From its inception, Kildonan School has had an underlying, secondary mission: to share our wealth of knowledge about dyslexia and appropriate ways to address it. An experienced team of faculty provide training to teachers and parents. Our summer training institute is particularly popular for teachers who wish to pursue Orton-Gillingham training. We also continue to expand our list of resources.
Diana Hanbury King
Diana Hanbury King started her teaching career in Washington, D. C. at the Sidwell Friends School. At that time Anna Gillingham was visiting Sidwell four times a year and supervising both the early intervention program and the Language Training Program. Mrs. King continued teaching in the Washington area at The Potomac School. In 1955 she established Dunnabeck, a summer camp with a tutorial program, which she directed for over forty years. In 1969, she founded the Kildonan School and directed it for many years. For ten years, she concentrated her efforts on training teachers, mainly in the Public Schools of New York State. She is currently teaching at the Kildonan School. In 1990 she was the recipient of the Samuel Orton Award. She served as executive director to the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators and is a member of that board. She is the author of a variety of teaching materials and conducts Associate and Certified-level Orton-Gillingham training on campus; in addition, she continues to present at conferences and schools around the country.
For available workshops, click here.
Theresa Collins
Theresa L. Collins, Director of Language Training at The Kildonan School, completed a B.A. in psychology at Colgate University and holds an M.S. in Educational Psychology from the State University of New York at Albany. She has been involved with Camp Dunnabeck since 1986 and with the Kildonan School since 1987. She was trained in the Orton-Gillingham Approach by Diana Hanbury King, Shirley Kokesh, and Katherine Schantz. A Fellow of the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators, she plays a major role in training and supervising teachers at Dunnabeck at Kildonan. She has presented at regional and national conferences of the International Dyslexia Association. She provides practicum experiences for many tutors.
Karen K. Leopold
Karen Leopold, Director of the Kildonan Training Institute, has served as the Director of Language Training at Camp Dunnabeck for 3 years. During the school year, Karen mentors Kildonan tutors helping them meet the needs of their students and the requirements for certification in the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators. She has taught in one-on-one and small group settings, in addition to acting as the K-12 Multisensory Language Consultant for public school districts. Karen has presented at several New York Branch International Dyslexia Association conferences and the International Dyslexia Association annual conferences. She has published The Student Notebook I (Basic) and II (Advanced) geared toward the dyslexic student.
Karen received her B.A. from Hofstra University in Hempstead, NY and earned her M.S. in Special Education from Mount Saint Mary’s College in Newburgh, NY. She also holds four New York State Permanent Certifications: General Education N-6, English 7-12, Reading N-12, and Special Education N-12. She is a Fellow of the Academy.
Dawn M. Nieman
Dawn Nieman earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education from SUNY College at Buffalo and a Master’s Degree in Reading at Western Connecticut State University. She has experience teaching in public school and The Kildonan School, specializing in the remediation of children with dyslexia. In addition, she teaches elementary math at The Kildonan School, using multisensory teaching and Orton-Gillingham principles. She is a Fellow of the Academy and has presented at several New York Branch International Dyslexia Association and Academy conferences.
