Why Sending Children with Learning Differences to a Boarding School is a Smart Choice
Selecting the right school for a child with learning difficulties can be challenging for parents. Their decision may be based on multiple considerations—academic support, social environment, and faculty expertise, to name a few. Private learning disability boarding schools are the natural choice for many parents. Known for their individualized approach to education, smaller class sizes, and support services, these schools provide an environment where students with learning differences can thrive academically and personally.
Understanding the benefits of boarding schools for students with learning differences can help illuminate why parents often consider private boarding schools instead of public schools for their children. Most commonly, parents who want the best for their children may choose boarding schools for learning disabilities because they believe in their supportive approach to learning.
What Are Learning Differences and How Do They Impact Education?
Learning differences encompass a variety of conditions that affect how an individual processes, comprehends, and retains information. For example, dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and non-verbal learning disabilities are all examples of conditions that fall under this umbrella.
These conditions are neurological, often lifelong, and usually run in families. They do not reflect a student's intelligence or potential. They simply mean that these students learn differently from their peers. With the right support in school and at home, children with learning differences can succeed in an academic setting.
An educational environment that adapts to the student's unique learning styles can significantly impact their academic journey. It can boost their confidence, enhance their strengths, and equip them with strategies to overcome learning challenges. These challenges can pave the way to a successful future with the right support.
Why Some Parents Choose Boarding Schools for Children Facing Difficulties with Learning
For parents, nothing means more than giving their children the best opportunities to thrive, especially when they face unique learning challenges. Many parents consider private boarding schools their best option for children with learning differences. Boarding schools create an environment that supports each student's learning style. These schools can make all the difference in a child's development, confidence, independence, and future success.
The right school environment can make all the difference in the life of a student facing difficulties with learning. Parents know it’s about more than doing well in school -- it's about building lifelong skills, and these specialized boarding schools are designed to do just that.
How Do Private Boarding Schools for Learning Disabilities Offer Better Support than Public Schools in New York?
When choosing the ideal educational environment for a child with learning disabilities, parents will weigh the benefits of public and private institutions. New York is home to many private boarding schools designed for students with learning differences. These schools offer unique resources and services to support students with learning disabilities, often greater than those available in traditional public schools. From individualized academic strategies to comprehensive support services and encouraging parental involvement, private boarding schools are a compelling choice for many families.
Boarding Schools for Learning Disabilities Provide Individualized Education Plans (IEPs)
Private boarding schools can work with parents to create and implement personalized Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) tailored to the unique needs of students with learning disabilities. An IEP is a plan to guide a child's education designed to address specific challenges and provide targeted support.
IEPs are written documents describing a student's unique educational needs, along with customized goals and specific services the school will provide to meet those needs. They are meant to be fluid documents, changing, and evolving as the student progresses, ensuring the educational approach aligns intuitively with their learning style. They consider the child's current performance, special needs, potential for growth, and personal interests.
In New York learning different schools, a team of professionals, including special education teachers, therapists, and counselors collaborate with parents to develop an IEP. Private boarding schools for students with learning disabilities are committed to ensuring the educational experience meets each student's unique needs while providing support, encouragement, and the right environment for them to overcome their challenges and succeed.
Boarding Schools Offer Specialized Support Staff
Private boarding schools employ experienced teachers and therapists who specialize in working with students who have learning disabilities. Their expertise ensures that students receive the best possible support. In these schools, the staff includes experienced teachers, therapists and other professionals who specialize in working with students who have learning disabilities.
The expertise of these specialized staff members extends beyond the classrooms. Therapists and counselors are also an important part of the school community. They provide services like speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, and counseling for students. A boarding school setting provides a safety net of support designed to support academic growth and each child’s emotional well-being.
The learning and support staff work closely together, providing support across many different parts of a student's life. This collaborative approach gives the students well-rounded support for their needs, helping them successfully navigate their academic journey and grow confidently into young people ready to take on the world.
