By Leslie Gibson

Herald-Banner Staff



From six, a Legacy begins.

Six students, all ages 10 to 12, are inaugurating the first class of the Legacy School of Rockwall.

In public school, six is an unthinkable class size, but to Jo Polk, veteran educator in public and private settings, it is very few less than the intended size she plans for Legacy, which serves students with dysxlexia and other learning-differences.

“Right now we’re one to six,” she said, of teacher to pupil ratio. “Hopefully we’ll not run more than one to six,” she said, during a mid-day break of the school’s opening day, Sept. 10.

Through a unique partnership with Rockwall Independent School District, for which Polk began language therapy in 1979 and served for 10 years, Legacy is using an unused wing of Utley Middle School, which is only serving seventh graders in its first year of life.

“We’re not in any sense of the word in competition with Rockwall ISD,” Polk said. “Rockwall has a good dyslexia program.”

But Legacy is offering an exclusive focus on serving students with learning differences in an all day placement in small classes, giving special attention to enhancing their strengths and confidence.

This notation from the school’s Website is echoed by Polk and the staff.

Each child will have his or her learning plan, she told the parents and staff gathered for a brunch prior to the students separating for their first class day.

Kelley Pettit is the mother of Cole Pettit, a Legacy student who was at Meadowiew School in Garland, which, upon its closing two years ago, supplied a foundation of interested persons and impetus for the Rockwall endeavor.

She noted that Legacy will emphasize a child’s strengths.

“Jo has put together something more exciting and more integrated,” Pettit said. “It is finding the kids’ strengths,” she said.

“This school is really going to play up their strengths,” said Jana Buchanan, after her son Gavin had gone into the class for the morning. They live near Poetry.

Children like our son are special and smart, but on a different level, she said. “This is what I’ve been looking for.” Her son had success in public school as long as teachers were willing to work with him, she said.

Faith Martin’s mother, Sonya, will serve as the office manager. They come from Rowlett to the school. Public schools “have so much on their plates,” Martin said. It was her child’s experiences in third grade, the TAKS test year, which prompted her to seek another avenue for her daughter.

Two part-time teachers divide the school day between them, teaching reading, drama, social studies, science, math and art.

Leigh Reid is the former theater teacher at Rockwall-Heath, which she left after the 2008-2009 school year to spend more time with her own two elementary-aged children. She had formed a “Little Thespians” program to boost language skills and confidence of youngsters. When she learned of Legacy, she introduce the concept to Polk, who immediately asked to visit.

“It is such a God-inspired thing,” Reid said, of her calling to shift her career.

Houston raised two sons, one with a learning difference, and learned first-hand not only the struggles of such students, but also the achievements they make when different teaching methods bring out their talents and intelligence.

“I saw that success and when my sons went to college, I went to Southern Methodist University for the language therapy program,” Houston said.

She is now certified through the program at SMU which Polk directed for several years. The Learning Therapy Center of SMU’s Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education and Human Development is dedicated to the improvement of reading instruction for individuals who have dyslexia and related written-language disorders.

Just prior to her SMU stint, Polk developed from scratch the State of Texas’ first mandated initative to have public schools provide the right kinds of teaching for dyslexia.

It was in the early 90s that the first mandate of the Texas legistlature addressed it and it was a “very political issue,” Polk recalled. She was reluctant to accept the position, but on her call to refuse, she found herself saying, “I’ll be in on Oct. 11.” She began that work with a telephone with an 800 number for the teachers, desk, a pencil and a legal pad at the Region 10 Service Center.

“People argued against it — at that time, people did not believe there was such a thing as dyslexia,” Polk said.

But the 1990s were the decade of the brain she said. “So much research was done at that time on disorders like dyslexia and learning and why we learn and why we learn in some environments and not in others,” she said.

Polk began her career as a classroom teacher. “One little boy wanted to learn to read so badly and I wanted to teeach him to so badly,” she said, of what caused her to focus on written-language differences. It was a language therapist at the school who had success with the dyslexic boy. “Whatever it is she’s doing, I want to do that,” Polk decided.

She began classes at the Dean Learning Center affiliated with Scottish Rite, under Dr. June Shelton, who invited Polk to teach fifth grade and take the training.

“I fell in love with it,” Polk said.

She is still in love with it, which is why she has begun Legacy school, at an age when many are retired.

“I have to teach, it’s my life blood,” she said. “As much as the teachers let me, I’ll take over. There are new discoveries and new things all the time,” she said.

Legacy is incorporating character development into their curriculum and expectations, and found that this year’s theme for Rockwall ISD school “Others Before Self” is appropriate for Legacy this year too, she said, to the parents assembled for the first day.

It describes the work of the board and volunteers.

“You are the reason we’re here,” said Legacy board president, Dr. Robert Mehl, to the parents and students. “A lot of people have put in a lot of hours for a long time to make this happen.”

“There is no other public school/private school partnership like this,” he said.

“We’re blessed beyond our fondest hope to have these state-of-the-art facilities,” Polk said during the morning tour.

Like Rockwall ISD students, each Legacy student has a laptop, which is included in the tuition.

But facilities and laptops are not a replacement for courtesy.

“Even the 21st century school adheres to traditional values of courtesy,” Polk said. “Others before self, that will fit us, too.”

“Jo Polk just really really knows what she’s doing,” said Andra Maynard, whose son John Mark is enrolled. Maynard said Legacy’s volunteer physical education teacher, a 21-year veteran of the closed Meadoview School, Carol Mathus, was life-changing for her son there, bringing him a confidence and coordination he hadn’t known he had.

Mathus said she just wants to help Legacy get on its feet.

Four students are helping Legacy do just that.

Gavin Buchanan, John Mark Maynard, Cole Pettit, Emmory Williams and Micah Cathey and Faith Martin cooperated and shared supplies during the morning organizational time and team-building project. Each one built out of straws and masking tape a section of a tower, which they joined together just before lunch, with it tall enough that Gavin had to stand on a chair to top it off.

That tower build, and all the instruction to continue to build over the school year, is the foundation for all future students of Legacy School of Rockwall.

As far as the tuition, $15,000 a year, Martin said, “Your’e not going to take it with you. You are leaving a whole lot behind.”