Letter from NCLD (LD News: May 2007)

Dear Supporters and Constituents,

Children with LD need champions -- in their family, their schools and in life.  Each year, NCLD honors individuals and schools who are outstanding advocates of kids and who personify NCLD's mission to ensure that the nation's 15 million children, adolescents and adults with learning disabilities have every opportunity to succeed in school, work and life. This fall, NCLD honored Dr. Joyce Bannerot, Principal of Popham Elementary School in Del Valle, Texas, with our 2006 Bill Ellis Teacher Preparation Award. This spring we celebrate a student and a school with the Anne Ford Scholarship and the Pete and Carrie Rozelle Award.

Ryan Makinson of Greensboro, North Carolina, NCLD's 2007 Anne Ford Scholar, has been overcoming the challenges of LD and ADHD since the third grade. Ranked near the top of his senior class of 292 students, Eagle Scout, treasurer of the Southeast High School Student Government, member of the National Honor Society and aspiring neurologist, Ryan is a true model student who utilizes his strengths and overcomes his weaknesses to succeed in anything that he attempts. We were pleased to offer Ryan the opportunity to attend our 30th Anniversary Benefit on April 25, as well as a $10,000 scholarship and Kurzweil 3000 Scan/Read software. We hope that Ryan will be an inspiration to other students who struggle.

The 2007 Pete & Carrie Rozelle Award winner is Public School 149, The Christa McAuliffe School, located in Jackson Heights, N.Y. Serving 1,050 children in kindergarten through grade five, this school has lived up to its mission: "To educate each child as if he/she were our own." P.S. 149 ensures that every child has ready access to the general curriculum and that teachers, parents and support personnel work closely to foster a love of learning and a climate of high expectations for achievement -- and to prove their success, this school met its annual yearly progress (AYP) goals in elementary-level English language arts, mathematics and science for the 2005-2006 school year. NCLD was delighted to recognize these accomplishments with a $5,000 award, a Kurzweil Lab pack and $200 gift certificates from Sopris West and Brookes Publishing.

It is with great pleasure that we announce this year's awards, and we look forward to starting the process again to honor next year's LD champions.

Warm regards,

James H. Wendorf
Executive Director
National Center for Learning Disabilities, Inc. 

The National Center for Learning Disabilities is listed by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. All gifts made to NCLD are tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. I hope that you consider making a contribution to NCLD today and thank you in advance for your generosity. NCLD greatly appreciates your support of our work!