I am looking for academic support programs that teach academic, study and organizational skills rather than just come up with an accommodation plan. I have a list of schools I feel are appropriate for DS based on the academic support that they offer. I’ve read extensively about what each school offers in terms of AS, but there is only so much that you can get from a website. I’d love to hear from any students (or parents of students) that utilized academic support .
What school do/did you attend and what level of support did they offer? Did you feel they lived up to that promise?
Was your school willing to talk to past teachers and tutors before your acceptance to aid in your decision to apply? If you didn’t attempt this, were they willing to talk to past teachers and tutors after acceptance so that they would understand your needs?
We fit in this bucket - Some schools offering individual academic support as well as small group support include Dublin, Proctor, Suffield, Darrow, Solebury, Westtown, Eagle Hill, White Mountain, Vt Academy, Berkshire, George?, and many of the more frequently mentioned schools on CC as well including some of the most competitive/intense schools. Levels of support vary widely. What are your “musts” both for support and for sports/ecs? Pm if it helps.
While many schools offer academic support, most will not modify the curriculum so although kids receive extra help, they still have to be able to keep up with the workload and course requirements. Typically what is offered is more in the way of executive skills support (organizing, breaking projects into smaller pieces and tracking work, etc.) and not subject specific help which, when offered, usually involves a subject specific tutor or a peer tutor. We asked a lot of questions about intensity of courses and homework levels as some schools that offer support also have a very intense workload that is not appropriate for our daughter.
We successfully petitioned 2 schools to start daughter off with less support than they suggested and were able to drop support at our older daughter’s school (She really did not need it). However, we heard several times that it is better to sign up for too much support than too little as you can drop down a level, but if you wait till child is struggling, there may not be spots open mid-year to add additional support.
Our experience is that schools are very willing to dialogue re support and usually require conversations both with current teachers and with parents along with recent educational testing as part of your application. Schools requested conversations regarding support in advance of acceptance. One thing we focused on was the block schedule at each school. In many cases support replaces either an academic class or an EC block. Because our daughter is very strong in the arts, we wanted to make sure support would not interfere with her ability to participate. Extended blocks, popular at many schools, are great for our daughter, but might not work for a child who has trouble focusing or staying in one spot for too long. Discussion based classes were a god send for both of our girls, but they are the exact wrong choice for a child who doesn’t learn best in that structure.
Hope this helps!
Some schools have excellent academic support programs. Here are a few to consider
Eagle Hill
Trinity Pawling
Brewster
Hun School
Pennington
Solebury
Northfield Mount Hermon
The types of support varies considerably among the schools, but generally involves tutoring with a learning specialist, executive function support and organizational skills.
We are at the beginning of our search as my son will be entering 7th grade in September. I’ve zeroed in on schools with academic support and baseball as the first two criteria. Unfortunately, a few schools I really liked don’t offer baseball and that is my child’s one must have.
Other things that are important to me are a good boarding program (almost all boarding), experiential learning, and a focus on the whole child rather than an academic pressure cooker. The reason we are looking at boarding schools is so that he can have a wide variety or experiences and “find himself”. Although I want him prepared for college, acceptance at top schools is not important and not our goal. He currently attends a Montessori school, so has never received grades or had real tests, so he probably is not going to be interested in very “traditional” schools. (The whole reason we aren’t looking at our area’s local private high schools. As we say “same teaching methods as public school, just different clientele”).
Our current list to further explore is:
Foreman
Trinity Pawling
Proctor
New Hampton
Cushing
Brewster
Winchenden
Vermont Academy
Hebron
Kimball Union
Sallisbury
South Kent
Kents Hill
Suffield
Millbrook
The Gunnery
We will also look at Lawrence as his current school is a feeder and many students choose to go there and do exceptionally well.
I’ve heard great things about the support at Kents Hill. Based on preference of mostly boarding, I don’t think Hun or Pennington would fit the bill, but the latter in particular is quite good at this so you might want to check it out. Both have excellent sports programs. Solebury is very accomodating but weaker in sports.
One thing you may want to think about is whether the type of program will require more or less support. If could be that at a school that is less traditional, less support would be needed. A more “classical” approach might require more discipline and support for your son. In other words, start by looking for a learning environment that will be the best “fit” and you may need less support.
Great advise gardenstagegal. Those were my thoughts as well. The reason he is in a Montessori school is because it fits his learning style so well he does not really need support.
I should add that all of the schools I have on our list are within a 2 1/2 hour radius of our home. It feel so lucky that we are within a reasonable drive to so many great schools. On the other hand, we will not have geographical diversity on our side.
Putney? Or is that one without baseball?
That’s one of the ones I really liked, but no baseball…
NMH sounds like a great fit with baseball! But academic support is on the more minimal side. Has a relaxed, progressive feel and not cliquey/preppy. (I’m a parent) If you liked Putney, Proctor might appeal as well. Darrow has a similar feel too - sports are not as serious but everyone gets to play. Maybe look at White Mountain too if they have baseball. Also Berkshire if they have baseball.
I am a current student at Berkshire school and I use the academic support program. Berkshire also has a well established baseball program. Feel free to pm me with any questions. @chemmchimney
Chemmchimney, the more I read about NMH the more I like it. I guess we’ll have to see where he is at the end of 7th grade in terms of needing support and how his SSAT scores are. They change so much in middle school, that’s it’s hard to even think about where he’ll be by the time he goes, but I"m an obsessive planner.
One of the things you also have to keep in mind is that many kids outgrow the need for academic support as they get older. So your son may not need support for all of high school.
Our daughter chose NMH even though it meant giving up a sport she loved that they didn’t offer ( and that had defined her life for several years). She ended up playing JV ice hockey which was a great experience. A lot can change in a few years!
Mercersburg offers excellent academic support through its Learning Center. It is tailored to the child’s documented needs. There is also tutoring available (with teachers, not peers). They also have sports; the baseball team just won its league, I believe.
Cheshire Academy (central CT) also seems to offer pretty substantial academic support, though I have no personal experience. They also have baseball. I believe some of their sports programs are pretty strong though again, no personal experience.