Private Education Awards 2025 | 7 n the top of Skiff Mountain in Kent, Connecticut, a vision born nearly seventy years ago continues to change lives. In 1955, Diana Hanbury King, a pioneering educator and Fellow of the Orton-Gillingham Academy, founded a summer camp for students with dyslexia or language-based learning differences. Her mission was simple yet revolutionary: provide the highest-quality 1:1 Orton-Gillingham instruction within the joyful setting of a traditional summer camp. That vision became Camp Dunnabeck. From the beginning, Diana King understood that children with dyslexia or language-based learning differences needed more than tutoring—they needed a community where they could learn, grow, and thrive without stigma. While other children spent summers at play, struggling readers were often sent to summer school or left at home with tutors. King’s solution was radical: a camp where learning could flourish alongside horseback riding, art, archery, and friendship. Parents quickly saw the difference, and in 1969, at their urging, King and colleague Kurt Goldman went on to establish Kildonan School, which carried forward the same mission. Over the decades, Kildonan expanded to include a teacher training institute and a robust educational program. When the school closed in 2019, Camp Dunnabeck found a new home at Marvelwood School in Kent, CT, where its legacy lives on with renewed energy. Today, Camp Dunnabeck is the longest-running camp of its kind in the United States, marking its 70th summer in 2025. Each camper receives daily one-to-one Orton-Gillingham tutoring tailored to their individual learning profile, surrounded by a wide array of activities that build confidence and inspire passion—from mountain biking and robotics to Founded by visionary educator Diana Hanbury King, Kildonan’s Camp Dunnabeck has been transforming summers—and lives—for 70 years. Kildonan’s Camp Dunnabeck: A Legacy of Support for Dyslexic Learners theater, ceramics, and horseback riding, a tradition dating back to the camp’s founding. The camp’s magic lies in its balance: rigorous, research-based instruction seamlessly woven into the rhythms of summer fun. Students make academic gains measured by criterionbased and standardized testing, but just as important, they leave with something harder to measure—confidence, resilience, and friendships that last a lifetime. As one parent recently shared: “Our daughter had a wonderful time at Camp Dunnabeck and met a remarkable group of counselors and campmates. She has shown such growth in maturity and, indeed, in her abilities in reading and writing over the summer. She tells us stories from camp outings and activities with such a smile on her face that we know Camp Dunnabeck was a great experience for her.” For 70 years, Kildonan’s Camp Dunnabeck has honored Diana King’s sacred mission: to reveal and celebrate the strengths of students with dyslexia or language-based learning differences. Every summer, the camp continues to embody its founder’s belief that children learn best when their minds and spirits are nurtured together. Kildonan’s Camp Dunnabeck: Where learning takes flight! Contact: Yvonne Schutz Company: Kildonan’s Camp Dunnabeck Website: www.kildonan.org/camp-dunnabeck O
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