Fort Worth families, volunteers stress importance of dyslexia screening
When Kim Medford asked her youngest son, Noah, what he wanted for Christmas last year, he had an unconventional wish.
“Do you think Santa has any control over reading?” he asked her. “Could he help me out with that?”
Noah, then a fifth grader at Como Elementary School, had struggled with reading for years. Medford has two other kids who had been diagnosed with dyslexia, and she suspected he had the disorder as well. But every time Medford brought the issue up with his teachers, they dismissed her concerns, saying he would catch up. But he never did.
Medford was one of about a half dozen speakers who told the Fort Worth City Council Tuesday night about how the issue of literacy affected them, their families and the city as a whole. Last summer, Medford had Noah screened during the city’s Literacy Roundup program. As she suspected, the screening showed that Noah may have dyslexia.
The city, in partnership with the Sid W. Richardson Foundation, offered screenings over the summer at summer day camps throughout the city in hopes of identifying students who may have the disorder and connecting parents with information about what services they might need.
Caroline James, an education consultant with the foundation and the lead organizer behind the screening project, told the council that about 400 students went through the screening. Nearly 150 students were flagged as being at risk for having dyslexia.
Across all public and charter school campuses in Fort Worth, 43% of third graders scored on grade level in reading last year, according to an analysis of state test scores released by the Fort Worth Education Partnership. City and school leaders and education advocates have described the issue as a ongoing crisis.
Not all of the students who aren’t on grade level in reading have dyslexia, James said. But many do, and those students can be taught to read with the proper support. If the city wants to improve literacy overall, helping those students learn to read is a big piece of the puzzle, she said.
Fantasy Reynolds, a volunteer with the project, praised the council and city leaders for putting city resources behind solving the literacy problem. She called on city officials to go a step further, and ensure that every student in Fort Worth has been screened.
Reynolds said she has two kids with dyslexia. Her daughter was diagnosed in 2005 as a third grader in Fort Worth ISD. She told the council that students need to be screened earlier, so parents and teachers can get them the help they need “before the feelings of low self esteem become embedded in their psyches.”
“These children don’t struggle with will, it’s skill,” Reynolds said. “And so early screenings are a first step in the right direction.”
This story was originally published September 9, 2025 at 8:48 PM.
