New Way Academy Featured Alumni


Reed Heller

Reed Heller, alumni of New Way Academy, struggled to overcome dyslexia especially in the areas of processing, phonology and comprehension.

His mom, Nancy, first realized Reed was struggling in school when she subbed for his 3rd grade classroom. She saw that he was having a difficult time keeping up and wanted him to repeat 2nd grade. The school insisted that he was "borderline" and did not need to be held back to repeat the 2nd grade.

From there, Reed transitioned into a private school and then a charter school. Although it was determined that Reed had processing issues, he did not qualify for special services. Nancy searched the Valley looking for independent tutors and speech therapists that could supplement what Reed was not getting at school.

Nancy's best piece of advice to parents is to "keep digging". She didn't settle on a school that was not giving Reed everything he needed. She kept looking until she found the perfect mix of what he needed to be successful. When the Heller family found New Way, Nancy was relieved to have so much taken off her plate. With Reed receiving speech, OT, and reading therapy, Nancy was able to trust a school to take care of Reed's comprehensive educational experience. "The beauty of New Way is that each student is given exactly what they need, by teachers that are always willing to go the extra mile."

For Reed, some of the successful methods taught at New Way included Step up to Writing and the Spire reading program. The school is a small, nurturing environment where students are not afraid to ask questions. Reed said it helped him feel comfortable and this allowed him to speak up for himself.

Reed attended New Way for five years, from 5th grade through ninth. Because of his academic program at NW, he was able to transition into a large public high school, Horizon High in the Paradise Valley District. He is completing high school and plans to go to an Arizona State University and study business. If that works out, he may apply to law school - a huge goal for child who struggled with reading in middle school!

We asked Reed what advice he would give other students who have learning differences. He recommends going to a small school, especially New Way, and taking advantage of the individualized attention, along with added teacher and staff support. He appreciated the transition program, Freshman Focus, a class to prepare students for a main stream school setting and ultimately the real world.



Richard Worthington

Nobody wakes up, looks in the in the mirror, and smiles because it is a good day to fail in school. A learning disability makes failing a walk in the park and passing class a personal Mount Everest. Some would say that dyslexia plagues my life, but I see my learning difference as a characteristic that has greatly shaped my personality. Through the difficult early school days to seeking help for my disability, my life has been a marathon resulting in my high school graduation.

In a family where education was gold and school days were like the Olympics, how could I not be excited for my first day of school? Showing up with my new Scooby-Doo backpack and the thrill of making new friends, I had no idea there could possibly be anything wrong. It soon became apparent to my kindergarten teacher that I was not succeeding at the same rate as my peers. The backwards "e" and my creative spelling were the least of my worries. As I traveled through the elementary grades, I found great displeasure in the literature department and found the only way to deal with the big red "F" atop my paper was to pretend it meant "Fantastic!" I could not write as fast as the other kids, I was not finishing tests, and my early departure from the spelling bee left me time to distract the remaining contestants. School was an uncomfortable place due to reading in front of the class and the laughter from students that would follow it. What seemed to be one of the best parts of my life had turned into a nightmare that no one else understood.

My parents quickly picked up that I was struggling, seen in my transgressions such as throwing books at the wall and trying every excuse to avoid school. Armed with the fear that my throwing arm would soon be thrown out and the desire to help me become a better student, my parents started a search to see what would help. Shortly after this quest began, I found myself in a room across from a lady who put me through a strange test that "I could not fail." Even though all I remember from the test was the view out the window, they discovered that I had a learning disability. I had dyslexia.

Now that my parents knew why I had been struggling, they decided to try different ways to help me- a new school, a tutor, and Ritalin. Even with these new changes I was too far behind to catch up to my classmates; even my little sister was reading better than me. Something big had to happen, and my tutor knew exactly what that was.

With my tutor's suggestion, my parents enrolled me at a special school for kids with learning differences, called New Way Academy. On the first day of fifth grade, I found myself once again standing in front of a new school with mixed emotions while thinking to myself, "There is no way that there are kids that also have my problem." Boy, I was never happier to be proven wrong. At this new school they knew exactly how to teach me; providing me with regular classes, yet at same time, a specialized reading class to help me with my dyslexia. I met other students that were going through the same hardships as me. With the help of New Way, I found the love for school that I had lost in kindergarten.

Today I am a senior in a preparatory academy beginning my college application process. With the training I received from New Way I worked hard and participated in class without the fear of my dyslexia holding me back. Though I still struggle with my disability, I do not let it get in the way of my learning and involvement in extracurricular activities such as sports, student government, and Boy Scouts. Even though I faced an uphill battle early in my school career, I feel I have reached the summit of my learning experience and I am ready to face another adventure.