Johnson Family

The Johnson family’s connection to The de Paul School spans three generations and began with Michael’s (the father’s) own struggles to read as a child. After being told by a doctor that he was “mildly retarded,” his parents refused to accept that diagnosis and instead enrolled him at the newly founded de Paul School under […]

Hatcher Family

The de Paul School has been a life-changing thread running through multiple generations of the Hatcher family. Keisa Hatcher is a proud graduate of the de Paul school and now mother to 5 de Paul alumni. She recalls her own childhood, when her parents first suspected a learning difference: “My parents asked me to read […]

Brynn Gerstle, ’04

Brynn’s Story: As a young student, Brynn Gerstle realized she learned differently when she struggled to keep up with her classmates—most memorably the day she turned in a math test completely blank and hid in the bushes on her walk home, afraid to face her mom. Though she loved school, her struggles with reading and […]

Jesse Schmitt, ’06

Jesse’s Story: As a child, Jesse Schmitt struggled deeply with reading comprehension and writing.  “Things were just not clicking for me,” recalls Jesse. “I could read the same page over and over and never understand what I just read.” He also remembers dreading writing assignments he couldn’t organize. School became a daily frustration – he’d even […]