Dyslexia Program In Renton Challenged

RENTON - An internationally known instruction method for dyslexic students is about to be evaluated for the first time in the Renton School District, where it was created 30 years ago. There are signs the process may be anything but smooth.

The program, the Slingerland Approach to Language Arts (SALA), has fervent supporters who say it helps children deal with a learning disability, and critics who doubt the program works at all.

Renton Superintendent Gary Kohlwes says SALA has never been evaluated because of the strong support it has from parents and teachers. ``We've never seen the need to,'' said Kohlwes.

But in August, the School Board adopted goals requiring an evaluation of SALA and all other programs.

Darrell Johnson, who recently resigned from the School Board, citing attacks on him by critics, equated the district's SALA program to a sacred cow. Johnson drew heat from the program's supporters for questioning its effectiveness.

The Slingerland program is designed to help people with average or superior intelligence who have difficulty reading and writing. These students are commonly referred to as specific learning disabled (SLD).

The late Beth Slingerland, a former Renton elementary-school teacher, founded SALA when she adapted a tutorial program in 1960 for the classroom. The technique requires students to use multiple senses to learn language. One exercise has students sound out letters while

tracing them in the air.

``The idea is to stimulate all areas (visual, auditory and kinesthetic) so if one is weak you can rely on the others,'' said Linda Larson, a private tutor in Renton.

Johnson, whose son Matthew was screened as SLD in the mid-1960s, said the technique didn't hurt or help Matthew, but it bored him with its constant repetition. ``It's a mindless task,'' said Johnson, a child psychologist.

``I know of no research specific to the Slingerland approach that says it is the best way or worst way'' to teach dyslexic students, said Sam Sebesta, University of Washington professor of education in reading and language arts. ``While Slingerland can teach phonics, it is boring.''

Yet, some teachers, parents and administrators support Slingerland wholeheartedly, and the technique continues to spread across the world.

Besides Renton, districts in the Puget Sound area with a Slingerland program include Issaquah, Mercer Island, Mount Vernon, South Kitsap and Shoreline.

However, the Mukilteo School District dropped its Slingerland program after a district evaluation indicated it didn't work.

The Shoreline School District changed its screening procedures because it found the Slingerland test inadequate. Students are now evaluated by a team comprised of parents and staff who can choose to use a combination of assessment tests, including Slingerland.

Kohlwes, Renton's superintendent, said he doesn't plan to propose how and when SALA and other district programs will be evaluated until January.