Overview of the Department
The overall purpose of Academic Support is to provide services to those students needing help in content
areas or with study skills and strategies. The two goals of Academic Support are 1) that the students
receiving support understand how they learn best so they can advocate for themselves and 2) that these
students further develop and solidify their academic skills and behaviors so they can function independently
and effectively in their classes. As students mature, we want them to take control of their own learning by
maximizing their strengths to minimize their weaknesses. In all divisions, the department uses the same
materials as those used in the curriculum. The department regularly reviews professional development,
program planning, and students' developmental needs.
In all divisions of Wheeler, aside from Hamilton, the academic support teachers maintain the files of the
students with educational evaluations. File maintenance includes summarizing the information presented in
the evaluation, communicating the information to faculty, and acting as a liaison between parents, faculty,
and students.
The service this department provides in their groups and work with individual students allows students with
learning differences to participate in the Wheeler community, thereby upholding the School's mission
statement's emphasis of awareness, individuality, and opportunity.
Explanation of Services by Division
Lower School
The Academic Support teacher in the Lower School has three distinct roles. The major role is the reading and
learning specialist in the Lower School. Currently, grades 1-4 meet daily (grade 3 is both reading and
writing), and 5th grade (a new charge) meets 3 times a week. The students are pulled from both classes per
grade. These students work with the reading specialist due to various vulnerabilities: poor reading
comprehension, poor reading fluency, trouble regulating attention, written language weakness, auditory
processing issues, inadequate knowledge of phonics and word analysis skills, and slow processing speed.
Most often, the same materials are used as those in the homeroom classroom, although there are some
modifications of the curriculum. The faculty in the Lower School believes that children learn in different
ways, use different modalities, and reach milestones at different times.
Over time, I have come to realize two things that set my teaching style apart from the other teachers; my
students have the opportunity to extensively discuss the text, (Both the students and I ask questions
consistently as the students read), and the language I use is not as dense as that of the classroom teachers. As
a result, it usually takes me longer to complete novels than the classroom teachers.
Additionally, the academic support teacher is a resource for the Lower School faculty members. Miniworkshops on topics such as reading fluency, reading comprehension, spelling, and executive functioning
have been presented. Faculty members contact the academic support teacher: when there is a question about
a student’s learning style or a concern about a student’s lack of progress; when a reading issue is perceived;
to inquire about an alternative way to teach a skill; or to review reading materials to be used in the
classroom. The academic support teacher may do some informal testing of various students--to analyze their
reading skills and knowledge of phonics.
Furthermore, the Academic Support teacher in the Lower School is involved in the process of having
students evaluated (an educational or neuro-psychological eval) in order to seek information about their
learning style. Working closely with parents of these students and helping them navigate the entire process is
important. Meeting with parents and helping them better understand their child’s learning profile (which
means reviewing the written evaluation with them), and giving them the support they need to help their child,
has become another invaluable part of this position. This is often the first time a parent hears they may be
traveling a path they never expected to travel down. All evaluations come through this office, and the
academic support teacher is responsible for reading each evaluation, summarizing it for the faculty, and is
part of the school meeting to review the eval. At this meeting (parent/s, Dana Hahn- Lower School Head, the
classroom teacher, the academic support teacher, and sometimes the evaluator are present), the evaluation
results are reviewed, external changes that may help the child are offered, and goals are set goals for the
teachers, parents, and child. Maintenance of the files of students who have received educational evaluations
is another responsibility of the academic support teacher; this includes advising all teachers of students who
have a current evaluation, and those who qualify for extended time for tests and quizzes. The academic
support teacher is always available to review an evaluation with a teacher. Moreover, this office advises
parents when their child’s evaluation is nearing the end of its “effectiveness” (Wheeler asks that students be
evaluated every three years if issues remain or change, or we anticipate difficulty as the student transitions
into a new division). These confidential files are kept in the academic support office, under lock and key.
Middle School
The Middle School goals are:
1) To help students understand their strengths in order to compensate for their weaknesses;
2) To teach study skills and strategies which supports the student’s specific learning style;
3) To develop solid advocacy skills.
Academic Support in the Middle School focuses on three major goals: 1) identifying students' strengths and
weaknesses and teaching study skills and strategies that best support the students' learning styles, 2) fostering
student metacognition or the ability to reflect on one's thinking, in order to find the most effective strategies
for figuring things out, and 3) developing solid advocacy skills. By the time students complete their stay in
academic support they are expected to understand their strengths and weaknesses and be able to articulate
their process of thinking about how they learn. Students are expected to learn study skills appropriate to
their learning profile and learn how to advocate for themselves.
Most often, this process takes three years. Academic support classes meet for forty minutes per session in
each grade. Sixth graders meet three days per week, and seventh and eighth graders meet daily. Students
taking the Academic Support class do not, as a rule, take a modern language in Middle School. Each grade
has an average of six students. In general, students are exposed to a wide variety of study skills and
strategies in grade six such as "SQ3R", two-column note taking, and making margin notes in textbooks. In
seventh grade students explore their strengths and weaknesses and learn advocacy skills. In eighth grade
students begin to articulate for themselves their own learning styles and are expected to advocate for
themselves. For students who participate in Academic Support for one or two years, these goals are
addressed in the time allowed.
