Hello CC community,
This is my first post. I’ve been reading quite a bit and learning a lot about the world of boarding school. I’m not from an area where it’s common and haven’t known anyone that’s had the boarding school experience. So this has been a wonderful way to learn more.
The reason I sought out this info is that we are now looking at boarding school options for my son that has dyslexia and dysgraphia. He’s had years of specialized tutoring for this and while he has remediated somewhat, he still has a ways to go and his self-confidence about his academic abilities has tanked.
I don’t want him to start off 9th grade and the beginning of his high school years with him thinking that he can’t succeed in school.
I don’t think the schools with learning centers that are optional or scheduled outside of class time will work for him.
Now to my point 
The Gow School looks like a good option. They incorporate reading intervention classes into everyone’s schedule and it seems pretty structured which is something my son will need.
If anyone here has any info, I would be grateful. I’m also happy to learn about other options you all think might be good options.
In the search function, there seems to be only one poster that has had experience there but that was early on to her son’s start here. @libaya if you’re still around, I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Thank you
HI @BlueSkyLife. If you jump over to the Parent forum there is a pinned post about Schools with Academic Support that might be helpful for you. If you are looking for schools specifically for dyslexia, you’d want to start with Landmark, Forman and Gow.
My son will be going to Forman this fall. They specialize in kids with dyslexia and ADHD. Feel free to PM me any questions.
I agree with vwlizard. I would also add Eagle Hill to the list. We are navigating these same waters currently. Forman mentioned that they have twice exceptional kids, which is important to us. Landmark has their “prep” program which seems to be more for remediated kids with less 1:1 as well as their intervention focused program. Kids move into the prep program when they are ready. Something to consider is how important assistive tech is to your family. At Landmark, they are not allowed until they are ready to transition to college. I am not sure about the other schools. Landmark and Eagle Hill have very limited financial aid.
@BlueSkyLife … I unfortunately can’t give you current info for Gow but my dd’s friend is starting in the fall and is so excited. She visited the school a few times and cannot wait to attend. If you are applying for the 20-21 school year I can get updates from my dd and pass them along.
The Gow School is 8/10 of a mile from my house so I’ll chime in on location and community. The school is in a beautiful setting (lots of trees and green space) located in a small town about 30 min outside of Buffalo. They recently began admitting girls and each year I see the classes are becoming more and more truly co-ed. The students are in class many hours a week and have outside of class instruction and help. About 3 miles from the school is the village of East Aurora. It’s a very cute, walkable town with lots of shops and restaurants and it’s a very safe, family oriented place. I have friends who are teachers there and who work in the college placement/guidance office and they have a very high college placement rate with excellent scholarship success. They have a variety of Varsity sports teams which play in local leagues and some teams have gone on to win divisional championships. The Buffalo airport is about 30 min away and extremely easy to fly in and out of if you need to fly. The Headmaster lives on the campus and his own kids go to our local school district. He’s very involved in the community and a well liked leader. I can’t speak to the actual classroom instruction but it seems that the kids are well cared for and can relax and enjoy the environment b/c for some, for once, they are NOT the only ones with a language based learning difference. Hope this helps!
The 2E issue definitely was a factor in our picking Forman. Eagle Hill is great for “quirky” kids. Landmark is the one school on here that is a 766 funded school, so they will often get kids the public schools are paying for, but that also means they might not be there all 4 years. If your son plans on playing a sport, check out the teams offered as all of these schools have different offerings.
Prepare yourself. Gow school just made the news today. The important thing to remember is that the allegations are from 20 years ago. What’s important is how the current administration deals with them.
Thank you all! The recent news has definitely given us pause. In some ways, I suppose it’s better that this is out so perhaps the school will be taking extra precautions with regard to child safety. In other ways, it does leave us feeling uncomfortable.
It was a completely different time 20 years ago in these schools. Especially ones that dealt with the LD population. Not that it’s not always a concern when you send your kid away, but I think the fact that they are not trying to cover anything up is a good one.