Authors

Faye E. Handlogten, M.Ed.,LLD, CED

Founder: Highland Academy
              Association for Specialized Elementary School
              Accreditation
              Master's Degree in Special Education

30 years Special Education teaching and administration

Certifications:     Michigan State Elementary
                          Texas State Elementary (K-8)
                          Language Learning Disabilities
                          Academic Language Therapy
                          Texas Certified Educational Diagnostician

Affiliations:        Dallas Academy Accreditation Team
                         International Dyslexia Association:
                         Past President-Dallas Branch
                         Co-chairman - National Conference

Lynda K. Handlogten Csaszar, Ph.D

Former Director of Highland Academy & The Lattner School
Parish Episcopal School:
       Head of Upper Elementary Division
       Academic Consultant to Middle School

21 years Education teaching and administration

Master's Degree in Special Education (TWU)
Doctorate in Special Education (TWU)

Certifications:  Texas Elementary Education (1-8)
                       Texas Generic Special Education (PreK-12)
                       Academic Language Therapy
                       Texas Certified Educational Diagnostician

Affiliations:       International Dyslexia Association
                                (Former Board Member)
                       Academic Language Therapy Association
                               (Former Board Member)
                       Texas Educational Diagnosticians Association
                       Association for Supervision and Curriculum
                                Development

Mrs.  Handlogten began her educational career in 1969 as an elementary school teacher in East Grand Rapids, Michigan where she specialized in individualized instruction.  After moving to Dallas in 1972, she taught a group of children who had undeveloped language skills in a language lab program sponsored by Highland Park Presbyterian Church. Later she was instrumental in developing that language lab program into a full, special education elementary school of 67 students.  She served as principal of this school from 1976 to 1981.

She holds degrees from Grand Valley State College (Michigan) and East Texas State University. She is certified to teach in both Michigan and Texas, she is certified in Alphabetic Phonics, and she has Texas certification as an Educational Diagnostician.

Mrs. Handlogten founded Highland Academy in 1981. Throughout its existence, Highland Academy provided the students a small pupil-teacher  ratio, structured classroom environment and an intensive language program.

“Our concentration on remediation cannot be described as a ‘crash program.’ The children who come to us have often been pressed too much already. While we are interested in their academic performance, usually there is an associated need to restore their self-concepts. We cannot accomplish academic improvement by just demanding more school work in quantity and quality. Instead we conduct a program of close and caring instruction.”

In the 1990s, Mrs. Handlogten was instrumental in the creation and execution of America’s Phonics, a new computer-based, dictionary-based and multi-sensory language-phonics program. America’s Phonics has proven, through standard testing methods, to advance students in the acquisition of reading at a sustained level of more than twice the rates generally thought to be acceptable.

In 2000 Highland Academy became The Lattner School and operated under new leadership. In 2003 it became part of Dallas Academy where it lives today.

Dr. Csaszar is currently the Head of Upper Elementary Division and Academic Consultant to Middle School at Parish Episcopal School. She has been involved in teaching and administration at 21 years. Because of her background in computer hardware and software, she provided the initiative in the establishment of the computer lab at Highland Academy which was an educational feature of the school.  

She holds a Bachelor Degree in Communications from Baylor, a Master Degree in Education from Texas Woman’s University, and has a Doctorate in Special Education from Texas Woman’s University. She has Texas certification as an Elementary Teacher, a Special Education Teacher (PreK-12), and as an Educational Diagnostician. She is also a certified teacher of Alphabetic Phonics.

She is co-author of America’s Phonics and conducted research to evaluate the current direction of the teaching of phonics and the use of technology in education. She provided the linguistic expertise to voice all the sounds in Americas’ Phonics.