achieve program helps students get jump start on school, studying

By Gus Bode

As Russell Holder struggled through high school, the thought of college seemed out of his reach.

I didn’t think that I was going to college, said Holder, a junior in administration of justice from Naperville.

Holder was unsure about going to college because he has a learning disability. Holder has been able to succeed academically at SIUC with the help of the Clinical Center’s Achieve Program.

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The Achieve Program provides academic support services for students with diagnosed learning disabilities, such as dyslexia, said Barbara Cordoni, coordinator of the Achieve Program.

The program, founded by Cordoni in 1978, was the first program in the country designed specifically for learning disabled students and the first to be instituted on a college campus.

We’re kind of the granddaddy of them all, said Amy Shaw, the developmental skills training specialist for the Achieve Program.

Cordoni said she has seen students from every state in the country and from 15 foreign countries involved in the program.

If they have made it this far (in school) the students have to be highly motivated, Cordoni said. The majority of my students know darn good and well what it takes to get an education.

Cordoni said of the students who graduate in the Achieve Program, 11 percent go on to graduate school.

Once they get here and realized they can learn, they don’t want to quit, Cordoni said.

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The Achieve Program has not only helped students with studying, but it has also provided some students with lessons they can carry on to the work place.

Dave Farris, a 1995 SIUC graduate in forestry from Evansville, Ind., uses some of the tips he learned from the Achieve Program in his job as a refuge officer for the fish and wildlife service.

Farris said since he has dyslexia, it is difficult for him to fill out an accident report while listening to the person involved in the accident. Instead of concentrating only on his notes, Farris uses a tape recorder so he can pay closer attention to the person.

The tricks that you learn here (the Achieve Program), they follow you, Farris said. There’s probably no way I could have graduated without this program.

This fall semester, 185 students will be in the Achieve Program. The program costs $1,850 per semester for students with full-time support.

Each student must complete an application and two days of diagnostic testing, which costs $1,050 total. From the tests, it is determined how much support a student needs.

The services provided by the Achieve Program include tutoring, note takers, test proctoring, books on tape, remediation, developmental writing and graduate supervision.

Shaw said the Achieve Program has the largest student payroll on campus and they are always looking for responsible students to provide the services of the program.

It’s a beneficial situation not only for the students but for the people who work here, Shaw said.

Rob Neff, a graduate student in geography from Carbondale, takes notes in his summer class for a student in the Achieve Program.

He said one day in class the instructor announced that a note taker was needed for a student in the class.

I thought as long as I’m in the class anyway, why not take notes and get paid for it, Neff said.

Neff said he thinks the situation works well for both students.

I get a little extra cash and the guy gets the help he needs, Neff said.

The services are used by the students to help them learn the way they need to learn.

I don’t think that I’d be able to get the grades that I do (without the Achieve Program), Holder said. They (people with learning disabilities) aren’t stupid. People need to realize these students have a lot of potential.

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