History & Philosophy
Our History
Shortly after the school opened, Gow met Dr. Samuel T. Orton, the pioneering neurologist whose research pointed to a phonetic approach to educating those suffering from "specific language disabilities." Through thousands of hours of teaching and experimentation, Gow developed the Reconstructive Language (RL) program, similar to the Orton-Gillingham method and still used at the school to great effect.
Over time, The Gow School has continued to evolve and innovate. The campus has expanded from one Main Building--a converted horse barn--to more than 30 buildings. In 1990 the coed Gow School Summer Program began, and in January of 2012 the School made the decision to become coed offering day and boarding options. Nevertheless, RL remains the foundation of our curriculum, kept current with the latest technology and validated by ongoing research. A growing cadre of loyal and grateful alumni, with a wealth of success stories, speaks to the success of Peter Gow, Jr.’s, dream.
The Gow School has led the way in educating students with dyslexia and other language-based learning disabilities since 1926. That's when Peter Gow, Jr., founded the school in a visionary effort to rethink the learning process. After 20 years of teaching at Choate Rosemary Hall, Nichols School, and The Park School, he became concerned that so many intelligent students were encountering academic difficulties, especially with print language. Gow theorized that the key to success lay in small classes and intensive drill. He moved his family to South Wales and converted the farm where he previously ran a summer camp into a boarding school for boys.