President-Elect Mark Killingsworth presided over today’s meeting for Steven Utroska. A.D. Hunt provided the invocation and Bill MacLauchlan led the club in the Pledge of Allegiance.Joe Bost was our greeter today.
Cole Gressett sat in for Michael McPhail and thanked those who helped with today’s meeting. He also introduced our visitors. Shirley Moore is a guest of Bill McLeod. Lucy Sanguinetti is a guest of Erin Granberry. Both have applied for club membership.
Mark noted that Coke has agreed to let the Rotary Club sell water out of its trailer during Hub Fest. Volunteers are needed to cover two-hour shifts on Saturday, March 28. A sign-up sheet will be available next week.
Mark congratulated Scott Hummel on his new job. Scott and his family will be re-locating in February to Greenville, Tennessee, where he will assume the Presidency of Tusculum University, the state’s oldest university. Although his presence in Rotary here will be missed, he plans to transfer to one of
DuBard is a public school and receives about 73% of its funding from state and federal resources. The remainder of the school’s funding comes from grants and donations. Any resident of the state is eligible for enrollment. The full-time enrollment program is a total educational program for students until they have achieved the oral and written communication and academic skills necessary to transition to their school, hopefully at grade level.
Dr. Etoile DuBard brought the program to the University of Southern Mississippi in 1962. Enrollment for the enrolled program is capped at 80 students. There are 8 classrooms and no class is larger than 10 students. The school also offers an Out-client program with a current enrollment of 84. DuBard is also an excellent referral program for parents, making more than 350 referrals annually. Wes reports that DuBard spends just over $20,000 on each student annually.
Students range in age from 3 to 13 years of age. Anyone can refer a potential student. They immediately go on a waiting list. When an opening occurs, they are assessed and admitted based on diagnosis. There are currently 148 potential students on the waiting list. Students remain in the DuBard program, on average, for 3 to 4 years.
University of Southern Mississippi students are offered professional development opportunities at DuBard. A supervised practicum program is offered to USM students. Courses and staff development training are also offered.
To learn more about the DuBard School for Language Disorders, call them at 601-266-5223 or visit their website at www.usm.edu/dubard.