RECOGNITION Temple on the Hill honors director

Children with language-related disabilities receive free tutoring at the center.
YOUNGSTOWN -- Dorothy Tesner, director of Youngstown Learning Center at the Masonic Temple, was singled out for recognition and was presented with a certificate of appreciation when Temple on the Hill High Twelve Club 720 met April 13 at the temple.
The presentation was made by Thomas G. Jacobs, second vice president.
Allen G. Bohr Sr. presided at the meeting and introduced attending dignitaries James B. Parker IV, second vice president of Ohio Association of High Twelve Clubs, and James W. Hill, immediate past state president of the Ohio Association of High Twelve Clubs.
On the program
Tesner, who was the guest speaker for the evening, became a volunteer at the learning center when it opened in 1997 for dyslexic children between the ages of 8 and 18. She received certification in 1998 and became a supervisor and trainer in 2002. She received her advanced certification in 2005 and became the director at the center in 2006.
She received a bachelor's degree in education from Youngstown State University, where she also instructed classroom management. She earned a master's in supervision at Westminster College and also received Orton Gillingham multisensory training.
Married to Ray Tesner, she is the stepmother to three children and a grandmother to nine. A world traveler, she is also a volunteer with Youngstown Playhouse, Youngstown Symphony Women's Committee for Children's Concerts and the Butler Institute of American Art.
About the center
In 1994 the Supreme Council of the 15-state Northern Masonic Jurisdiction began developing a plan to create learning centers where children with language-related disabilities could be tutored. In 1997 the Youngstown learning center was the third to be established under that plan.
There are 23 students receiving two hours of private tutoring free of charge each week at the center. They are permitted to continue the studies for two to three years. A total of 95 children have been tutored, and an additional 30 applicants are on a waiting list.
The center is staffed by 10 certified tutors and four tutor trainees who make a dedicated commitment to devote 28 weeks during the school year and six weeks in the summer.