30% of all students will not achieve their potential, from a slight to a profound degree, without daily instruction in evidence-based, structured language methods and curricula. This is particularly critical during k-2 language acquisition, when new neural loops are forming. Few public schools do it, but most private schools do, whether they specialize in teaching kids with learning differences or
not. ALL kids learn more, and learn faster, using structured language techniques. Achievement levels are virtually the same, later interventions are reduced, often 50%. But we don't do that in public schools. So the kids with slight difficulty forming those new neurological loops don't get the right help k-2. They start falling behind in confidence, self-worth, academic skills, and the ability to catch up, exponentially with each grade. That formerly slight difference often escalates in to an official "disability," which is simply a legal label of severity, (Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, Dyscalculia, etc.), indicating a significant gap between your IQ and certain academic skills. To get that "label" a child first has to struggle and fail in a non-suitable classroom every day, for years, until they fall two grade levels behind. Then our system gives "help" once or twice a week, often using simple repetition of the same, non-effective curricula. FAPE is an acronym from the bill to protect people with disabilities, ensuring a "Free and Appropriate Public Education."
