Horizon 2025 - Flipbook - Page 15
SHELTON’S SCHOLARS PROGRAM
The Shelton School is a
bustling place in the summer,
hosting training classes,
enrichment opportunities
and academic courses. This
includes the Scholars Program,
led by Jessica Newman,
Director of Scholars and
Shelton Sequential English
Education (SEE), which serves
students with language-based
learning differences who are
6 years of age and older.
Students come from all over
the Metroplex, with some
families driving over an hour
to attend.
The Scholars Program, part of
Sheton’s Outreach & Training
department, is designed for
students from the community
who are not enrolled at
Shelton. It offers an intensive
three-week summer course
called Summer Scholars
and continues during the fall and spring with a 13-week,
Saturday-only course.
Families typically seek out the Scholars Program after
realizing their children are struggling with reading, writing
and spelling. The program supplements services students
receive at their schools or replaces them when students are
no longer eligible. Families are drawn to Shelton’s resources
and reputation, as well as the convenience and affordability
of the program. They stay for the results.
Students are admitted after completing an informal
assessment or submitting test results from another
evaluation center. They are placed into small groups based
on ability. In receiving targeted intervention, many students
discover for the first time that others share their learning
differences — often sparking engagement and friendship.
Kids enjoy learning with peers who are like them.
At the heart of this densely packed program is the SEE
curriculum — a comprehensive, multisensory, structured
approach to language remediation developed by Dr. Joyce
Pickering, Shelton’s Executive Director Emerita, based on
the work of Dr. Charles Shedd.
Dr. Shedd’s model for training volunteers to help students
with dyslexia proved to be a highly effective and low-cost
method of providing remediation services. Building on this
foundation, Dr. Pickering pioneered the Scholars Program
at Shelton in 1990 to address unmet needs in the broader
community. Since then, hundreds of tutors have received
extensive training and supervision to deliver the SEE
curriculum through the Scholars Program.
Tutors include college students, Shelton alumni, current and
former teachers, retirees, parents and grandparents. Some
are experienced professionals working toward advanced
certification or licensure; others are beginning a journey that
may lead to a future in teaching. In every case, they share a
commitment to serving students with learning differences.
The Shelton Scholars Program provides essential services to
many students in the DFW area. By trading in a portion of
their summer break — a time when most students experience
learning loss — these students are building critical skills in
oral and written spelling, reading, grammar, vocabulary,
cursive handwriting, auditory discrimination and memory.
And they’re having fun, too. Whether shooting hoops during
a break or making playdates with newfound friends, their
growing confidence is easy to see.
SHELTON SCHOOL
THE HORIZON
NOVEMBER 2025
13
