3-D School Principal receives Kindness in Action recognition

HATTIESBURG, MS. - Principal Cena Holified of the 3-D School in Petal is this week's Kindness in Action recipient. In 2008 she founded the non-profit Christian dyslexia school.

The 3-D school stands for Dynamic, Dyslexia, Design. Dr. Holified and her staff prepares students diagnosed with dyslexia to be integrated into regular schools.

“Dyslexia is when a person with average or above average intelligence has trouble with reading, writing, and spelling" says Dr. Holifield.

She started the school after realizing students with dyslexia needed extra attention in a regular setting. The 3-D school accepts students going into 2nd to 5th grade. According to Dr. Holifield its a certain time when teachers catch dyslexia in students.

“We offer here at the school dyslexia therapy by dyslexia therapists, and all of our teachers are dyslexia therapists" she says. Each students goes through a comprehensive dyslexia therapy curriculum for 3 years.

"They are receiving dyslexia therapy one hour each day in a small group." She adds, "Then they go back to their classroom in a small classroom where their teacher is a dyslexia therapist for their remainder of the day.”

In each subject the students learn by repetition, review, and reinforcement in language skills. “Our children have different needs, the way we teach them is through multi-sensory techniques" Dr. Holified says.

Since 2008 3-D school has helped around 350 kids with dyslexia in the Pine Belt. In the last 10 years many students have benefited greatly from this type of curriculum and have gone on to be successful when re-entering a regular school setting.

She says, “From the first year that we had started, the kids then, are now entering as seniors in high schools."

"Many are winning awards. We have three of them winning English awards this year." Dr. Holifield says its about a 90% success rate.

This month she opened another location in the Gulf Coast. “Our children benefit because of the instruction and because of the teacher, and I just find that such a blessing and such a pleasure to do that service."

To learn more about 3-D School you can click here.