Former First Lady Laura Bush was on Florida Southern College’s campus Wednesday.

  • Former First Lady Laura Bush spoke at The Roberts Academy, encouraged reading
  • The school is located on Florida Southern College’s campus
  • Proceeds of the fundraiser will benefit the academy

She was the keynote speaker for The Roberts Academy annual Mother’s Day Luncheon. 

The Roberts Academy is located on Florida Southern College’s campus.

More than 500 people attended the fundraiser. Mrs. Bush told the crowd how it important it is for every child to learn how to read, and she called reading “the guiding passion of her life.”

“Literacy is the essential foundation of a democracy,” said Former First Lady Laura Bush.

Bush went on to describe her journey working in the inner city schools and she encouraged the crowd to commit to service.

“She has such a great message about reading and learning and since so many of her initiatives have focused on literacy it was just a great fit for what we do every day,” said Dr. Tracey Tedder, the Dean of the School of Education and the head of The Roberts Academy at Florida Southern College.

Mrs. Bush read to students attending The Roberts Academy, and answered their questions.

“She said read books as much as we watch TV,” explained Collin Strickland. 

Strickland is one of 123 students who attend The Roberts Academy. The private school is the only transitional elementary school for students with dyslexia in the state of Florida.

“We are one of a kind and the approach that we use to teach children with dyslexia, the Orton-Gillingham Approach, which is a multi-sensory approach to teaching reading. It makes us unique and different,” explained Dean Tedder.

Tickets for the event cost $125 per person. The proceeds of the fundraiser will benefit the academy. It is expanding in the fall of 2016, by adding four new classrooms.