History

List of 3 items.

• Brighton’s Beginning

  In1972, under the leadership of Gerald and Lorraine Kelley, a small group of parent/guardians who had dyslexic children organized and formed the Reading Research Institute for Dyslexia of Baton Rouge, Inc.  From its inception in 1972, the Dyslexia Association of Greater Baton Rouge, Inc. identified a need – the educational needs of dyslexic children were not being met. Few professionals could recognize the disorder, and even fewer could educate children with it.  With that, the Reading Research Institute for Dyslexia of Baton Rouge, Inc. was formed. The first program, a Saturday tutorial program, was operated at the First United Methodist Church under the direction of Dr. Charles Shedd, a clinical psychologist who had developed a program for dyslexic students. The summer of 1973 saw the first summer program at Westminster Elementary School.  

  
  In 1975 the full-time school, the Charles L. Shedd School, opened with 20 students at the St. Charles Borromeo facility. Always trying to improve, members of the board of directors and staff visited programs in other states. These visits resulted in the creation of a national organization, the DePaul Society in 1978. The Reading Research Institute for Dyslexia of Baton Rouge changed its name and became known as the DePaul Dyslexia Association.  The school became known as the DePaul School. 

  
  From 1978 to 1982 the DePaul School was held in several locations in Baton Rouge. With a steady increase in enrollment, programs continued to flourish, and in 1982 the school moved to Bereford Drive in Baton Rouge.

• The 1990s

  In 1990 the board of directors decided the school should be an independent school. At that time, the DePaul Dyslexia Association became the Dyslexia Association of Greater Baton Rouge, Inc. (DAGBR), and the school became known as Brighton Academy. 

  
  In 1991, the Saturday program was discontinued. Families had more demands on their time and enrollment had dropped. The decision was made to end that chapter of the Brighton story. The final payment for the mortgage on the building was made in 1996 and old friends and faculty gathered to reminisce at the mortgage-burning party.  

  
  

  Strategic planning in 1999 led to several changes. The corporation moved its offices to a location adjacent to the school property. The Dyslexia Association of Greater Baton Rouge remained the parent corporation, but two new corporations were formed, Brighton Academy, Inc. and Partridge Properties, Inc. The school also undertook the task of applying for accreditation in the Structured Language Arts Teacher Education course. Accreditation was granted following a comprehensive self-study and on-site visits by a team of three professionals.

• The 2000s

  In June 2001, the Dyslexia Association of Greater Baton Rouge voted to expand school operations to include grades 9-12. The association purchased property with a classroom building and gymnasium on Parkmeadow Avenue from St. Patrick Church.  With that purchase, Brighton Academy split into two campuses with grades K-8 at the Partridge campus and grades 9-12 at the Parkmeadow campus. Eventually, grades 6-8 were added to the Parkmeadow campus.  

  
  The fall of 2001 marked the expansion of Brighton with the Primer Program. The Montessori-based early intervention program was for children ages 4 to 6 years of age and offered four programs: Primer, Basic, Transition, and the Bridges to Success Summer Program.  

  In January 2006, DAGBR voted to change the school’s name to The Brighton School, and the school has maintained that name since.   Brighton successfully completed the accreditation process with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools in January of 2015.  The school has maintained that accreditation since that time.

  
  

  In the fall of 2016, the association voted to combine all grades onto one campus, “One Goal, One Campus,” and in January 2017, the elementary grades began classes at the Parkmeadow campus.  Construction of a new elementary and administrative office building began in May 2017 with occupancy taking place in November 2017.   

  
  

  As enrollment has increased, so has the demands on the buildings. The need for increasing amounts of classroom space, especially for small reading therapy groups throughout the day, prompted the board of directors to acquire two adjacent parcels of land, with the long-term plan to erect another building in the future.