Think Outside. No Box Required.
Our Dyslexia Camp Program
Every camper is special, and each one learns differently. That means our diverse and highly trained staff work one on one with campers on a skill-enhancing program that is personal & individualized, sometimes even going outside the box / classroom to help youth ages 6 - 17 strenghen and grow in their reading & language skills. We use an Orton-Gillingham language-based teaching approach, which is the most effective and beneficial method to teaching dyslexic children.
We start by giving every camper comprehensive standardized diagnostic tests before and after camp to help guide where we should begin the tutoring program, and to support the parents with a report of our academic recommendations when camp is over so that every child is able to continue the progress made at Quest Camp.
Each day is also filled with a variety of fun and exciting outdoor activities on property that are designed to help campers with their creativity, self-esteem, confidence, & encourage positive attitudes. There are also weekend camping field trips to some of the most unique and highly regarded destination attractions, right in our own back yard.
We are members of the following:
Academics & Outdoor Adventures
Quest Camp uses an Orton-Gillingham approach to tutoring. Every camper receives daily one hour instruction for each of the following:
- 1-on-1 Tutoring: Intensive and personalized tutoring in reading, spelling, writing and composition.
- Study Hall: Working on individual assignments provided by camper's personal tutor to continue lessons & help independent study skills.
- Fluency: One-on-one oral reading & keyboard (older campers) / literacy circle (younger campers).
- Composition: Develop important writing skills.
- Art, Science, Robotics: Create pottery, paint and then bake the pots in our very own kiln. Also have fun with hands on Science, Robotics & Engineering projects.
At Kids & Teen Quest, campers are never bored. We make sure to keep campers engaged in hands-on experiences, learning fun new things, with a variety of outdoor activities on our private 630 acre wilderness retreat.
- Kentucky Wilds: Each week campers get to experience either one hour of Kentucky Wilds or Horsemanship every day in addition to our other exciting outdoor activities. Campers develop outdoor skills, including orienteering, natural history, survival skills, shelter building, edible and medicinal plant identification, archery, shooting, fishing, nature hiking and tracking.
- Horsemanship: Campers get our incredible Equine Experience, learning, and loving the time spent with the horses and all the barn animals.
- Zip & Climb: Soar on our 720-foot long zipline, overcome our outdoor 40-foot climbing wall (indoor climbing wall too), or speed down our 3-story tower slide.
- Leadership Development: Campers learn to work together as a team and develop leadership skills. As well as encouraging each other on personal achievements when taking on challenging elements.
- Performing Arts: Martial Arts, Drama, Dance, and Music.
- Sports: Soccer, Volleyball, Kayaking, Frisbee Golf, and more...
Day Only
4 Weeks
- Mon - Fri (8a - 5p)
- Lunch Included
- Orton-Gillingham Approach
- (1-on-1 Tutoring, Academics, Outdoor Activities)
Dyslexia Camp's Advisory Board
- Robert & Wes Lightner
- Joyce Bilgrave
- Holly Hightchew
- Pam Hurless
- Rachelle Schmitz
- Sheila Levi
Robert & Wes Lightner
- Potter's Ranch Founders
CO-Founder & Chairman of Potter’s Ranch with his son Wes, CO-Founder & COO, have developed multiple programs that benefit kids, youth, adults & families over the years since Potter's Ranch was founded. Programs that help At-Risk Kids, Grief Counseling, Horses for Heroes, Marriage Enrichment, and now in our Summer Camp program “Kids Quest” something that is greatly needed. Before launching it took many years of prayer, seeking professional advice, visiting and working with the only 4 other current residential dyslexia camps in the nation, Potter’s Ranch developed a state-of-the-art Dyslexia Camp that gives kids a summer they will never forget with an environment and program that is ideal for academic, physical, social, emotional & spiritual development.
With those years of experience developing programs and services at Potter’s Ranch for thousands of guests every year, each with different needs and requirements, we are excited for what our Dyslexia Camp has & will do for a child/family. Along with our dedicated and talented staff we continue to partner with key people in the industry that can help ensure we serve the kids and families to the best of our abilities providing professional one-on-one tutoring for each child that signs up for our 4 week day or residential camp with a full day’s worth of academics, as well as exciting outdoor activities and experiences.
Joyce Bilgrave
- M.Ed. Johns Hopkins University, Fellow: Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators.
