I want to tell you a story about a little boy.  Starting preschool, he hated it- he hated everything except recess and lunch.  He especially hated the daily activities that involved mosaics and puzzles.  He would begin to cry and finally find his way down the hall to his mother’s office where he had rather take a nap than try to work a puzzle.  His mother thought he was immature and needed time to develop. He then began 1st grade at Friendship Christian School.  It was a struggle, but it was manageable.  However, by the third grade, everything exploded…, learning became a struggle.  It took a team effort (his teacher, his mother and him) just to do the work.  He hated school so very, very much. His family lived very close to the school, so in the summer when they would drive by the school, he would cover his eyes or lay down in the seat so he would not have to look at the school.  This was the year he began full time tutoring.  His tutor knew he was embarrassed to be pulled out of the room to get help, so when she came to the room to get him she would always say, “I am here for his foreign language class.”  She tried very hard to make him feel good about himself.  At the end of 3rd grade, it was recommended by his teacher and tutor to have him tested by the county.  It was confirmed that he was dyslexic.  Wow! What do they do now? — So, they added more private tutoring throughout the summer.

As they were driving home after the first day of school in 4th grade, he asked his mom how long it would be until summer vacation…She knew at that moment, it was going to be a very long year.  They continued with private tutoring every week through 5th grade.  He still hated school with a passion except for recess and now Bible.  He loved Bible!  He would come home from school and try to read stories to her he had learned that day at school.  The work was beginning to be more than he could handle and he was getting farther and farther behind.  They loved Friendship and did not want to leave, but at the same time could not imagine 6th grade for him.  They knew it would be selfish to keep him at Friendship. So they began looking for ways to help him.  His mom found a school in Murfreesboro that could help his dyslexia.  At the same time, she was searching for any program that could help him after school so he could stay at Friendship.  It was recommended that a teaching program called Expressways To Learning would help.  He was evaluated and was to attend 4 days a week after school.  This seemed like torture for a boy who hated school so much, now he would have to go an extra 2 hours every day. So a hard choice had to be made. They made the decision to withdraw him from Friendship and enroll him in the school in Murfreesboro.  This was the hardest decision they ever made, but they felt it was the best for him.  Their hope was that he would study a year in Murfreesboro and then return to Friendship.  He had been at Friendship since 1st grade; he loved his friends and his school.  He just learned differently.

That summer the mom began to work at the school that he would attend.  She wanted to make the transition successful and easy for him, plus she wanted to learn how to help him learn.  Together, they made a pact that they were in this together and together they would learn.  Even though she was training to work at the school he would be attending, at the last moment, she found out that she would be working at one of their other locations.  This put a whole new twist to their plan…, and yet God had other plans.  While all of this was happening, God was working through a teacher at Friendship.  Kari Ferrell had heard about the same program, Expressways To Learning and she was so excited about the way it could help students at Friendship.  As always, God’s timing is perfect and He brought this family, Kari Ferrell and Friendship all together at the right time.

You see, this family is a real family — it is my family and the little boy of this story is my son, Christian. In August 2004, Friendship began the Expressways To Learning program in its newly created Learning Enrichment Center and Christian was able to begin his 6th grade year at Friendship, instead of our plan to go to Murfreesboro.  God’s plan immediately went to work. Christian began his efforts in the Learning Center and within  3 ? months he had made an average 2 year grade level gain.  2 YEARS!!  This is tremendous results!  When you see how proud he is now, you know how deep his pain has been.  As he is coming to the close of his 6th grade year, he is walking taller due to the confidence that has been built through successful learning. If you were to open any of Christian’s notebooks today, you would find a card made by him that says 100% ALL THE TIME.  He says that he made this to remind him to keep on going even when it gets hard. But the best part about this story that I bring to you is that it isn’t just about Christian.  Other students here have increased their knowledge and learning skills through the Learning Enrichment Center here at Friendship. So, on behalf of our 46 students currently enrolled in the Learning Enrichment Center, all who on an average have seen a year and a half grade level gain, Kari and I would like to say thank you to our Board of Directors, Jon Shoulders, Becky Kegley, Veronica Bender, Kristi Chaffin, our teachers and our parents for believing in us and supporting our efforts as we help to establish this wonderful teaching program for our children.  YOUR CHILDREN. The potential for students to learn—and just as important—our school to teach—has never been so promising.  Thank you for listening to my story.