This week Frisco ISD announces that it has received accreditation to be a dyslexia therapist training center.

The accreditation comes from the International Multisensory Structured Language Education Council. FISD is the first public school district in the country to be accredited by IMSLEC, according to a district press release.

“Frisco ISD is committed to supporting all students in learning at high levels and our dyslexia program is one key element of how we put that commitment into action,” FISD Chief Academic Officer Katie Kordel said in a press release. “The strength of our dyslexia program and being recognized as an accredited dyslexia therapist training center is a testament to the passion and commitment of our dyslexia therapists and leadership.”

FISD serves more than 1,000 students in its dyslexia program, and the district pursued the accreditation to enable the district to train and certify teachers as dyslexia therapists in-house.

“By becoming an accredited training center, FISD has the unique opportunity to more fully support the community as a whole and to decrease the shortage of dyslexia therapists needed to meet all of the needs of students in our area,” FISD Dyslexia Coordinator Cherie Howell said in the release. “The district is thrilled to provide teachers therapy-level training.”

The closest center is at the Scottish Rite Hospital Dyslexia Educator Center in downtown Dallas. Howell said in a previous Community Impact Newspaper article that if the district wants dyslexia-certified teachers, it has to send teachers to the two-year training program in Dallas.

“[Becoming a center] would really help us train in-house,” Howell said. “It would save the district in travel costs to the hospital, and I think it also provides a service because it builds up our capacity as a dyslexia department.”