Curriculum
 No two children are alike at The Governess School, each student is seen as a unique and perfect creation.
Founded in 2004 as the only Christian school for students with Lower Cognitive abilities/Mild Intellectual Disabilities, The Governess School continues to provide a traditional learning experience guided by Christian Character Education including bible study and prayer requests.
To support and challenge these unique learners, the students are taught on their academic level not grade level, we strive to introduce them to new ideas and curriculum that will expand their education and advance them to the next level. With the support of their parents our aim is to reach as high as we can academically.
We want to create life long learners, the comprehensive curriculum which is presented in multi-sensory modalities. Visual, auditory and kinesthetic approaches to learning are incorporated throughout the curriculum.
Study in Reading, Phonics, Math, History, Social studies, Science, Art, Computers, and Health completes an educational experience designed to remediate students' areas of academic weakness, expand their understanding of their learning styles and increase their ability to self-advocate.
Multi-Sensory Approach
Since improving and enriching our current program is so important to all of us, we are now happy to announce that we will incorporate a multi-sensory methodology into our reading program. The training that our teachers receive focuses not only on improving reading, writing and spelling skills, but also teaches them how to give the students the necessary tools to achieve greater success in school and in life.
Rather than having the students memorize information from a workbook to store in their short-term memories, this approach involves multi-sensory programs that enable students, by direct instruction, to learn, review and practice new concepts and apply what they are learning. This methodology that has been utilized for over 50 years. Based on early research in dyslexia by Dr. Samuel T. Orton and Anna Gillingham, it was concluded that children who experience difficulty with reading and spelling need a solid phonics approach that is multi-sensory, systematic, structured, sequential, cumulative and success-oriented. We will conduct on-going assessments to monitor what they have mastered so that the concepts will be stored in their long-term memories.
Quite often, students may study for weekly spelling tests and perhaps do very well, but when later asked to read or write a particular word from that test, they cannot apply the knowledge in context or on paper. On the other hand, some students struggle and will continue to have a difficult time because they can't make the connection or understand the significance of what they are learning. For the benefit of all of our students, we are integrating this hand -on multi-sensory learning program.
Our English language has two components, phonetic words, which can be sounded out, and non-phonetic words that are considered sight words, and can be memorized through multi-sensory techniques. Phonetic concepts will be taught each week in a sequential, relevant manner. Once concepts are taught, students will apply them in words, sentences and stories. Every week the teachers will review, teach new concepts, discover, apply and assess for mastery. Students will not have to study phonetic concepts or spelling rules with the multi-sensory approach which emphasizes constant review and application. It is the non-phonetic (sight) words that must be studied weekly. Spelling tests will contain both phonetic and non-phonetic words, as well as sentence application.
The multi-sensory program will help produce confident, independent and knowledgeable readers who will have strategies to fall back on to ensure success in school as well as in life. We hope you will share in our enthusiasm that our new program will be instrumental in helping your child achieve success.
|