Mrs. Bilgrave’s four decades of academic and camp experience span the United States. She is co-founder and former director of the Jemicy School of Baltimore, Maryland, a nationally acclaimed program of excellence for dyslexic students. She co-founded and directed Camp Bombadil, a day camp for dyslexic students, and Big Rock Creek Camp, a conference center and outdoor science program in the Angeles National Forest of Southern California. In addition, Mrs. Bilgrave was instrumental in founding the following programs for dyslexic children: Rawson-Saunders School, Austin, Texas; Durango Mountain Camp and the Liberty School, Durango, Colo.; Rocky Mountain Camp, Colorado; and Wolf Creek Camp, Texas.
Joyce has been a strong support from the early stages of development of our Potter's Ranch Dyslexia Camp, allowing us to visit her own dyslexia camp in Texas while she was teaching kids and having them go through her program. Showing us all the elements that make up the academic and camp program, where we sat in on the 1-on-1 sessions, Joyce freely provided her business model and knowledge for what we needed to do so that as many kids and families could get the proper support they need that a camp like this can provide. We are blessed to have her years of wisdom, experience, and passion for helping kids and their families with Dyslexia, ensuring our program is what it should be.
Holly Hightchew
- Orton Gillingham Specialist
Holly Hightchew loves watching children learn. It is for this very reason that she selected to homeschool her own three children. It was only after her youngest daughter was diagnosed with profound dyslexia that Holly geared her passion and training to helping children with dyslexia successfully learn to read. She now works with dyslexic students and their parents providing reading assessments and training at The Learning Curve in Union, Ky. She also helps train parents, teachers and tutors to work with children using the Orton-Gillingham method. Holly has logged more than 500 hours working with dyslexic students, including her own. She is a Certified Barton Tutor.
Holly holds a BA in Communication and Business Administration from Northern Kentucky University. She worked as the Human Resources and Public Relations Manager for Gallatin Steel in Ghent, Kentucky. She has served on the Board of Trustees for the Gallatin County Public Library in Warsaw, Kentucky, and has volunteered many summers working as a camp counselor at Happy Hills Christian Service Camp in Carrollton, Kentucky. She and her husband, Bob, have been happily married for 27 years, and along with their three children, live in Warsaw, Kentucky.
Pam Hurless
- Dyslexia Camp Consultant
Prior to moving to Kentucky six years ago, Mrs. Pam Hurless owned her own tutoring business in Lafayette, IN for over 20 years. As a classroom teacher, she has taught grades K-3, elementary reading resource, and adult remedial reading and math.
She has her BS in Elementary Education and Christian Education from Olivet Nazarene University. Continuing her education through varied programs, she is trained as an Educational Therapist through NILD (National Institute for Learning Development) and is Certified in Orton-Gillingham through the Dyslexia Training Institute. She has also completed the Screening For Dyslexia course by Susan Barton.
Mrs. Hurless’ passion has always been in helping the struggling student. As a Dyslexia Consultant, Mrs. Hurless also has the privilege of training others in better understanding dyslexia.
Rachelle Schmitz
- Cincinnati Children's Hospital / Dyslexia Camp Evaluations Director
Rachelle Schmitz, MA, CCC-SLP, CALT, CDT graduated for the University of Cincinnati with a Master of Arts degree in Speech-Language Pathology in 2006.
Trainings and certifications include completion of an IMSLEC accredited Orton-Gillingham program (April 2010), Certified Academic Language Therapist (June 2016), and Certified Dyslexia Therapist (2017). Currently, she is a speech-language pathologist and reading specialist at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center in the Division of Speech-Language Pathology (8 years) and the Reading and Literacy Discovery Center (for the past 5 years).
Her main clinical specialty areas of language and reading disorders led her to fulfill a two-year vice president position for the International Dyslexia Association-Kentucky Branch from 2014-2016. She is currently an active member of the International Dyslexia Association.
Sheila Levi
- The Learning Curve & Union Pointe Academy
Mrs. Sheila Levi retired as an English teacher after a 37-year career in education. Her career was dedicated to middle and high school students and helping adults to complete their education goals regardless of age.
Upon retirement, she developed a tutoring center called the Learning Curve to serve Northern Kentucky families. While working with many students who were struggling readers, her team learned more about the dyslexic student and best programs to help students succeed.
The need was great, so Union Pointe Academy was also created to provide a multi-sensory, Orton-Gillingham based program and school to serve dyslexic students and families.