At JCDS we seek to maximize each child’s potential in school. The Learning Center staff is in ongoing communication with classroom teachers about all of our students and plays an important role in cultivating a learning environment in which all students can thrive. By Middle School, it is appropriate for students to begin to advocate for themselves as learners. We promote that independence by encouraging students to come to recognize their particular ways of learning best. Once the students gain that awareness, the Learning Center staff can offer them (and their teachers) specific strategies for learning that will serve them well for years to come.

These are the services provided by the Learning Center:

• Support for classroom teachers in providing differentiated instruction. For example, specialists often help design curricula, provide alternative assessments, and work with smaller groups of students.
• Assessment of an individual student’s learning style. When a concern emerges with a particular child, a teacher or administrator may refer the child to the Learning Center. A referral initiates a carefully developed protocol ensuring an individualized response.
• Advice for parents seeking academic testing. When testing is recommended by the Learning Center, it can be obtained at no cost in a family’s local public school district. Alternatively, the Learning Center can provide a list of private testers who provide this service for a fee.
• Assistance to the faculty in implementing the recommendations of a Support Plan. Support Plans are based on academic testing and include a child’s learning profile and classroom recommendations. Many Support Plan recommendations can be fulfilled at JCDS. Sometimes, however, additional external resources are required.
• Assistance to parents in finding appropriate external services or resources. If the recommendations of a Support Plan cannot be met at JCDS, the Learning Center staff will meet with parents and recommend additional, external services. The staff will make recommendations based upon the needed service and the frequency of support required.