Hospitality Begins at GSU Preparing students for leadership Special School for Special Learners

Education pioneers

Sixty years ago, David Schenck founded the first school in the U.S. to teach children with dyslexiarelated learning differences. Originally located in his home, it quickly outgrew the space and moved into a nearby church. Today, the campus on Mt. Paran Road in Sandy Springs serves 250 students, from kindergarten through sixth graders, who have difficulty with reading and specific language skills.

In 2013 the school launched The Dyslexia Resource, a nonprofit community outreach organization to share its expertise with teachers who work with struggling readers. It was renamed ReadSource in 2022 with Head of School Kara A. Loftin, Ph.D., as executive director.

“In 2020 through 2022, we trained more than 750 teachers in 26 states and foreign countries,” says ReadSource Managing Director Brooke Kamke. “We also provided direct remediation to students through our partnership with Purpose Built Schools Atlanta and saw a dramatic improvement.” The organization also partners with Made by Dyslexia, a global charity that promotes teacher training.

“We were able to reach a broader audience [during the pandemic]," Kamke says.

"We've recently developed a fully digital course offering 10 hours of reading instruction.”

Mentoring thousands of students in the Cecil B. Day School of Hospitality Administration in Georgia State’s Robinson College of Business is icing on the cake for Director Debby Cannon, Ph.D., who received the 2022 Georgia Restaurant Association Crystal of Excellence (GRACE) Lifetime Achievement Award.

Cannon exudes excitement when she talks about the growth of GSU's hospitality program that will celebrate its 50th anniversary this year. It grew from a two year program on the downtown campus to offering a master's degree in Global Hospitality on the Buckhead campus for which she secured permanent financing.

“Atlanta has more franchising headquarters than any city in the U.S., and opportunities abound for so many other facets of the industry,” she says. “I always ask students, ‘What do you really love doing?’ and then list the career paths: franchising, hotel management and development, restaurants, real estate, sales, convention and visitors bureaus, catering and sport- ing events. All have top level leadership opportunities.”

The program offers internships and is one of the few in the nation to have dual accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business and the Accreditation Commission for Programs in Hospitality Administration.