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Jan Hankins Leads Mississippi College Dyslexia Center


Jan Hankins, interim director of the MC Dyslexia Center

Jan Hankins returned to her alma mater to lead Mississippi College’s Dyslexia Education and Evaluation Center.

A longtime Mississippi teacher, Hankins recently was named interim director of the facility on the Clinton campus.

Mississippi College and the community are fortunate to have her lead the center at 107 Fairmont Street, says School of Education Dean Don Locke.

Her “background and experience are an excellent resource for parents and others needing assistance with dyslexia issues,” Locke said. “We look forward to her working to support local public and private school system dyslexia efforts in addition to providing services at the MC Dyslexia Center.”

The center has served children between the ages of 6 and 17, and worked with a handful of adults between the ages of 25 and 55. The facility seeks to help students with reading disabilities and prevent dropouts.

The center also hosts fall conferences at Mississippi College that typically reach 170 educators, parents and graduate students.

Hankins has worked since the mid-1970s in the Jackson Public Schools and the Clinton Public School District. In Clinton, she was selected the Eastside Elementary Teacher of the Year in 2001-2002.

Hankins earned her bachelor’s, master’s and education specialist degrees on the Clinton campus. A Clinton resident, she’s working on her master’s in education at Mississippi College as a dyslexia therapist.

Hankins says she’s blessed to be on the Dyslexia Center staff because it gives her the opportunity to continue teaching. “Our students have incredibly bright minds,” she says. “They do not process their thoughts in the same way as other students.”

The new opportunity at Mississippi College,  Hankins said, puts her in a position to “help students, parents and our communities realize it is so important to recognize and appreciate each person’s God-given strengths and abilities.”

The MC Dyslexia Center hosts its fall conference September 27 at Anderson Hall, with registration to begin at 7:30 a.m.

The guest speaker is nationally recognized speaker William Van Cleave, who will discuss teaching strategies for students with language-based learning difficulties. He’s a teacher trainer and education consultant. The conference cost of $75 includes a box lunch.

For details, contact Jan Hankins at the MC Dyslexia Center at 601.925.7766 or hankin00@mc.edu.