A statement on the recent remarks of Donald Trump about learning disabilities:

I’ve been sitting with Donald Trump's comments about Governor Newsom and learning disabilities. Not reacting immediately and not posting in anger. Just sitting with them while teaching the brilliant, creative, funny, determined students with learning disabilities who fill the hallways at Compass High School.

These students solve problems in ways that surprise me, see patterns others miss, think deeply, feel intensely, and contribute meaningfully to our classrooms and communities.

All week, I’ve been watching them advocate for themselves, support each other, laugh at silly teenage inside jokes, and making me laugh along with them.

And I keep coming back to this truth: There is nothing broken about a brain that learns differently.

Dyslexia is not a failure of intelligence. It is not laziness. It is not a lack of effort. And it is definitely not something to be mocked, minimized, or misunderstood by those in positions of power.

Dyslexia is a language-based learning difference that affects how people process written words. It doesn't define potential for leadership or success. If anything, my students work harder than most people realize. They build persistence in ways that would humble anyone paying attention. They develop problem-solving skills, resilience, creativity, and empathy-- skills that the world desperately needs now more than ever.

So when public narratives reduce dyslexia to stereotypes or misinformation, I think about the students sitting in front of me. I think about the responsibility we all share, especially those of us in education, to correct misinformation with clarity, compassion, and truth.

Not with shame. Not with insults. But with facts, lived experience, and unwavering belief in young people.

###