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We are an accredited 766 approved year-round day school program serving students ages 3-22 with Asperger’s Syndrome, PDD, Nonverbal Learning Disabilities, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Tourette’s Syndrome, Anxiety Disorders, Central Auditory Processing Disorders, and other neuro-cognitive disorders.
A letter from the Principal
The School for Accelerated Learning is unique in many ways:
- PARENTS PARTNER:
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We partner with parents to help their child achieve goals. We understand that the children we serve are YOUR children, not ours. We have an open door policy where your family can visit anytime they want - no appointments needed. We provide ongoing communication, training, and support not just to your child, but to your whole family.
- INDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION:
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Our children tend to have uneven profiles (highly gifted in some areas and needing help in others), therefore we look at each individual domain (i.e., Math, English, Sensory Processing, Executive Functioning, Behavior, Social Skills, etc.) and create goals that will educate and challenge your child for each individual subject. Our low student to staff ration allows for this individual education.
- COMPLETE EDUCATION:
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We understand the true needs of our students, which is why we offer intensive training in "non-traditional" areas such as interpersonal communication, social skills, organization, attention, self-esteem, sensory processing, technology, and many other individual areas of need.
- POSITIVE LEARNING EXPERIENCE:
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YEAR-ROUND PROGRAMMING:
- As we strongly believe in a well-rounded education, our students attend programming for 12 month per year. Students spend a traditional 10 months per year in the classroom and community.
For 2 months of the summer
students and staff switch into their "camp T-shirts" and partake in our highly sought after pragmatic summer camp program, Camp Good Times, which was the cornerstone for The School for Accelerated Learning. Camp Good Times not only provides "normalizing" summer experiences and novel activities to promote social and academic success, but also allows students to generalize the skills they have mastered. Relationship building is also very important, and students in our day school primarily keep the same educational staff during the summer as they have year-round.
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DATA DRIVEN PROGRAMS:
- Although the smiles on our students and families faces show our success, we insist upon empirical data for confirmation. By tracking and analyzing regular data on academic and social skills, we are able to finely tune your child's individualized curriculum so s/he can have the most effective programming possible. We know how precious time is; thus, should an issue arise, we are immediately aware of it and quickly implement a solution.
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USING THE LATEST TECHNOLOGY:
- We've raised the bar on education by using technology to our student's and family's advantage.
- We've jumped light-years ahead by providing each student with their own laptop computer and the option of voice recognition software. This technology decreases frustration and increases self-esteem by allowing students to type or speak what they are thinking, as an adjunct to cumbersome manual writing.
- Each student is provided with his/her own email address.
- Our weekly curriculum is posted online so schools and families can have easy access and knowledge to what occurs on a daily basis. This allows parents the opportunity to preview or review a day's structure with their child.
- Part of our Language Arts curriculum involves keeping an "e-photo journal" and"e-newsletter" so parents can see what occurs on a daily basis.
- A daily "e-agenda" book keeps families abreast of projects and homework assignments. This book is kept by the student so s/he learns how to organize, plan, and analyze assignments.
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Student Goals |
A Complete Education
Our expert therapeutic and teaching staff design individual programs to meet your child's complex needs. Our educational curriculum utilizes social and therapeutic skills while teaching competitive academic programming. With our low 2:1 student-to-staff ratio, we are able to meet your child's needs while successfully teaching him/her skills for life. |
Accelerated Academics in Your Child's Areas of Interest
Our first goal is to celebrate your child's strengths. Within our guided self-designed program, part of your student's day is devoted to expanding and enriching his/her area of interest while participating in learning strategies that assist other underdeveloped or problematic academic skills. |
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Some Goals Include (Click here for a complete listing of goals) |
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- General Socialization & Communication:
- Initiating, monitoring, maintaining, and disengaging from conversations
- Joining conversations or joining games already in progress
- Spontaneously greeting adults and peers
- Using a combination of questions and comments when interacting with peers and adults
- Cooperating, collaborating, compromising, and negotiating with peers and adults
- Non-Verbal Cues:
- Identifying non-verbal cues based on facial expressions, body language, tone of voice, and posture
- Recognizing emotions of both peers and adults
- Maintaining eye contact for an appropriate length of time
- Theory of Mind:
- Understanding another's perspective
- Altering comments based upon what a peer or adult is thinking/feeling ("being sensitive")
- Identification of Feelings:
- Labeling emotions based upon facial expressions, tone of voice, and body posture
- Responding appropriately to "Why?" questions in regard to feelings peers are experiencing
- Coping Skills:
- Recognize signs of stress/anxiety in themselves and others
- Find solutions to anger management
- Learn to better regulate his/her sensory systems
- Increase knowledge of problem solving skills
Please click here for a complete listing of goals addressed. |
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Available Therapies |
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When your child’s IEP is created the Team will determine what therapies your child needs to meet his/her IEP goals. The School for Accelerated Learning offers the following therapies that might be incorporated into your child’s IEP or general classroom education.
- Speech Therapy:
- Specifically for speech related needs (that are not social in nature). Some examples include: articulation difficulties, auditory processing disorders, and word retrieval issues. The School for Accelerated Learning specializes in “social skills” training through its curriculum pragmatic language is not specifically on students' IEPs.
