids have.

 

Dystexia (literacy LD) does not receive extra funding. If you are mildly dyslexic or acutely dyslexic, you actually qualify for the same level of help. Charlotte has had a lot of amazing teachers help her. We are so grateful, but we also realize it isn’t enough.

 

We need more awareness since this LD can be 100% overcome with strategic interventions.

 

Thank you Katerina Klimes