Port’s Vincent Smith School is offering a summer program for students in grades four through eighth with learning disabilities, including ADD, ADHD, Asperger Syndrome, and expressive and receptive language processing issues. The school is currently accepting applications for the program.
The program will run three sessions: Session One: July 7—July 18, Session Two: July 21—Aug. 1, or Session Three: Aug. 4—Aug. 15. Parents have the option to enroll their child in one, two, or all three sessions. The program will run daily from 9 a.m. to noon.
A Vincent Smith spokeswoman said the program’s focus is to individually remediate, maintain, or enrich students’ skills sets in the areas of reading, writing, math, and social cognition. It is designed to let students engage in multisensory, hands-on learning opportunities to enhance their academic and social performance. Reading, writing, math and social skills are each explored for approximately 45 minutes.
•Remedial reading provides a structured multisensory need-based support to aid in further developing decoding and comprehension, using The Wilson Reading Program for decoding skills and the Lindamood-Bell Visualizing and Verbalizing Program. The Scholastic Read About software helps students expand their understanding of written material.
•Individualized writing instruction enables students to become more expressive and organized writers. The focus is on sharpening grammatical skills as well as process writing. With the use of graphic organizers, students are given practice in forming topic sentences and organizing their ideas.
•Hands on math instruction allows students to sharpen and further develop their computation and problem solving skills. Through the use of manipulatives and technology, students are given the opportunity to bridge gaps in their conceptual understanding and get a jump start on next year’s curriculum.
•Using Michelle Garcia Winner’s Superflex curriculum, students learn first-hand how to become social detectives by employing creative role playing and hands on activities. Also included are initiating and maintaining conversations/friendship, group dynamics, self-advocacy and executive function.
Taken together the initiative stands for Social Opportunities and Remediation Program, or SOAR.
SOAR Program Director and Vincent Smith School Director of Special Education Grace Avigliano developed SOAR based on her belief that, “Many students with learning disabilities lose valuable skills when they are not engaged in academic and social activities throughout the summer months. For students who learn differently, the challenge to return to a study routine in September is often fraught with challenges.”
Donna Knepple has been sending her daughter to SOAR since its inception. She believes that, “Vincent Smith School’s SOAR provides my daughter with individualized hands-on learning opportunities that allow her to have successful academic and social experiences throughout the school year.”
Vincent Smith School is a private day school for students with learning disabilities in grades four through 12. The school offers an integrated program of studies for boys and girls, using a multi-sensory approach to learning. For more information, visit www.vincentsmithschool.org.
