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Dyslexia therapists ask Judson board for stipend and title recognition
Summary
A group of certified dyslexia therapists addressed the board during public comment, asking the district to add a stipend and to recognize their role with a hiring title change that reflects clinical training. Speakers compared their training to other roles and asked pay and title parity.
Several certified dyslexia therapists used public comment time to ask the board to create a dyslexia stipend and to adjust hiring titles to reflect their clinical credentials.
What speakers said
Kyra McCarron, who identified herself as a licensed dyslexia therapist and certified academic language therapist working across elementary, middle and high campuses, asked the board to implement "retention incentives" such as a stipend and a title change for therapists. McCarron said dyslexia therapists provide specially designed instruction in small-group settings and perform work similar to special education teachers and diagnosticians; she asked the board to consider pay parity and recognition.
Felicia Castaneda and Christina Kastner, also certified academic language therapists, described the training and clinical hours dyslexia therapists complete and contrasted their duties with speech-language pathologists and educational diagnosticians. They told the board the district's dyslexia program is widely used by families and argued the program and its staff need both retention incentives and a hiring schedule that recognizes the therapists' experience and specialized training.
What the speakers asked the board to do
- Establish a district stipend for dyslexia therapists to aid recruitment and retention. - Modify hiring/title language to reflect therapists' credentials (examples cited included listing dyslexia therapist alongside teachers, counselors and librarians in hiring and compensation schedules).
Context and next steps
Speakers said the district's dyslexia program follows the science of reading and provides early identification and intervention. Board members acknowledged the request and said staff would consider the request as part of compensation and staffing discussions; no immediate action or vote on a stipend was taken during the meeting.
Ending
Therapists asked for recognition of their training and compensation parity. Trustees asked administration to review the request and report back; staff indicated pay and title changes would be evaluated within broader compensation and staffing reviews.
