Jason, a junior in my dyslexia intervention class, missed the lesson on consonant digraphs and silent e patterns. When I wrote phone on the board the next day and asked the class to pound the syllables, he blurted out, "/f/ ... /ō/... /n/... /ə/... That's four syllables, right?"

I explained that phone is one syllable and that the "e" is silent, which is why the vowel "o" says its name. Jason frowned. "That's dumb! Now I'm confused. It sounds like fuh-oh-nnn-uh. And what's a vowel?"

Though the high schooler has an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) and receives dyslexia services with me, that moment made something clear: Even with support, he had never fully mastered foundational reading skills.

Earlier in my career, I taught many students like Jason--even earning a "Highly Effective" rating--differentiating instruction and modifying assignments. But I was managing symptoms rather than repairing the reading foundation underneath. Now, as a trained dyslexia specialist, I have the tools to move beyond superficial modifications: slowing instruction, pinpointing misunderstandings, and explicitly teaching missing skills.

By second semester with my tools, Jason's progress was measurable--he could apply what he learned about words like phone to new words, recognizing patterns instead of sounding out........

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