Happy Anniversary to Us!!!

Happy 20th Anniversary!!!

Wow! This month marks the 20th anniversary of the opening of Langsford Learning Acceleration Centers!  We are so excited that we've decided to celebrate all year long!!  Watch here and on our website for upcoming events, as we have many funs things planned.  Speaking of Langsford Center, did you see the recent article on us in the Courier Journal?  If not, click here!

Getting Ready for the new School Year

Time for the new school year!

New pencils?  Check.

New backpack? Check.

Improved reading skills?  Check! Check!

This is Jayden.

Jayden worked very hard this summer to improve his reading in preparation for this school year.  He definitely deserved a celebration!  We miss him already.....

Langsford Center Celebrations

Tucker's Birthday!

At Langsford Center, we believe that life should be a celebration.  We celebrate both large and small accomplishments of both our clients and our staff, as well as birthdays, anniversaries, and new babies.  Usually our celebrations  include Oreo cookies.  But sometimes, there just has to be a birthday cake with all the trimmings to properly mark a special day.  Wouldn't you agree?

For the Love of Reading

"So please, oh PLEASE, we beg, we pray,

Go throw your TV set away,

And in its place you can install,

A lovely bookshelf on the wall."

— Roald Dahl, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Nothing is more rewarding than seeing children become excited about reading. Will is a first grader who recently completed sessions with us. You can see by the look on his face in this picture that he was happy to receive a book at his ending celebration. Kristin, his Learning Coordinator, picked one special for him that she thought he'd enjoy. What you don't see, is the sense of pride Will displayed in sessions as his reading skills developed.

When checking in with Will's mom a short time later, Kristin learned that Will had already read the book she'd given him and moved on to one from the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series! Mom reported that, while the book is challenging for him (it's above his grade level!), he really wanted to read it and is able to work through and decode most of it on his own.

"So, please, oh Please, we beg, we pray,

Read with your children every day.

Keep books on hand for lots of fun,

They'll be so proud, once they're done!"

---Langsford Learning Acceleration Centers

Special Ties

One of the greatest things about working at Langsford Learning Acceleration Centers is getting to meet so many amazing kids! Working together closely to achieve success in reading can create some everlasting bonds.

Recently we had the pleasure of working with a fireball of energy and enthusiasm named Allie! One of our directors, Claudia McCrocklin, was Allie's Learning Coordinator. Simply put, Claudia was the one who created an individualized plan of action for Allie and oversaw it's implementation through the Langsford instructors.

Claudia went into Allie's sessions on a regular basis and it wasn't long until she and Allie became great friends! Allie often ran up the hall to give Claudia a big hug when she saw her!

When Allie finished her work and came back to have her skills retested to determine the level of progress she'd made, Allie was excited about seeing all the friends she'd made here, especially Claudia!

A Thank You That Warmed Our Hearts!

We just love getting feedback from the kids we work with! This is Will and he wrote something special for us and read it at his last day celebration.

It said: "I can't believe how much better my reading got. Thank you Langsford."

Will: we are so glad your reading got better! We truly enjoyed working with you!

Ode to Ian

There once was a boy named Ian,

with a smile that could light up the sky.

He came to Langsford for reading,

and left with his head held high.

He accomplished his goals,

and made friends to boot!

He captured our hearts,

like a robber does loot!

We will miss him like crazy,

'cause boy, was he fun!

But alas, he is leaving,

his work here is done.

So Good-bye, Ian!

Thanks for all the good times!

Keep on reading those books,

and writing those lines.

But mostly keep smiling,

that light-the-sky smile,

and come back to see us,

every once in a while!

Congratulations on completing your Langsford work, Ian!

Erick--A Mighty Learning Warrior

Sometimes learning new material can seem like a major battle, sometimes it's just a little skirmish. It is different for everyone.

But every single individual, regardless of their level of skill, can benefit from learning strategies designed to aid language comprehension. This mighty warrior, Erick, accepted the challenge of enriching his skills and came to Langsford prepared to face any obstacle, tackle any adversity, and to conquer new skills to help him excel academically.

For his last day celebration, Erick came dressed as the mighty warrior he is. (Oh, and did we mention his last day was on Halloween?)

Hail to Erick, a Mighty Learning Warrior!

A Model Family

Recently we celebrated Jolie's completion of a phase of work at LLAC devoted to improving her reading and spelling skills.  Since Jolie's older sister who lives in Chicago was in town, it was a rare photo op for the family!  

Sarah's Got Talent!

While this may look like a new singing group auditioning for "America's Got Talent," the show in this picture is all about Sarah! One of Sarah's many talents include winning the hearts of the Middletown Langsford Staff. On Sarah's last day of sessions, everyone wanted to get into the act for her celebration!

In this picture, from left to right, are Sarah's supporting cast: Fran, suffering a little stage fright but excited about getting into the act; Toni W., trying to steal the show; Claudia, Sarah's Learning Coordinator and Ringmaster of this crew; and Toni H., another instructor, who would sing, dance, or juggle to have more students like Sarah!

Sarah, we think you're a winner and your talent will take you far in life!

Ready for Second Grade!

Nothing is worse than having to dread school starting up in the fall! Collin and his family won't have to do that this year, as Collin has been working all summer to prepare!

He completed his session work with us in June, with a promise of continuing on his own this summer so that he would be well-prepared for second grade. Collin's Learning Coordinator, Kristin, sent home sight words to practice, spelling words to master and a recommendation for lots of fun reading and writing. Collin's summer plans included signing up for the reading club at his local library.