Learning Disability Boarding Schools Focus on Enhancing Life Skills
A strong emphasis on teaching essential life skills, such as organization, time management, and self-advocacy, sets private boarding schools apart. They know these skills are essential for students with learning disabilities to thrive academically and in daily life.
Parents consider academic success a priority, but their goal is to help their children succeed in all aspects of their life, from emotional and social well-being to personal and professional success as adults. Organization, time management, and self-advocacy are just a few life skills stressed in private boarding schools for students with learning differences. They also teach essential skills like critical thinking, decision-making, and resilience, all skills vital for students with learning disabilities in an academic setting and everyday life.
Teachers and staff at private boarding schools use a hands-on approach to coach these skills, providing real-life situations where students can apply what they are learning. The goal is to provide students with a firm academic foundation and arm them with the skills they need to become self-reliant, capable, and confident individuals.
Private Boarding Schools Have Smaller Class Sizes
Private boarding schools maintain smaller class sizes, resulting in lower student-teacher ratios, allowing for individualized attention and customized instruction to the advantage of students with learning disabilities. This approach provides a focused and individualized educational environment. Maintaining a lower student-teacher ratio allows for more one-on-one attention, enabling teachers to customize their instruction to the unique learning style of each student.
Boarding Schools Offer Comprehensive Support Services
A significant advantage of private boarding schools for students with learning differences lies in the broad range of support services they offer. These schools understand that students might face diverse academic, emotional, and behavioral challenges. They provide services like speech therapy, occupational therapy, counseling, and even physical therapy to accommodate these needs.
This comprehensive support is valuable to students who may need help to conquer challenges in their academic and personal lives. Because the students live at the school full–time, these resources are always available to them – some of them around the clock. This network of support services is one reason why many parents choose to send their children to private boarding schools.
Parental Involvement is Encouraged at Private Boarding Schools
Parental involvement plays a critical role in every student’s educational success, especially those with learning differences. Private boarding schools encourage and often rely on active parental involvement in the educational process.
Parents are frequently updated about their children's progress and are given opportunities to participate in crucial decisions concerning their child's education plan. This could involve tweaking the child's IEP, brainstorming ways to improve their social skills, or implementing strategies to manage behavioral challenges.
Through frequent communication, including parent-teacher meetings, regular reports, and events where parents can engage with the school community—boarding schools ensure parents stay involved in their child's education journey.
Boarding Schools Provide a Holistic Approach for Students
Boarding schools take a holistic approach to education, addressing academic needs and the emotional, social, and physical well-being of students with learning disabilities. Understanding that their students' academic success is tied intricately to their emotional, social, and physical well-being, these schools strive to nurture all aspects alongside the academic curriculum.
In addition to providing a personalized academic plan, boarding schools offer a variety of activities tailored to the student's abilities and interests. They incorporate emotional and social skills training in their educational programs and promote their students' overall health and wellness.
Learn Why Parents Choose the New York Learning Differences School: The Gow School
The Gow School is a boarding school for learning disabilities in New York that was founded in 1926 to serve students with dyslexia. The school has grown to focus on students with language-based learning disabilities with related language-based learning disabilities and dyspraxia, CAPD (central auditory processing disorder), dyscalculia, dysgraphia, and disorder of written expression. Students also come to Gow with ADHD and/or executive function difficulties. Gow is a private learning differences boarding school known for its exceptional academic programs and commitment to providing students with a well-rounded educational experience.
The Gow School's academic programs are designed to address the unique learning challenges students face. Their curriculum emphasizes individualized instruction, with small class sizes and a low student-to-faculty ratio, enabling personalized attention for each student. This empowers teachers to work closely with their students, considering their unique learning styles.
The Gow School combines strong academic programs with comprehensive support services, such as speech therapy, occupational therapy, and counseling, as part of its holistic approach to learning and emphasis on teaching essential life skills. Gow values parental involvement and encourages parents to actively engage in their child's education process. Parents play a vital role in their child's success by staying involved in decision-making and collaborating with the school staff to support their child's academic progress.
Are you considering The Gow School for your child? Learn more about their approach to learning disabilities or request information.