Members of the Dyslexico team at the Unviersity of Nebraska-Lincoln that is working to combat dyslexia with AI-based tools. From left: Tristan Curd, Bridget Peterkin and Nick Lauver on Friday, Feb. 9, 2024, in Lincoln. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)
LINCOLN — When Millard North High School junior Janae Harris was in second grade, she read to a kindergarten class but kept getting stuck on words.
Janae Harris of Millard North High School testifies in front the Nebraska Education Committee on Feb. 12, 2024, in Lincoln. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)
The teacher continually corrected her, Janae said, and told her she “needed to learn how to read” before she read to another class.
“I was embarrassed, and to this day it is terrifying to read out loud, and I continuously struggle to overcome it,” Janae told the Legislature’s Education Committee on Monday. “This moment will replay in my head forever.”
Janae, who is in Millard’s STEM Academy and is captain of her school’s girl’s lacrosse team, among other involvements, has dyslexia. She testified in support of Legislative Bill 1253 to create a Dyslexia Research Grant Program for new technologies.