Looking over some of the recent student test scores (L-R) are Jackson Academy teacher Kasey Fleming, Headmaster Rance Carr, Assistant Headmaster Janice Atchison and Lindamood-Bell School Services Specialist Therese Mayo. (SA photo by Evan Carden) Something new is going on at Jackson Academy causing learning to become addictive to students.

With the help of the Lindamood-Bell Learning Processes program, which is designed to enhance human learning, students at the school are developing the skills needed to comprehend and learn at a faster than traditional pace. Recent test results show that on an elementary and middle school level, reading and comprehension scores are up.

With teachers at the school implementing the program, students are moving beyond their current grade level to the next level during the same school year. The challenge is to meet their desire to move forward.

Working with teachers and students in implementing the program is Lindamood-Bell school services project manager Therese Mayo. "At Jackson Academy we are working with teachers on teaching children how to read and comprehend it better," she said. "This is not a curriculum-based program. It is process-based."

Mayo has been employed by Lindamood-Bell for three years. She recently relocated to southwest Alabama after working in Hernando County, Fla. at the Lindamood-Bell Center in the school services department.

Created in 1986 by Nanci Bell and Patricia and Phyllis Lindamood, the program stimulates phonemic awareness for reading, spelling and speech, as well as developing cognitive processes related to words and the way they are processed.

A program developed by Nanci Bell and Kimberly Tuley stimulates the ability to image and verbalize the concepts underlying math processes, with emphasis on mathematical reasoning and computation.

"This program is tailored to the student's weaknesses in reading and comprehension," explained Mayo. "This is the only comprehension-based program. In traditional school settings, we often test comprehension, but don't teach it."

Adding to the success of the program at Jackson Academy is the fact that the school has a teacher trained in implementing the program. Kasey Fleming taught in the public school system for 10 years before taking a position with the school. She has a master's degree and has also been trained in using Lindamood-Bell processes at its California-based institute.

"The teachers here are using Lindamood-Bell in classrooms from kindergarten through high school where it has been fully implemented into every program," she said. "It has been used to teach those who struggle to understand. This is a process in vocabulary comprehension, not a book or computer program. One of the best things to come out of this is when kids excel, you don't have the disciplinary problems that you used to."

Other schools in the region are beginning to take notice of what is going on at Jackson Academy. Several public and private schools on the Gulf Coast have contacted school officials about observing the Lindamood-Bell program in action.

In the near future, the public will be invited to the school to learn more about the program and how it may be a viable learning option for others within the community.