Father Anglim Academy helps fill education gap

"She was one of those kids who fall through the cracks," said Lehigh Acres resident Tammy Hoffman, whose daughter Katelyn struggled to keep up in kindergarten at a public school. "When you have a child with special needs, you're kind of caught in that Catch-22."

This year, the 7-year-old is catching up on her studies at Father Anglim Academy, a private, Catholic school in downtown Fort Myers with small classes and personal instruction.

Attending are a select 68 students: first through 12th-graders who may be unsuited for general education programs, but are in many other ways normal, or unusually bright. Dyslexia, Asperger's Syndrome and attention disorders are some of their typical diagnoses — conditions that can alienate students from their peers and frustrate teachers who don't have the resourses or training to accommodate them.

Hoffman has nothing but good things to say about Katelyn's new surroundings, although it means driving 45 minutes out of the way every morning and costs her about $600 a month in tuition, even after a scholarship pays half of it.

"Already I can see the difference and it's only been a few weeks," she said. "I'm just very, very blessed that the school is there and provides opportunities for these children."

The Academy was created in 2002 inside a former Catholic convent; the tiny chapel became Principal Lori Moreau's office; the bedrooms became classrooms.

Their doors open to a small flood of children during a mid-morning recess, where they play board games, read, draw or grab a snack in the courtyard.

The school was the brainchild of a Franciscan nun who is no longer with the Diocese of Venice, and originally created Father Anglim's sister school in Sarasota: Dreams are Free.

Between the two schools, there isn't enough room to accept all the applicants. So the process is highly selective, and based on which students they think would be helped most. It involves at least two interviews and the student spends a test-day at Anglim.

"It's very exciting to hear the news you've passed the initial hurdle and then been invited back," Hoffman said.

Principal Moreau said 48 students were turned away last year. Now she's raising funds for a new school in Lee County.

She's also looking for help with tuition assistance. The McKay Scholarship, the only financial help for the school's parents, pays half the yearly $12,800 cost for one student; 85 percent of Anglim's students use it. Other help comes from community volunteers, said Bonnie Ross, Anglim's director of development.

"That adds to what makes the school so great," Ross said. "We can always use more community involvement."

The students are non-graded and offered an array of programs in the arts, and core courses in reading and mathematics to prepare for college.

A program called FAST ForWord is an example of the school's extra-sensory programs to help students catch up on their studies: a computer game that asks players to identify speech sounds that have been stretched out by a synthesized recording.

As student's relearn skills, they often move back into the public school system. Others stay and get a high school diploma.

"A lot of students will move on when they're ready," Moreau said. "They come here to get their skills shored up."

The Academy also teaches Catholic doctrine, although only about half the students are Catholic.

Susan Massie, who has been a public school teacher for 20 years, enrolled her son at the Academy because he's dyslexic and had trouble reading; now he's being read James and the Giant Peach out loud.

"We haven't lost him yet," she said. "He still has that love of reading and that love of learning."

Chris Buzenius enrolled her 16-year-old daughter, because it was a place her learning disabilities would be understood.

"I knew kids at that age can be really cruel if you're different," she said.

For more information, call (239) 337-4010 or visit fatheranglimacademy.org.