Nashua Learning Center, CLC

The Nashua Learning Center belongs to a family of dyslexia tutoring centers established in 1994 by the 32° Masonic Learning Centers for Children, Inc., a 501(c)3 charitable organization originally developed jointly by the Language Disorders Unit of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard University, and is headquartered in Lexington, Massachusetts. The Nashua Tutoring Center is one of over 50 centers located in the northeastern United States, and has been operating at 200 Main Street, Nashua, New Hampshire since 1998.

Remediation of dyslexia is a pressing need in this community as it is everywhere. Although dyslexia affects about 15 % of the student population, it is not systemically identified or adequately treated in the public school system. These children typically have above-average intelligence, but their dyslexia if left untreated can create academic problems that lead to emotional and self-esteem difficulties throughout their lives.

The mission of the Nashua Center, primarily to remediate dyslexia, is two fold. (1) To provide, free of charge, state of the art, multi-sensory tutorial reading and writing language instruction to children with dyslexia using the Orton-Gillingham method. As an additional benefit to the community, (2) the Center provides free of charge a program of professional development and certification for public school teachers and other college graduates who seek to be trained as dyslexia tutors, thereby leveraging the instructional capacity to others in need who are unable to come to the center.

The Centers enrollment varies from 30-35 students for the 28-week academic year starting in September and 25-30 students for the 6-week summer session in July. In addition there are presently 9 tutor-trainees who are scheduled to be certified in May 2011. Each child receives individual one-on-one instruction during a one-hour after school session twice a week. Most students complete the program in two to three years.

The approved budget for the Nashua Center for the fiscal year ending 8/31/2010 is $115,250. Only about half of this amount ($60,000) comes from the national Masonic Learning Center’s endowment fund. The balance must be raised locally through Sponsor-a-Child programs, individual gifts and donations, grants, and other activities such as walk-a-thons, golf tournaments, and comedy nights. We receive no city, state, federal, or United Way support, but have requested and received grants from a number of trusts and foundations, including the Barker Foundation and the Cogswell Benevolent Trust in amounts ranging from $2000-$15,000. The 32° Masonic Learning Centers for Children, Incorporated is a nonprofit charitable organization exempt under Section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code.