Programs

 

 

A Summit Academy Education

"If a child can't learn the way we teach, maybe we should teach the way they learn."

Ignacio Estrada        

Approach

Our curriculum is based on National Educational Standards; our approach is completely different. That's because how we teach the curriculum varies according to the needs of the student. Whether that means a reading remediation program, or an advanced class in algebra, we meet your child where they are — from a twice exceptional child to a child with an auditory processing disorder, we give that student what they need in the classroom.

That's why our approach to educating children is diagnostic and prescriptive. Closely examining your child's individual strengths and weaknesses, we prescribe the approach that is best suited to help your child achieve academic success in the areas where they struggle, and challenge them in the areas where they shine.

How Do We Do It?

Prescriptive groupings for Math and Language Arts
For math and language arts, students are grouped and taught at their achievement level and the approach needed, not their grade level. This allows each student to achieve success, regardless of where they are academically in comparison to other students their age.

Small classes with teacher-directed instruction
An average of seven students with one teacher during math and language arts allows the teacher to firmly grasp a child's specific areas of difficulty.

Mastery Teaching
Children with learning differences need more repetition, more teacher-directed instruction, and more input via all modalities in order to thoroughly learn a subject. The goal is to 'teach to mastery'; therefore, there is ongoing assessment and reinforcement of student learning.

Uniquely structured school day
Morning

• Competency in math and language arts forms the foundation for success in other subjects so the entire morning is devoted to their intensive study.
• Both math and language arts are taught at the same time school-wide. This provides us with the ability to be flexible and responsive to the changing needs of your child.

Afternoon

• Students are in homerooms with their grade-level peers for science, social studies and special areas.
• There are two different special area classes each day, including Physical Education, Music, Computer Instruction, Library, Art, and S.O.S. (Sound Off Sessions).

Hands-on, multi-sensory learning

• Learning math using three-dimensional objects, songs and movement helps students to understand concepts.
• Whether it's watching a chrysalis become a butterfly or creating a photo light box, our Science Exploratorium makes textbook science come alive.
• The tactile activities of creating pottery, mask-making, and weaving (to name a few) make learning about history and other cultures fun.
• Wherever possible, our science and social studies curriculums are reinforced through our art and music programs.
• Doing skits is a kinesthetic, concrete way to help kids get excited about historical events, or interpreting a piece of literature.
• Writing letters in salt trays or shaving cream helps students who have trouble decoding language.
• Field trips to nature centers, music and theatre performances, or the Science Center complement classroom work.

Integrated Technology
Technology is an important part of teaching at Summit Academy. In addition to being an integral part of our world, technology helps students access information, write reports and finish homework faster and more easily.

• Every year we add more classroom Smart Boards, so that by the end of 2013, every homeroom will have one.
• All students 1st through 8th grade have Computer Skills class in our Computer Lab, which is geared to their age group and taught by a Technology Teacher.
• 6th — 8th graders have Keyboarding instruction, to increase their typing speed.
• 6th, 7th and 8th graders have computer work stations as classroom desks.
• Students in grades 1-4 have computer work stations in each classroom.
• We will help parents obtain any assistive technology needed.

Testing and Evaluating
Summit Academy provides a thorough testing series for our students, as a standard part of the academic program.

We use the most up-to-date testing materials and take a great deal of care to examine and consider test results. Testing data helps us determine a student's areas of strengths and weaknesses, allowing us to make the best possible decisions when planning the student's placement and curriculum. Summit Academy regularly performs Norm-Referenced Testing and Criterion-Referenced Testing.

Communicating

With parents

• Teachers communicate with parents via notes in binders, phone calls, e-mails.
• Parents and teachers meet three times per year for a conference.
• Our weekly newsletter "The Monday Update" and our website include everything from our mission statement to the basketball schedule.
• Our Head of School has an open-door policy so parents can ask questions, address their concerns, or get advice.
• Our clinical psychologist is available for consultations.

With each other
We use a team-teaching approach that allows the teachers to share strategies that work for your child.

Teachers consult with the Head of School and the clinical psychologist; talk with the Occupational Therapist, the Speech Therapist, club sponsors, the Tree House team, or whoever may be involved with your child.

