Learning Support
|
Support by a Team of Professionals: Learning Specialists, Psychologists, and Certified Language Therapists.
ESD Manifesto |
At The Episcopal School of Dallas, we believe students with learning differences, including dyslexia, AD/HD, and other learning needs, can thrive in a challenging college-preparatory environment when they have the appropriate support, resources, and partnership among students, families, and the school. Our goal is to know each student well, build on their strengths, and provide appropriate support while maintaining the academic expectations and independence that are central to an ESD education.
|
A Rigorous Academic Environment
ESD is an academically rigorous college-preparatory school. Students are expected to engage fully in a demanding curriculum, develop strong organizational and self-advocacy skills, and increasingly manage their academic responsibilities independently.
For students with documented learning differences or disabilities, ESD may provide reasonable, individualized accommodations that address the impact of a disability on learning or testing. Accommodations are designed to provide access to learning, not to reduce academic expectations or alter the essential requirements of a course.
What Support May Look Like
Depending on a student's individual needs and documentation, accommodations may include:
- Learning support through our Lab programs:
- Lower School Language Lab: Specialized, multisensory reading intervention through the Take Flight program.
- Middle School Learning Lab: Support for organization, executive functioning, study skills, and academic success.
- Extended time, up to time-and-a-half, on assessments
- Use of a laptop for note-taking or essay exams
- Preferential seating
- Use of a four-function calculator in cases of a math disorder
Accommodations are considered individually. ESD does not provide every accommodation recommended by an outside evaluator, as certain accommodations are not consistent with the school’s academic mission. Please see the Guidelines for Psychoeducational Assessment for information regarding specific accommodations as well as the documentation requirements for consideration of such accommodations.
A Collaborative Process
We encourage prospective families to share questions or concerns early in the admission process. Our Emotional Wellness & Learning Support Services team and Admission team are happy to talk with families about how a student's individual learning profile may fit within ESD's academic program and support model.
Our shared goal is simple: to help students understand how they learn best, develop confidence and self-advocacy, and experience meaningful success in a challenging and supportive school community.
|
The Lower School Language Lab program is a specialized two-year program for second and third-grade students identified with dyslexia. The Lab program utilizes the Take Flight curriculum, an empirically-based intervention program developed at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children. This program addresses the essential components of effective reading instruction including phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, and reading vocabulary. Spelling and cursive handwriting are also integral aspects of the Language Lab program. Lab, instructed by our specially trained certified academic language therapists, is offered as a daily, small group experience during a student’s regular Language Arts time. A student must have a psychoeducational evaluation on file that indicates a learning difference or a functional limitation that warrants placement in Language Lab. |
|
In Middle School, fifth and sixth grade students who are identified as needing additional academic support are placed into “Learning Lab” in lieu of a world language class. This two-year course supports students with executive functioning skills and self-regulation, guides students in their academic functioning, helps students to understand their own learning profiles, and utilizes a strengths-based approach to provide intervention. A student must have a psychoeducational evaluation on file that indicates a learning difference or a functional limitation that warrants this curriculum exemption. |
