New York City is designating its first school explicitly for students with dyslexia. The initiative will also screen detained or incarcerated students for difficulty with reading.

It expands on a pilot program at P.S. 161, part of a $7.4 million investment in screeners and literacy services this school year, which will open as a full-fledged school in September.

During its inaugural year, South Bronx Literacy Academy is expected to serve 60 to 80 students in the 2nd and 3rd grades with documented dyslexia or who show reading challenges through a formal assessment process. Priority will be given to applicants in the Bronx, and the school will receive $710,000 for its specialized programs on top of the usual funding for new schools.

Classes are structured, and teachers are trained to work with kids who have language-based learning disabilities, including read-alouds and adaptive technology. The school offers small class sizes led by co-teachers and backed by speech and occupational therapists, a school psychologist, and a literacy coach. Eventually, it will grow to serve grades 2-8.

The issue is a personal one for Mayor Eric Adams, who himself has dyslexia that went undiagnosed until college. That deferral had a profound impact on his childhood, and he frequently shares personal stories about struggling in school or bullies who taped a sign to his desk chair calling him dumb.

While launching dyslexia screeners in classrooms, Adams has made a similar program on Rikers Island a signature part of his agenda—but faced criticism over its slow rollout.

That effort will begin as a pilot program at East River Academy for students on Rikers—the site of the city’s largest jail—as well as schools in Brooklyn and the Bronx for detained students ages 17 or younger and yet-to-be-determined adult sites in September, according to officials from the city’s adult and alternative programs.

Adams estimates that 30 percent to 40 percent of inmates on Rikers are dyslexic. Read the article