Assessment of individual progress is based on student journal writing, learning style inventories, wise use of
time during the academic support session, and feedback from classroom teachers on student behavior
pertaining to organization and advocacy.
** the curriculum for 6th grade academic support will change for September 2010, and is currently in development
Upper School
The curriculum used with students participating in Academic Support programs in the Upper School
consists of study strategies that parallel the requirements of the students’ academic courses. The
organization of these strategies includes four general categories: time management, note taking from lectures
and text, reading comprehension for expository text, and test preparation/test-taking skills.
The sequence of teaching study strategies has two phases. The initial phase involves the introduction
of the strategies with an emphasis on the differences, resulting from the changing expectations of work in
the Upper School. This introduction designed for incoming ninth graders occurs in a one-week orientation
experience called “Get Sharp!” (GS!). Students who attend GS! have been identified by Middle School
Academic Support faculty and the Head of the Middle School as being at-risk for a smooth transition from
Middle School to Upper School. Referral criteria can vary, but often include students with a diagnosed
learning disability and students who have received academic support during Middle School. Students new to
Wheeler are recommended by the admissions department or by academic support staff in their previous
school, or because they scored below the 50th percentile on both math and verbal test components of
standardized admissions tests .
The second phase is a scheduled class that meets four times a week known as Freshman Year
Initiative (FYI). The names of students who are recommended for Get Sharp! are submitted in the spring
before their freshman year so that they can be scheduled for one of two FYI sections in the fall. Each section
includes approximately ten students. The two classes occur during periods that meet the same time every day
in order to create a regular routine. Study strategies introduced during Get Sharp! are reintroduced during
FYI and applied to the students’ current course work. As a result, the class serves to support student with the
demands of their classes without adding the demands of a traditional study skills class. Students continue in
FYI through the first semester. Their progress is monitored regularly based on feedback from the students, as
well as, their teachers, advisors and parents. If there are ongoing concerns about performance or effort,
students continue meeting through the second semester.
Students who demonstrate solid academic performance after the first semester can transition from
FYI to more individualized plans. The goal is to fade the support provided over time as the students learn to
study more efficiently and more effectively, utilizing resources and advocating for themselves as they
navigate their way through the Upper School program. It is expected that students can then use the time to
study independently, set up meetings with teachers, or drop in to FYI. Students who transition from FYI
have weekly check-ins and often drop in for academic support for specific assignments. There is also a
tendency for students to elect to return to FYI toward the end of the fourth quarter to prepare for final exams.
Continued support is also available for upperclassmen through individual appointments. If students are in
need of regular support, especially in a specific skill like writing or math, they are often referred to private
tutors for individualized help. The Academic Support Department meets with students following a referral by
a teacher or advisor or a request by students or their families and creates an intervention with specific
strategies tailored to the students’ needs. Students often receive support in: time management, note taking,
reading comprehension, and test preparation/test-taking skills.
Students develop a time management system to keep track of important dates and deadlines provided in
course syllabi and assignment sheets, to meet deadlines on assignments, to plan effectively for long-term
assignments, and to develop academic and organizational skills in order to use time efficiently.
Students receive instruction in note-taking In addition to receiving direct instruction in the use of the Cornell
Note-taking system, students also are instructed in how to take lecture notes in class and how to take notes
that capitalize on their strengths as learners (highlighting text, color coding, using visual organizers, etc.)
Students receive instruction in reading comprehension Many students receive individualized instruction in
techniques to help them read and understand text. Remediation in discrete skills including paraphrasing,
asking questions, seeking clarification, making connections with prior knowledge, making predictions, and
summarizing is an essential component of the program.
Students learn strategies for test preparation and test-taking Instruction is provided to help students with
Multiple Choice, True-False, Fill-in-the-blank, Short answer, Matching/Vocabulary, and Essay questions.
Students are often coached to work on memory techniques that promote recall (i.e. flashcards, verbal
rehearsal, mnemonics). Following a referral from a content area teacher or an advisor, tests are reviewed
with students to identify patterns and develop strategies for future assessments.
Students receive coaching in preparing papers, projects and presentations Because of the range of learning
styles, students are coached in various aspects of writing papers, preparing projects, and creating
presentations. This support ranges from brainstorming or helping in the initial phases of an assignment to
organizational help that may include monitoring progress to providing constructive feedback.
Students improve their self-advocacy skills One of the difficult transitions from middle school to high
school is in self-advocacy. Students sometimes require support in communicating their needs to teachers.
They may need help identifying the problem, using critical thinking and problem-solving skills, and
developing solutions. They are also coached in evaluating the effectiveness of the solution and sometimes
accepting feedback that does not match their desired outcome. Particularly important in this process is
distinguishing between difficulties that result from challenging content for all students and difficulties unique
to specific learning problems.