Elon, NC: University to open elem school for dyslexic students; 150-200 places

Nov 6, 2025, WFMY,  Greensboro, NC: Elon announces new private school for children with dyslexia

https://www.wfmynews2.com/article/news/education/elon-new-private-school-serving-children-dyslexia/83-964d8987-62a5-4ed5-b29c-89509ec0b7ae#

The Roberts Academy will open for third- and fourth-graders in fall 2026 and eventually plans to serve children in grades one through six.

ELON, N.C. — Elon University is launching North Carolina’s first university-based private school dedicated to serving children with dyslexia, the school announced on Thursday.

The school, called the Roberts Academy at Elon University, is set to open in Fall 2026 for third- and fourth-grade students in a temporary location on West Trollinger Avenue. A permanent, state-of-the-art facility along East Haggard Avenue is planned to open in Fall 2028, when the academy expands to grades one through six.

Elon says the academy is funded through a “visionary investment” from Hal and Marjorie Roberts of Lakeland, Florida — philanthropists who have established similar academies at Florida Southern College, Mercer University and Vanderbilt University. The couple says their donations are inspired by their grandchildren, who thrived when taught through structured, multisensory methods proven to help students with dyslexia.

“This is not just a gift to Elon. It is a gift to families, schools, and communities across North Carolina and beyond,” Elon University President Connie Ledoux Book said in a statement. . . .

The academy will enroll between 150 and 200 students once fully operational, with no more than a dozen children per classroom. All instruction will use the Orton-Gillingham method, a nationally recognized structured literacy approach often recommended for students with dyslexia.

Students typically attend Roberts Academy schools for two to three years and then return to their community schools better equipped for long-term success, according to the university.

A related investment from the Roberts family will also establish the Roberts Center for Dyslexia and Engaged Learning within Elon’s Dr. Jo Watts Williams School of Education. The center will serve as a regional resource hub for educators and policymakers and will help address a statewide need for early identification of reading challenges. . . .