Academics
Learning Services
Unique Learning Styles and Needs
St. Andrew’s Learning Services program best serves students with mild learning differences, including expressive or receptive language deficits, and attention and executive functioning challenges. Students benefit from small class sizes (maximum 12 students per class, and not more than five students in a Learning Services class), differentiated strategy and skill instruction, and a provision of services to support the mastery of content expectations in their academic classes. Teachers work with students to identify their strengths and demonstrate different pathways to success. Together, these components allow for the education of the whole child. Students learn to become effective self-advocates as they gain knowledge and understanding of their individual strengths, challenges, and unique learning styles. As a result, self-esteem and self-confidence grow.
Although there is no “typical” Learning Services student, and all of our students are unique, most students share similar qualities in their learning profiles and their educational needs. Our students possess average to above average cognitive ability and may or may not have a formal diagnosis. It is not uncommon for students to have one or more learning challenges that interfere in the learning process. Students with language-based learning differences may experience difficulty with reading, spelling, written expression, math, organization of written and spoken language, study skills, and understanding of textbook material. Some students find paying attention in class, staying organized, managing time demands, and focusing on schoolwork to be challenging.
Right Fit for Your Student?
St. Andrew’s Learning Services program supports students with dyslexia, language-based learning disabilities, attention deficits, executive functioning challenges, and other learning differences, such as school-related anxiety. A small number of students identified as having an Autism Spectrum Disorder also attend St. Andrew’s.
St. Andrew’s School is not the right fit for every student. We are not a therapeutic school and our programs are not designed to meet the needs of children with primary behavioral or emotional difficulties.
Students who participate in a Learning Services program may have one or more of the following diagnoses:
- Language-based learning differences including dyslexia
- Receptive and/or expressive language deficits
- Difficulty with executive functioning skills
- Memory storage and recall issues
- Auditory processing disorder
- Articulation problems
- Visual processing challenges
- Concurrent conditions such as ADD or ADHD that exacerbate a student’s learning challenge
- Non-verbal learning disorder (NLD)
- Dysgraphia
- Social cognition challenges
- Processing issues that impact learning (e.g., memory, retrieval, graphomotor speed, and production)
Benefits of Our Program:
- A focus on executive functioning skill development, including how to break down large assignments into smaller components and how to understand and find the main idea.
- Supportive and strategic classwork with a learning specialist who knows and understands the student.
- The direct teaching of communication skills, self-advocacy, and constructive help seeking.
- Significant class time with a learning specialist or academic teacher who knows and understands the student.
- Time management, learning techniques, organizational and study-skills coaching.
- Monthly detailed communication home so parents and school work in partnership.
- Close liaison with learning specialists.
- Accommodations, such as extended time on tests and the use of technology.
- The opportunity to practice and improve academic planning and personal organization.
- Learning healthy and effective study habits, and building self-awareness.
- The opportunity to learn how to learn so each student will become life-long learners to fulfill individual potential.
Important Information
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Assessment and Evaluation Information Needed for Candidate Application
As we strive to meet the individual needs of each potential student, candidates for the Learning Services program are evaluated based on their learning profile and the potential to thrive in our community. Current assessment information is key to understanding a student’s learning profile to determine programming and support needed in our learning environment. This information should include any group standardized testing a school district has completed. In addition, it is most helpful to have a current Psychoeducational Evaluation completed privately or through one’s school district. This includes both cognitive and educational achievement assessment information. The more current this information is, the easier it is to plan programming for the student. We also like to see the testing results from when the primary diagnosis was initially made.Read More
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