Our Board of Trustees includes parents, alumni parents, teachers, staff members and community leaders, so that school issues are discussed with our whole community.

With the students
Teachers give instructions verbally, on the board, and/or through demonstration so that students can process instructions multi-modally.

Each homeroom has a weekly group S.O.S. (Sound Off Session) with our clinical psychologist to work on social skills, conflict resolution and identifying and managing emotions.

Our teachers and staff members know our students. We like them. We talk with them!

Curriculum

Our approach for curriculum planning is entirely diagnostic and prescriptive. We will select the combination of tools that will best suit your child's learning style, remediate their learning challenges, and help them become successful in school.

Here are examples of just some of the tools we use for teaching the core subjects of math and literacy:

• Grammar and Spelling
  • Daily Oral Language
  • Houghton-Mifflin
  • Apple Tree Curriculum for Developing Written Language (Grades 1-3)
  • Expressive Writing
• Spelling
  • Sitton Spelling
• Handwriting
  • Handwriting Without Tears®
• Math
  • Saxon® Math
  • Touchmath® - The Alphabet of Mathmatics
  • SRA Number Worlds™
• Phonological Awareness
  • Rosner Auditory Training Program (Grades 1 -3 )
  • Rosner Spatial Awareness Skills Program (Grades 1 – 3)
  • Literacy Leader (Grades 4-6, phonological awareness)
• Reading Development
  • Reading Mastery
• Reading Remediation
  • Reading Milestones® (visual approach)
  • Preventing Academic Failure (Orton Gillingham Method, explicit phonics)
  • SRA Corrective Reading Program (word recognition/fluency)
  • Making Connections (comprehension remediation)
  • Beyond the Code (comprehension)
  • Explode the Code (decoding remediation)
  • Reading Success (reading strategies for Middle School)
  • Merrill Reading Program

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Additional Programs

Tykes' Peak Pre-K and Kindergarten Program

If you're concerned that your three, four, or five-year-old may not be ready for instruction in a conventional setting because of a mild to moderate developmental delay, speech delay, or motor skills problem, Tykes' Peak at Summit Academy is uniquely qualified to give your child the extra attention they need.

We offer full and half-day Pre-K and Kindergarten programs that address the needs of our very youngest at-risk learners.

(Tykes' Peak at Summit Academy is not designed for children with autism, mental handicaps, or severe physical disabilities. Children must be ambulatory; Kindergartners must be toilet trained.)

Tykes' Peak Emphasis
Tykes' Peak Offers
Tykes' Peak Fees

Hover over the links above to see more information.

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After-School Activities

Like everything else at Summit Academy, the sports and clubs that we offer for after-school activities vary depending on the students needs.

If we have a lot of interest in an Environmental Club one year, we do it! If the next year, it's Technology – we do that!

For this school year:

Archery Club	Sign Up
Art Club	Sign Up
Basketball Team	Sign Up
Basketball Club	Sign Up
Cheerleading	Sign Up
Chess Club	Sign Up
Drama Club	Sign Up
Swim Club	Sign Up
Running Club	Sign Up
Technology Club	Sign Up

Hover over the activity names above to see more information.

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Tree House Extended Day Program

The Tree House Extended Day Program is a before and after school activities program intended to assist our parents with juggling work and school schedules. There is an additional fee for these services.

The Tree House is available before school from 7:30 a.m. - 8:00 a.m. every day that school is in session.

The Tree House is available after school from 3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. every day school is in session, plus many full days when students are off, but parents are not. Check each year's Tree House schedule for exact availability.

In the afternoons, students get a snack break, time for homework, outside playtime and time to just relax. Check our brochure for more details!

Tree House Fees - hover for infomation
The Tree House Handbook
The Tree House Registration

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Summer at Summit!

Keep your child's mind and body active this summer with fun and educational programs from Summit Academy. We have several offerings for your student this year! Click the links for each program for dates, times and fees.

Camp Discovery

A full-day program for students entering 4th - 8th grade. Camp Discovery is the perfect combination of fun, socialization, discovering new skills and interests, and academic skills reinforcement. Technology, cooking, models, and arts & crafts are just some of the discovery topics!
Camp Discovery Registration

Camp Discovery, Jr.