How great for Collin to start a new school year feeling prepared and confident! We hope he wow's his teacher this year!

The Family Who Reads Together, Learns Together

DAD AN INSPIRATION

For some Langsford families, reading is a family affair. Parents who lead by example and make reading a family-centered activity are creating an environment which fosters life-long readers.

Ethan and his dad, David (right), are a perfect example. Ethan came to Langsford throughout the spring to work on reading and spelling. Often, while Ethan was in sessions working on reading, Dad could be found in the lobby working on his reading, too.

When students took breaks from sessions to play in the lobby, they could usually expect to find David sitting and reading, and even taking notes.

Here, Ethan is pictured on the day of his celebration marking the completion of a phase of work at Langsford. Typically, on celebration day, students receive a certificate and are asked to pass out cookies. Ethan’s celebration, though, was different. Ethan chose to let Dad pass out the cookies, because he’d put in so much hard work, too.

Ethan’s family isn’t the only family like this, however. Many siblings and parents of Langsford students pass a quiet hour or two in the lobby with a good book. Situations like these aren’t just heart-warming, they support the belief that reading skills are one of the most important things that families can nurture in children. We commend Ethan's family and those like them that inspire by example.

Kristin's Decade at Langsford

Recently, one of our Learning Coordinators, Kristin, celebrated her tenth anniversary working with Langsford. As a celebratory gift, Kristin received a beautiful cut-glass bowl engraved with a special thank-you for her years of enthusiastic commitment.

Regarding her decade at Langsford, Kristin says, “This is by far the best job I've ever had AND the best working environment. Working with people who are truly invested in a common purpose, with little regard for personal gain, is a delight.”

Before coming to Langsford, Kristin specialized in Special Education, with a particular focus on children with severe behavioral and emotional difficulties. For twenty years she worked in a variety of settings in many different states, before finally leaving JCPS to work full-time at Langsford. She still thinks it was the best decision she ever made.

We agree! Thanks, Kristin, and here’s to another ten years!

A Future Indiana Jones??

Upon completing his quest for a Certificate of Achievement at Langsford Learning Center, Seth prepared for his next adventure by starting the book, King Tut's Mummy.   Seth's "Mummy" must be very proud of her little adventurer!   

Toni's 5 Year Anniversary!

Toni recently celebrated her 5 year anniversary here at Langsford! She is a lively instructor, dedicated to creating independent learners. We've really missed her the last couple of weeks, as she had to take a little time off for a medical procedure.

Apparently Langsford Staff aren't the only ones missing her. On a recent trip to see her, we found one of her favorite students sitting there visiting her! She'll be back soon and all the staff and students here wish her a speedy recovery!

Sometimes a Smile Says it All

This is Kennedy, an 8th grader, with his instructor Joseph. It's his last day at Langsford, and it's hard to say which of these guys is prouder!

While here, Kennedy worked on his comprehension, with lots of application to schoolwork.

High school should be a whole lot easier next year!

Describing Evan In One Word

If allowed only one word to describe Evan in relation to reading, everyone agrees the word would have to be confident.

Evan's parents are very pleased with his progress and they say he is reading more independently at home now and is taking an interest in sports books.

His Language Arts Teacher wrote:

If he comes to a word that he does not recognize, most times he is able to figure out the word based on the skills he has learned....He is much more confident in his ability that he CAN DO IT!

His teacher in other subject areas noticed a change in Evan too:

...Evan, I feel, is much more confident about reading in the classroom than he was in the beginning of the year. Whenever I call on him to read aloud in class, there is no hesitation at all. He read about two paragraphs yesterday and had trouble with only one word.

Way to go Evan and all of us at Langsford are confident you will enjoy reading those sports books!

Langsford Celebrates 17 Years

Langsford Learning Acceleration Centers recently celebrated 17 years of helping students learn to read, spell and comprehend. Here's a picture of the yummy cake Plehn's Bakery made for the party:


And here's a picture of Stephen and Claudia with the Langsford Staff in the background. This picture turned out to be the calm before the storm because everyone was really hungry. If you look carefully, you can see that the staff was ready to eat and tired of picture-taking:



Oh sure, you might think that's the traditional "peace" sign someone is flashing behind Claudia, but really it was someone using their fingers to simulate scissors and yelling "Cut the cake! Cut the cake!"

Then, when Stephen finally did begin to cut the cake, he took forever because he had to painstakingly line up each knife cut perfectly. Now, this tendency for perfection is certainly useful when helping a student match all the words in the sentence she's reading, but in this situation, it only increased the restlessness. A real free-for-all began when everyone wanted a piece that included logo icing.

Whew, it's a good thing company birthday celebrations only happen once a year. If you have some good tips on how to clean bright green icing off of bright yellow walls, let us know, okay?

Thoroughly Delightful

This is Anika who did some work with us this summer. Kristin reports that Anika made great strides with writing down her thoughts.

Paul taught quite a few of her sessions and he told me she is a "thoroughly delightful" child and it was so much fun to work with her.

With increased confidence in her spelling ability, she will now be able to write some "thoroughly delightful" stories!

Past Langsford Client Receives Distinction in Reading

We heard great news from a past client the other day. Michael's mother brought in an award he received from The Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth.

He received Distinction in Reading for the 2008 academic year!

His proud mother wrote:

"Michael came to the Langsford Center 1999-2000; now, 8 years later, it still holds! Thank you!"