Summer Program

The Gow Summer Program gives children a summer that builds skills and confidence at the same time. Mornings are for small, focused classes. Afternoons and weekends are for being a kid.

5

Weeks, June 27 to July 30, 2027

8 to 16

Ages served

5

Students per class, at most

0

Homework

Who It's For

The Gow School Summer Program (GSSP) is open to students ages 8 to 16 who are facing academic challenges or have been diagnosed with learning differences.

Many GSSP campers have one or more of the following:

• A diagnosed language-based learning difference, such as dyslexia, dysgraphia, or dyscalculia (sometimes identified as a specific learning disorder affecting reading, writing, or math)
• Challenges with reading comprehension, decoding, or multi-step tasks
• Average to above-average cognitive ability
• Strong visual-spatial thinking skills
• Difficulties with organization, planning, or attention (including ADHD or ADD)
• Challenges processing spoken or written language, including Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) or Language Processing Disorder (LPD)

How Learning Works in the Summer

Each GSSP student selects four morning classes, typically a mix of core subjects and electives. This balance helps students strengthen key skills while exploring new interests.

Classes are small, structured, and designed for how students learn best. Students enrolling in reading, writing, or math complete a short assessment at the start of the program to ensure the right placement. Instruction is multisensory and hands-on, with teachers guiding students step by step. There is no homework. The focus is on building skills, confidence, and momentum during the school day.

Courses include The Gow Method of Reconstructive Language, writing, math, and study skills, along with electives like robotics, experimental science, coding, photography, theater, and studio art. Taught by Gow faculty and experienced educators, each class is designed to help students make progress while rediscovering a sense of success in learning.

Contact us to discover how summer learning can change what school feels like.

Student Experience

From the moment campers arrive, they feel it. A sense of belonging. A place where they can be themselves and feel understood.

Days are active, social, and full of energy. Campers build skills in the morning, then spend afternoons creating, competing, and having fun with friends. They try new things, laugh often, and feel part of something.

By the end of the summer, confidence grows. Campers leave feeling proud, connected, and excited about what they can do next.

See what it feels like to be part of the Gow community.

Overnight or Day Camp

Families can choose the experience that fits best. Every camper, whether boarding or day, is part of the same supportive Gow community.

Overnight: Seven Days a Week for All Five Weeks

Campers live in safe, comfortable dorms with trained counselors who live alongside them. With a low camper-to-counselor ratio, students are known, supported, and cared for around the clock.

Full Day: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Campers attend classes, enjoy lunch, and stay for afternoon activities before heading home.

Academic Day: 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Campers attend morning classes and depart after lunch.

Outcomes Families Can Expect

By the end of the summer, many families notice a real shift. Campers return home with stronger academic skills and a renewed sense of confidence in themselves as learners.

Campers begin to feel differently about school. They experience success, often for the first time, and carry that feeling with them. They try new things, build friendships with peers who understand them, and discover strengths they may not have seen before. With structured time away from technology, they stay more present, connect more easily with others, and fully engage in the experience.

You will see this progress along the way. Families are invited to campus for a mid-summer visiting weekend, where you can experience that growth firsthand. At the end of camp, we share detailed assessments and progress reports that many families use in back-to-school planning, including IEP meetings and conversations with teachers.

For many students, GSSP is not just a summer camp. It is the start of something new.

Open Houses

Open house dates are coming soon.

Summer Academics and Schedule

Small classes in the morning, no homework at night. Students make real progress without losing their summer.

Summer classes at Gow are small by design. The average class has five students, and no class has more than five, so every child gets direct, daily attention from a teacher who understands learning differences.

5

Average and maximum class size

4

Morning class periods

20

Classes to choose from

0

Homework

Courses

Each student takes four 45-minute classes every morning, chosen from these offerings:

• The Gow Method of Reconstructive Language
• The writing process, levels I through III (level III writes The Summer Sun, the camp newspaper)
• Summer reading workshop
• Handwriting
• Organization and study skills, levels I and II
• Math, levels I through IV
• Experimental science
• Robotics
• Introduction to coding and computing
• Photography
• Videography
• Drama and theater
• Studio art

Private tutorials and music lessons are available for an extra fee, during the midday break.

Read the Full Course Descriptions (opens in a new tab)

The Daily Schedule

Academic-day students attend from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. See activities and trips for what fills the afternoons and evenings.

Summer Activities and Trips

Afternoons on the fields, evenings full of games, weekends on the road. The fun is part of the plan.

After a morning of focused classes, students spend the afternoon learning something new for the fun of it. Confidence built on a lacrosse field or at a Lego table carries back into the classroom.

Activity Instructional Clinics

Every Monday, students choose their Activity Instructional Clinics for the week. Clinics run from 2:00 to 5:00 p.m. and include:

• Soccer, basketball, lacrosse, and rugby
• Dodgeball and Gaga Ball
• Archery
• Creek walks
• Arts and crafts
• Lego robots
• Slip 'N Slide

Evenings

Every night has a plan: Icky Olympics, K'Nex Night, Fear Factor, Color War, a carnival, and Sunday bonfires, building up to the end-of-summer banquet.

Weekend Trips

Weekends take students off campus, sometimes overnight. Past trips include camping in the Allegheny National Forest, Cedar Point, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and pro sports in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Rochester.

Visiting Weekend

Each summer, families are invited to campus for a weekend to see their child's progress and enjoy summer at Gow together. Dates and registration for Visiting Weekend are coming soon as summer approaches.

Questions: Jon Chafin, Director of Summer Programs, [email protected].

End of Summer Banquet

The summer ends with a celebration in the Weston Dining Hall: an awards ceremony, then a dance.

Questions: Jon Chafin, [email protected].