A full-day program for the younger crowd, combining movement class, enrichment activities, and academic skills reinforcement.
Camp Discovery, Jr. Registration

Summer Book Club

Students entering 7th through 10th grades always have summer reading assigments! Guided study groups will help your student be ready for school this fall.
Summer Book Club Registration

Yes, I Can! Tutoring

Summit Academy teachers will tutor your student in 50-minute sessions in whatever subject is needed.
Yes, I Can! Registration

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Related Services

Occupational Therapy

• Does your child have trouble concentrating in class or act out for no apparent reason?
• Does s/he struggle to accomplish basic tasks or have trouble changing from task to task?
• Does s/he lack coordination, fatigue easily, or is s/he accident prone?

Believe it or not, these can all be red flags indicating a larger problem that is making it hard for your child to learn. Since signs and symptoms of learning difficulties and differences often look similar, or even harmless, proper diagnosis and treatment by an occupational therapist might be critical to your child's success.

Mrs. Lindsey Jones (shown right) is one of our staff specialists. She received her MS/BS degree in Occupational Therapy from Russell Sage College in Albany, New York, where she was both Magna and Summa Cum Laude. She is a specialist in helping children with special learning needs and she works on motor planning, motor remediation and social skills in children with Sensory Integration Dysfunction, Autism Spectrum Disorders, ADD/ADHD and children with visual perceptual and language deficits.

Speech Therapy

Many factors work together to enable a student to receive, process, and produce at school. If one area is delayed in development, it can interfere with the whole process of learning.

• If your child appears not to hear you, but you have had his hearing checked, then maybe s/he has an auditory processing problem.
• If your child has difficulty reading body language or maintaining eye contact, then s/he may not understand the pragmatics, or social part of language.
• If you see signs of tension during your child's recitation or out-loud reading, or if stuttering runs in your family, then your child may need fluency therapy.

Bright Stars Speech Therapy

Summit now offers on-campus comprehensive speech/language evaluations and speech therapy with Laura L. Cronin (shown right), MS, CCC/SLP, our speech therapist. Ms. Cronin has been a speech/language pathologist for over ten years, with experience in schools, nursing homes, clinical and home-based settings. She is the president and founder of Bright Stars Speech Therapy, and offers her services on campus at Summit Academy.

Clinical Psychologist

At Summit Academy, we believe in addressing the needs of the whole child. Learning differences are often accompanied or complicated by, co-occurring conditions, including speech and language or sensory integration disorders, fine or gross motor delays, visual/spatial problems, and or social skills difficulty.

If learning differences and their related problems are not appropriately addressed, these issues can create anxiety, depression, self-esteem and behavioral problems.

Learning differences can sometimes cause more than academic difficulties. The emotional and social repercussions of not succeeding in school can be great. If a child feels like a failure as a student, this can translate into test anxiety, oppositional behavior and frustration for both parent and child.

Children with non-verbal learning disabilities have difficulty reading non-verbal signals like body language or tone of voice, and this affects them socially.

Summit Academy provides its students with an outlet for their frustrations and concerns. Every week, every student attends a group 'Sound Off Session', or SOS, with Dr. Laura Reed (shown left), our on-staff psychologist. She also does psycho-educational evaluations and individual consultations with families and students.

In addition to her work at Summit, Dr. Reed has been in private practice in Louisville for over 20 years, specializing in children and adolescents. She was on the faculty of the University of Louisville's Department of Psychiatry, and was the pre-doctoral Internship Director at Bingham Child Guidance Center. She also served as the Director of the Keller Day Treatment Center. Dr. Reed is a member of the Kentucky Psychological Association.

 

2011-2012 Related Services Fees - hover for infomation

Tutoring

Success Maker Web-Based Tutoring

Success@Home Web-based tutoring designed specifically for your child. Many subjects are available.
Success@Home Brochure
Success@Home Registration Form

Yes, I Can! Tutoring

Summit Academy teachers will tutor your student in 50-minute sessions in whatever subject is needed.
Yes, I Can! Brochure
Yes, I Can! Registration

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