Private Day and Boarding School Applications

Parents often ask us, “When should we start the application process for private school?” For a variety of reasons, we believe the earlier, the better. Rather than waiting until applications go live in the fall, we encourage families to begin in the spring and summer to allow for advance planning and identifying the best use of their child’s summer time when schedules tend to be less busy.

Holly has begun meeting with families of 7th graders applying for private day and boarding schools for high school in Fall 2020. She uses this time to get to know the students and their profiles and to develop preliminary school lists. Some families have already started visiting prospective schools. Throughout the coming months, Holly will continue to work with them focusing on interview skills, fine-tuning school lists, and mapping out the paperwork and testing deadlines. By the time the application cycle officially begins, these students will be well positioned to complete and submit their applications.

The Importance of Advocacy

“Now that I have the evaluation results, how do I make sure that the teacher and school will work with me to meet my child’s needs?”

Parents often need guidance in navigating the possible special services programs and processes once a child’s learning challenges have been identified. At Learning Associates, we recognize that effective educational advocacy is just as important as the evaluation itself. As a Learning Disabilities Teacher-Consultant and former teacher, Holly is uniquely qualified to partner with families on behalf of their children. In meetings with child study teams and teachers, Holly explains the results of testing, discusses the implications of those results, and advocates for our educational recommendations. She can attend 504 Committee and Child Study Team meetings along with parents to secure appropriate programs and services. This collaboration increases effectiveness.

Some situations require legal advocacy. When an education attorney is required, Holly can make recommendations and work alongside counsel.

For more information on special education advocacy, see https://u.org/2E4u8I0.

Learning Disabilities and the Impact on Families

When children have learning disabilities, the impact can extend far beyond the classroom. Often these students and their families also experience significant amounts of stress and anxiety due to the academic struggles. As a result, the family dynamic can suffer. However, most of the research and remediation focuses only on the learning challenges.

After seeing at least half of her clients get upset when receiving feedback from their child’s learning evaluation, Dr. Deborah Waber, neuropsychologist and Learning Disabilities program director at Boston Children’s Hospital, realized that the impact on families is not fully appreciated or addressed. She and her colleagues developed a survey to screen for quality of life problems stemming from learning disabilities. Questions address anxiety, frustration, and the effect on family activity. For more information on their findings, see https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/06/180628120039.htm.

At Learning Associates, we look at more than academic records in our evaluations. We ask clients to share information about their child’s self-image, attitude toward school, and relationships with peers. Families are given Conners rating scales to screen for attention, behavioral, social, and emotional issues. This holistic approach allows us to truly understand each child and make appropriate recommendations. We also make referrals to other professionals when necessary. Our advocacy work is designed to reduce the stress on the family by getting the proper support services in school.