The Standard’s news roundup gives you a quick hit of interesting, sometimes irreverent, and breaking news stories from all over the state.
Texas has long been seen as a leader in helping students with dyslexia. Since 1985, it’s required schools to provide services to dyslexic students. But it hasn’t exactly committed specific state funding – it’s all been left up to school districts.
This year, one school district is stepping up: Fort Worth ISD is investing $5 million in support services for students with dyslexia.
Sarah Martinez first noticed her eldest daughter Ellie was having trouble with reading as early as preschool. Her kids go to Fort Worth ISD schools – and she worked with the district to increase funding for these programs.
“Knowing that my husband, her father, has dyslexia, the minute you start seeing those signs it kind of already raises a red flag,” Martinez says. “So as early as four or five years old, we started taking a close look, keeping her in mind as a possible person with dyslexia.”
But the process of finding the proper testing and diagnosis for her daughter took longer than she’d hoped.
“You just kind of had to go back and go, this isn’t it, this isn’t it….going into these meetings and saying I know dyslexia has a hereditary factor,” she says.
Martinez says that the changes are long overdue, and thanks to a group of parents coming together, they are finally seeing changes.
“Over a year ago, a group of mothers mostly, a couple of dads in there, we got together, because we realized our kids have dyslexia,” she says. “We kinda found each other and we’re consistently hearing difficulties, and something needs to happen to get these kids where they need to be.”
Listen to an extended interview with Sarah Martinez in the second player above.
If you think Texas is hot now, wait until the year 2100. The environmental research group Climate Central predicts that by then, the temperature in Dallas could be a steamy 95+ degrees four months out of the year.
In Pecos, Texas it could be a searing 142 degrees for over 50 days a year.
Call him George Foreman, because Houston rapper Paul Wall is giving everybody grills. And by everybody, we mean every U.S. athlete who medaled at the Olympics.
Each Olympian can get a gold mouthpiece engraved with the Rio logo – free of charge.
