Learning Support
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Support by a Team of Professionals: Learning Specialists, Psychologists, and Certified Language Therapists.
ESD Manifesto
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To develop the unique potential in each student, we provide support services to address the individual learning needs of students to help them successfully meet the demands of the school’s rigorous curriculum. A team of professionals (e.g., learning specialists, psychologists, and certified academic language therapists) works with students, teachers, parents, administrators, and outside professionals to identify and address the specific learning needs of each student. Each division has a designated Learning Specialist who works to enable students to reach their full potential and participate as fully as possible in the intellectual opportunities of the school community as they strive to become independent learners. Any student experiencing academic difficulty is eligible to receive support, consultation, screening, and referral services. Students with diagnosed learning disorders, in particular, are encouraged to seek services and may qualify for specific academic accommodations. These students will have a formal written plan on file outlining eligible accommodations; this plan is implemented and monitored by the Learning Specialist for each division. As an academically rigorous, college preparatory school, the School has determined which accommodations best fit the academic mission of the School. Please see the Guidelines for Psychoeducational Assessment for information regarding specific accommodations as well as the documentation requirements for consideration of such accommodations. |
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The Lower School Language Lab program is a specialized two-year program for second and third-grade students identified with dyslexia. The Lab program utilizes the Take Flight curriculum, an empirically-based intervention program developed at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children. This program addresses the essential components of effective reading instruction including phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, and reading vocabulary. Spelling and cursive handwriting are also integral aspects of the Language Lab program. Lab, instructed by our specially trained certified academic language therapists, is offered as a daily, small group experience during a student’s regular Language Arts time. A student must have a psychoeducational evaluation on file that indicates a learning difference or a functional limitation that warrants placement in Language Lab. |
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In Middle School, fifth and sixth grade students who are identified as needing additional academic support are placed into “Learning Lab” in lieu of a world language class. This two-year course supports students with executive functioning skills and self-regulation, guides students in their academic functioning, helps students to understand their own learning profiles, and utilizes a strengths-based approach to provide intervention. A student must have a psychoeducational evaluation on file that indicates a learning difference or a functional limitation that warrants this curriculum exemption. |
