Academics

Our Academic Program

Primary Grades: (Kindergarten to Grade 3)

Our students are placed in a small multi-age grade group setting.  Using a myriad of proven teaching techniques, teaching tools, and teaching assistants, many diverse student difficulties are addressed with ease and without embarrassment.  Individual schedules are created for each student and pull-out teaching times with a resource teacher or other professional is designed into each student’s schedule to serve the child by addressing areas that require additional attention.  With this approach, we are able to serve students showing a Learning Disability (LD), dyslexia, Attention Deficient Disorder (ADD), Attention Deficient Hyper Activity Disorder (ADHD), Aspersers, Autism, Emotional Disabilities, or those students that simply need more time to grasp skills.  Our team approach with children allows us to work on foundational skills while fostering positive self-esteem, and exciting students about learning and becoming a good friend and showing respect for people and things.

Our primary students learn through exploration, play, and hands-on multi-sensory curiosity experiences.   Students learn to listen, follow directions, and write through a variety of techniques.  We stimulate their learning through speech, written words, art, music and problem solving all using a wide range of motor and speech skills.

Intermediate Grades:  (Grades 4-6)

Students work together on basic academic skills as well as organizational skills, creating study skills, and developing positive social skills.  The students are taught in small groups and we use the pull-out for services as needed methodology.  An individual curriculum addresses the strengths and offers support in areas showing need.

We emphasize the core fundamentals of Reading, Language Arts, Writing, Spelling, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, and Communication Skills.   We focus on understanding charts, new vocabulary words and terms, and solving word problems.

Middle School Grades (Grades 7-8)

In the middle school years, students continue to work on academic areas as well as fostering self-esteem, leadership skills, self-confidence, motivation, and developing the self-management tools to effectively work with personally identified deficiencies.  Students will change classes for each discipline and learn to learn from a variety of teachers with a variety of teaching approaches.

Emphasis is placed on Reading, Language Arts, and Mathematics.  Because of the unique nature of the middle school students, we place all of our students into a Character Education class each day to strengthen their communication, negotiation, self-confidence, and technology skills.  We want our students to become independent thinkers and astute problem solvers.

High School Grades (Grades 9-12)

All of our high school students are working on different diploma tracks.  We have some students who will complete the required course work (24 credits) in the traditional 4 years and may enter a state college or university.  Others simply need more time.  Still other students have opted for a Special Education Diploma, which is 24 credit hours earned below grade level.  Some students will graduate with a Certificate of Completion.  These students will become part of our workforce and receive on-the-job training.  Like our middle grade students, the high school students will change classes and teachers for study in specific areas.

Our emphasis at the high school level is placed on thinking skills and problem solving skills.  We require in-depth papers that incorporate research skills, technology skills, public speaking, and communication skills.  Our students excel in oral and written communication.

Life Skills (Grades 8-Age 21)

Identified students will be placed in our Life Skills classroom.  In this classroom, the goal for our students is to learn life skills and how to become independent citizens.  The students learn to navigate bus schedules, keep a calendar of events, understand and prepare simple recipes with safety being reinforced, and learn to perform housekeeping tasks.  These life skills are coupled with reinforcement of basic skills and communication skills.

Special Area Study

All students, grade Kindergarten through Age 21, participate in special areas of study appropriate for each grade level.  A minimum of thirty (30) minutes per day is devoted to the fine arts (art, music, or theatre), physical education and proper nutrition, research and organizational skills, and computer technology.