Dawson student essay spotlights dyslexia, ADHD and resilience

The Alexander Dawson School at Rainbow Mountain in Las Vegas has published a student essay by JoJo Radosta about growing up with dyslexia and ADHD. The piece highlights how support from teachers and family helped her build confidence, and it underscores the school’s focus on personalized learning and student well-being.

Why it matters: - JoJo Radosta’s essay gives a first-person view of what support can look like for students who learn differently. - The piece connects individual student experience to Dawson’s broader emphasis on resilience, belonging and academic well-being. - The essay may resonate with families and educators who want practical examples of how schools can help students build confidence, not just grades.

What happened: - The Alexander Dawson School at Rainbow Mountain published a personal essay by student JoJo Radosta titled “From the Tricycle to High School: Learning to Trust My Own Voice.” - The essay appeared on the school’s official blog. - Radosta writes about growing up with dyslexia and ADHD and about finding resilience, confidence and self-belief. - The school is located in Las Vegas and serves students from Early Childhood through Grade 8.

The details: - Radosta describes early childhood and middle school as a time of confusion, academic struggle and difficult social dynamics. - A later diagnosis of dyslexia and ADHD helped Radosta understand why some tasks took more effort than they did for other students. - Radosta says the diagnosis provided clarity rather than acting as a limitation. - One formative experience was placement in an executive-functioning skills class during middle school. - Radosta initially felt uncomfortable with the placement. - Radosta credits Ms. Freeman, the class teacher, with helping build genuine confidence. - The essay addresses the anxiety of reading aloud in class, a challenge Radosta links to embarrassment and self-doubt. - Radosta writes that support from family and teachers helped her face those moments with more confidence. - Radosta’s message to other students who learn differently is that needing a different path does not mean ending up at a lesser destination.

Between the lines: - The essay functions as both a personal story and a public statement of Dawson’s values. - Dawson frames student support as part of a larger educational model that blends achievement with social-emotional health. - The school identifies itself as Nevada’s first Stanford University Challenge Success partner school. - That partnership signals a research-based approach that aims to balance academics, well-being and school-life balance. - Radosta’s story also shows how classroom accommodations can become confidence-building tools when paired with steady adult support.

What’s next: - The full essay is available on The Alexander Dawson School’s blog: the full essay. - Dawson will likely continue using student stories to illustrate its BEAR core values: Belonging, Engagement, Advocacy and Resilience. - The school community continues to promote personalized learning across its 33-acre Summerlin campus.

The bottom line: - Radosta’s essay turns a private learning struggle into a public reminder that support, practice and self-belief can change a student’s trajectory.