Student Support
We strive to make each student who walks in the door at New York Academy feel welcome and supported. Our staff works hard to create an environment where all students are excited to come to school each day to learn and play with their friends and teachers.
At New York Academy, we are committed to building a community of diverse learners, which benefits us all as an inclusive community and as global citizens. We believe that everyone should be included, challenged and successful, and therefore offer programs and support for gifted students as well as students with learning or cognitive differences. We are proud to be a Next Frontier Inclusion school and are committed to their goal of supporting children who learn in different ways or at different rates.
We believe in neurodiversity – the idea that all students have different strengths and weaknesses that a good education addresses rather than that some students have an inherent learning deficit. Beginning during the admissions process, we work with you to ensure that the needs of your individual child are met so that they can succeed and thrive at school.
For students who require additional academic and/or social support,we work together as a school community to address their individual needs. Both within our school team and supported by outside experts, we have experienced professionals for speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, and counseling. If you believe your child needs additional support, please let our team know right away so that we can work together to meet their needs.
Many students’ needs can be met through differentiation strategies and classroom accommodations or through individual or small group attention. These may include speech language or occupational therapies. For students who need additional support, we work to offer an Individual Learning Plan (ILP).
Please view Student Services Handbook here
When a student’s needs are not adequately met in the classroom without additional support services, our teachers and staff work together in conjunction with parents to put together an ILP. An ILP ensures that everyone involved with the care of the child is aware of their needs and working to meet them. We also work with the student to make sure they are aware of their own needs and can begin to advocate for themselves. After the student is evaluated, a plan is created to provide for learning support and additional services including speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, counseling, tutoring and adaptive technology. ILPs also include accommodations available to the student, including but not limited to extra time on tests, the use of a scribe or adaptive technology, or any modifications to our curriculum standards.
For students who require intensive support, we provide a team of specialized professionals to assist their academic, emotional and social needs. The curriculum may emphasize functional academics, functional life skills, and have speech language and occupational therapies built in. As graduation approaches, there is an emphasis on promoting independent life skills and pre-vocational studies to prepare for post-secondary opportunities and life after New York Academy.
Our staff will use the WJ-III (For C Brief) as one consistent standardized method of assessment for students receiving learning support services. This standardized assessment, which is administered annually, helps our team monitor the student’s progress over the course of the year.
In addition, the following formative assessments are used to monitor progress so that we can be responsive to any changes.
- Readiness Assessment
- P.A.S.T. (Phonological Awareness Skills Test)
- D.S.I. (Developmental Spelling Inventory)
- D.R.A. 2 (Developmental Reading Assessment)
- Narrative Writing Assessment
- Concepts and Skills Mathematics Assessment