Helping Children Succeed in Reading, Spelling and Writing

Co-founded in 2001 by two mothers with a desire to help their own dyslexic children, the Fundamental Learning Center (FLC) has since helped thousands of children with significant reading, spelling and writing difficulties, including dyslexia. The organization serves the community through teacher training programs, child literacy assessments and a new laboratory school for children with dyslexia, the Rolph Literacy Academy.

In July 2015, the Dwane and Velma Wallace Foundation awarded the FLC a grant to help renovate the former Cessna Training Center in Wichita into a suitable new home for the FLC.

According to executive director of the FLC, Jeanine Phillips, “The abandoned building’s bones were ideal for our teacher training center and new school, but it was in grave need of refurbishment as it had sat empty for [about] seven years.”

Due in part to the grant from the Wallace Foundation, the FLC was able to address a leaking roof, heating and air systems that had been stripped of copper, outdated security, electrical and technological systems, walls that needed restoration and new carpet that was needed throughout the building.

“The refurbishment was extensive and expensive,” said Phillips. “But today the building is warm, inviting and provides a healthy environment for young children who struggle in school as well as for teachers who want to change these children’s lives.”

Dyslexia affects a staggering 20 percent of the population. Due to a lack of dyslexia recognition in Kansas schools and the fact that dyslexia is deemed a medical condition parents are financially responsible for addressing, services provided by the FLC to children and teachers in Wichita and the surrounding areas are vitally needed. To find out more about the FLC, visit www.FunLearn.org.

“Our programs are proven and sustainable, and will continue well into the future because of the Wallace Foundation’s support and dedication to improving our communities,” said Phillips. “We feel that Dwane and Velma would thoroughly enjoy seeing what is going on today at the FLC with their generous foundational support.”

Founded by Dwane and Velma Wallace in 1989, the Wallace Foundation’s mission is to support a wide variety of tax-exempt, charitable organizations primarily in the Wichita, Kansas area, and secondarily in the state of Kansas, in the categories of: arts and culture, education, community development and enhancement, social services and needs, and quality of life.

To find out more about the Wallace Foundation’s founders, visit Our Founders page.

– Fundamental Learning Center