Princeton, New Jersey, September 26, 2000
Students in New Jersey's special needs districts who have learning disabilities will soon have the tools they need to meet their academic potential. Select Abbott district schools will share a $300,000 grant from the state Department of Education, thanks to support from Governor Christine Whitman and the state legislature. The districts are: New Brunswick, Camden, Trenton and Paterson.
Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic (RFB&D) will announce details of the funding at a news conference on Friday, September 29, 2000 at 11:00 a.m. Assemblyman Joseph V. Doria, Jr., New Brunswick Schools Superintendent Dr. Ronald Larkin and Tedford Taylor, executive director of RFB&D's New Jersey Unit will participate in the program. It is being held at the Lincoln Elementary School, 66 Bartlett Street in New Brunswick.
The grant is the largest ever received for the purpose of providing the necessary tools and resources to youngsters with learning disabilities who attend schools in special needs districts. RFB&D's New Jersey Unit's Learning Through Listening (LTL) program, pioneered in the New Brunswick school district, has emerged as a state and national model.
Assemblyman Doria explains, "As an educator and teacher for many years in New Jersey, I learned firsthand what will assist students with learning disabilities in the classroom. I sponsored this bill because I knew it would make a tremendous difference for many kids with learning disabilities. It provides them with the specific tools they need to succeed."
"Learning Through Listening is an outstanding program and we are appreciative of this additional funding that will benefit the students of New Brunswick," says Superintendent Larkin. Taylor adds, "We are grateful for the state support and are excited to expand the LTL program that we piloted in New Brunswick last year."
RFB&D, a 50-year-old national nonprofit organization headquartered in Princeton, provides textbooks on tape for individuals who cannot read standard print effectively because of a disability such as a visual impairment or dyslexia. More than 5,500 volunteers record books in 32 studios in 17 states.