- Pragmatic Groups:
- All students participate in pragmatic “social skills” groups
- Occupational Therapy:
- Specifically to address issues of fine motor skills.
- Sensory Integration:
- Sensory Integration is part of our daily curriculum so this is not a service that we typically add.
- Individual or Group Counseling:
- Some students (and/or their families) benefit from talking one-on-one with our Adjustment Counselor. If the student is receiving on-going counseling this will be included on the student’s IEP. If counseling is required from time to time or in a group setting as part of our curriculum, this will not be added onto the student’s IEP.
- Home-Based Parent Training:
- Many students benefit from home-based parent training. At the student’s home, parents can take advantage of advice and training regarding non-academic curriculum (i.e., social skills, daily living skills, getting homework completed, getting along with family members, etc.) Depending upon the frequency, this service may or may not be incorporated into the child’s IEP.
- Martial Arts:
- All student’s participate in Karate as a form of self-esteem, self-regulation/modulation, and exercise.
- Specialized Reading/Writing or Math Programs:
- Some students require specialized Reading, Writing, or Math curriculums (such as the Linda Mood Bell program). Students that receive tutoring with these methods will have it written into the IEP. If the method is being utilized in the classroom this will not be written into the IEP.
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Frequently Asked Questions
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- DO YOU MAINTAIN REGULAR COMMUNICATION WITH THE FAMILIES?
We provide a fresh approach to learning by celebrating and welcoming families into our program. Families have the opportunity to keep abreast of their child's progress and learning by participating in our home-training program, observing and/or volunteering in the classroom, accessing our on-line curriculum and daily agenda book, viewing the classroom's daily on-line photo journal, reading our weekly e-newspaper, participating in parent and sibling groups and/or family counseling, and attending educational conferences and company events. By having a strong family commitment, we view our program and your structure at home as a seamless day.
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- WHAT IS THE STAFF TO STUDENT RATIO?
There is one staff per two students.
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- WHAT IS THE MAXIMUM NUMBER OF STUDENTS IN EACH CLASS?
8 students.
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- WILL MY CHILD JUST SIT AT A DESK ALL DAY?
Absolutely not! Our curriculum, which is aligned with the Mass. Frameworks, provides hands-on learning so students can utilize all their senses to experience and absorb information. We also provide a plethora of cultural and physical activities such as music, art, photography, field trips, physical education, and swimming.
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- WHAT ARE THE STAFF'S QUALIFICATIONS?
Our classrooms are stocked with leaders in the educational community. Each member comes to us with expertise in relevant fields and then completes, and is certified in our intensive learning and training program so that they are equipped with additional resources and skills to best help your child. To address your child's and family's unique and complex needs we provide a team of certified clinicians including: psychologists, speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, educators, home-trainers, and various consultants.
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- WHO ARE THE DIRECTORS OF THIS PROGRAM?
Alex Michaels and Laurie E. Smith, both of whom founded Educational Consultants of New England, Inc.
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- WHAT ARE THE SCHOOL’S DATES & TIMES?
School runs weekdays Monday - Friday from 9am to 3pm. This is a year-round program. Students have off for 4-weeks vacation per year and all of the traditional school holidays (i.e. Labor Day, Martin Luther King Day, etc.) Click here for our current school calendar.
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- WILL LUNCHES BE PROVIDED OR AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE?
No, students are responsible for either bringing their own lunch or purchasing a lunch. Each day we eat lunch in the building's cafeteria (which is not affiliated with our school). Students have the option of purchasing a hot lunch (which generally consists of sandwiches, hamburgers, or hot entrees.)
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- WHO PROVIDES TRANSPORTATION TO AND FROM SCHOOL?
Transportation is provided by the families or as stipulated in the child's IEP.
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- DO YOU HAVE A ROLLING ADMISSIONS POLICY?
Yes. You may register and enroll at any point during the year.
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- CAN MY CHILD AND I OBSERVE THE PROGRAM?
Of course! Please call Alex Michaels at 781-895-3200 x24 to arrange a tour.
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- CAN MY CHILD ATTEND YOUR PROGRAM EVEN IF OUR SCHOOL DISTRICT IS AGAINST IT / DO YOU ACCEPT "UNILATERAL PLACEMENT"?
The School for Accelerated Learning does not offer unilateral placement (meaning we will not accept a child tuition-free or at a reduced rate while the child's family negotiates with their district). Students may begin at our school under two circumstances: (a) If the school district makes the referral or (b) If a family wants to privately pay for schooling and signs our legal agreement that they will not seek financial reimbursement from their school district for the period of time their child is placed at our school.
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Tuition Information |
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The Department of Education has set The School for Accelerated Learning’s rate at: $75,712.00 for School Year 2008/2009. |
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Group Tours of Our Facility |
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We will be offering specific dates/times for tours for those without a referral who are interested in touring our facility. This tour is intended for parents and professionals, not for students. Advanced registration is required in order to attend a scheduled tour. Our future tour dates/times are listed below. Please contact Tess Fahy at 781-895-3200 x18 to sign up. Tours will be conducted by Alex Michaels, Executive Director, and will run approximately 2 hour.
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