Page 11 - Palm City Spotlight - September '22

Palm City Spotlight, Page 11

BusiNess spotliGht

Kelley Decowski Joins EFMC a Master of Arts in English “in order to work with other like-minded individuals who
education from University of
want nothing more than to see our schools succeed.”
Board Central Florida. Decowski is a former board member of Children’s
After working in real Museum of the Treasure Coast, past president of Hibiscus
By Jackie Holfelder estate from 1997 to 2004, Children’s Center Guild, supporter of Martin County
Kelley Decowski, an award-winning realtor at RE/ Decowksi taught in public High School and Gertrude Walden Child Care Center.
MAX of Stuart, has joined the board of directors of the schools in Orange and She’s also a member of Cleveland Clinic/Martin Health
Education Foundation of Martin County (EFMC). Martin counties from 2004 System’s Mum Ball committee.
Lisa Rhodes, executive director of the nonprofit shared to 2014, before re-entering Her two children, Tyler and Sarah, are learning to
news that the Palm City resident has become part of the the world of real estate as follow in the footsteps of their community-minded mom
team that enriches and enhances educational opportunities a full-time agent in 2014. who says, “I think it’s really important for kids to learn
for all students and teachers in the Martin County School As team leader at The about social responsibility from an early age. There are
District, through effective fundraising efforts, positive Kelley Decowski Team all sorts of ways we can help other people and it’s not
collaborative partnerships, innovative programming, and at RE/MAX of Stuart, Kelley Decowski. Provided always monetary. Sometimes the best gift we can give is
efficient allocation of resources. she’s also known for by Education Foundation of our time.”
Decowski is a product of the Martin County School District, philanthropic endeavors, Martin County In her spare time, Decowski loves to run and is an avid
graduating from Martin County High School in 1993. She went which have always reader.
on to earn a Bachelor of Arts in communicative disorders and included education. She says she joined the EFMC board She’s looking forward to working with the EFMC
Board of Directors under the direction of EFMC’s new
executive committee, Kate Cotner, president; Patrick
McNealy, first vice president; Karina Talalay, second vice
president; Michael Moehring, treasurer; Tyson Waters,
secretary; and Arati Hammond, immediate past-president,
to ensure that the not-for-profit, 501(c)(3), community
investment organization comprised of business leaders,
community volunteers, and school officials has its most
successful year ever.
To learn more about the Education Foundation of
Martin County, visit www.educationfoundationmc.org.

kids CorNer

Helping Poor Readers

By Jim Forgan, Ph.D.,
Licensed School
Psychologist
It can frustrate you
and your child when
reading does not develop
easily. Sometimes the
struggle becomes a
blame game of blaming
the child for not trying
hard enough, blaming
a teacher for poor
teaching, or even blaming yourself for not spending
enough time reading with your child. Ultimately, a
Our men’s health experts child’s struggles are often related to a combination of
factors including a genetic predisposition for reading
are here for you. difficulty. Many times learning disabilities such as
dyslexia occur within the family tree.
To help your child you have many choices of
doing testing, tutoring, brain training, waiting, or
You keep the things you care about in top shape – your health talking with the teacher. While testing and tutoring are
shouldn’t be any different. From routine checkups and annual prostate preferred, the one thing I recommend you do is not let
your child lose the hope that they can become a great
screenings to leading-edge treatments, the experts at Cleveland Clinic reader. When I test poor readers I identify the root
Martin Health provide complete care on the Treasure Coast. Our team cause and most effective reading program to help your
utilizes the latest techniques and technology, including robotic-assisted child make the most improvement as fast as possible.
surgery, to treat a wide range of men’s health conditions close to home. I also assess a child’s self-esteem as some kids come
in feeling defeated believing they have a broken brain.
I understand the struggles because I had a hard time
Get world class care from the name you trust. reading sounding out words but I had a strong memory
so I could memorize well. During my childhood it
was common to collect things so as a 10-year-old
kid I collected beer cans. My dad drank the beer and
I displayed the can’s colorful designs. My parents
subscribed me to Beer Can Collectors of America and I
read articles about beer cans. We went on the brewery
tour at Busch Gardens. While these did not lead me to
my career, the activities motivated me to read.
You might encourage your child to read about his
or her interests in Pokémon, Minecraft, arts and crafts,
or Candy Crush. Support your child’s reading interests
with material and experiences.
To help poor readers, start with specialized tutoring
1 out of 8 men will be at reading centers like Lindamood Bell or the Reading
diagnosed with prostate cancer. Success Center in Palm City. I have some specialized
reading tutors at JimForgan.com/tutor. If money
is tight, you can teach your child using the Barton
Request an appointment with one of our specialists. Reading System at BartonReading.com. Reading is a
Visit ClevelandClinicFlorida.org/ProstateCancer to learn more. skill so it can improve.
If you suspect dyslexia, call our office as we test
children ages 5.5 through college for dyslexia, ADHD/
ADD, giftedness, and other processing disorders. Visit
JimForgan.com or call (561) 625-4125.