Karmen Jucht, learning disabilities specialist at Morningside College, walks a fine line. "I have to be careful to provide students the tools they need to succeed in a college environment without helping them too much," she said.
It has been an exciting first year for the college's new Learning Disabilities (LD) Program, one of only two in the state of Iowa. Ten freshmen and two sophomores from Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska and Virginia enrolled for the fall 2002 semester, and all but one returned for the spring semester.
"Morningside's program is not designed to make college easier - just to 'level the playing field' for students with learning disabilities," Jucht said, referring to the program's brochure. "To date, our students have either maintained the GPA they had in high school or shown improvement. We're really proud of them."
Jucht came to Morningside in August 2002 from Blue Earth Area High School (Minn.), where she had been a language arts teacher since 1999. She holds a master of science degree in education from Southwest State University and a bachelor's degree from South Dakota State University. A native of Emery, S.D., she was looking for a job that would bring her closer to her hometown and give her more one-on-one time with students.
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"As a high school teacher, I wasn't able to give students the individual attention they needed," she said. "I love the one-on-one with the students and seeing how they change and grow. It's been wonderful."
She hangs in there with the students through all the ups and downs of adjusting to a new environment.
Her responsibilities include meeting with each student in the program for a minimum of one hour a week - it is almost always more - teaching the LD Program academic reading class, tutoring and serving as an advocate for the students with the professors. She also works to get the word out about the program to high school guidance counselors.
Freshman Meagan Anderson came to Morningside from Indianola High School in Iowa. She said, "Morningside College's LD Program has supported me in every way during my transition to college. Karmen has an open-door policy, and you can talk to her about anything."
Jucht is working with Anderson and the other students in the program to establish a new mentoring program, which Jucht hopes will begin this summer. While not all the students will choose to stay in the program for all four years they are at Morningside, she hopes that many of them will carry on as mentors for new students with learning disabilities.
New students must apply and be accepted for admission to Morningside College before they can apply for admission to the LD Program. Benefits of enrollment in the program include weekly group meetings, subject area tutoring, and the use of computer software designed especially to aid individuals in reading and writing more effectively.
Jucht reserves her time exclusively for students enrolled in the LD Program.
"It's exciting for me when students who are very nervous about tests come back and tell me how well they did," she said. "I love seeing their eyes light up when their hard work pays off."
