Learning Support Program

Junior Kindergarten through Second Grade is a time of varied developmental growth.  The learning specialist supports teachers in these grades in identifying, supporting, and assessing students as needed.  Parents, teachers, counselors, and the learning specialist engage in regular communication regarding students who are having difficulty and may be displaying signs of a possible learning difference.  Together, the learning specialist, counselors, and teachers collaborate to differentiate and create interventions for teachers to use in the classroom.  At times, additional help may be needed and parents are able to independently contract with speech therapists, tutors, and other providers.

Learning support in Third and Fourth grades focuses on the beginning of self-awareness as a student.  Students are encouraged to understand their learning style and discover how they learn, study, and interact. Students are served by a team that consists of teachers, counselors, and the learning specialist.  This team works together to encourage students to self-advocate for themselves. 

Learning support in grades 5-8 focuses on the continuation  of self-awareness as a student. Students are encouraged to understand their learning style and discover how they learn, study, and interact. Students are served by a team that consists of teachers, advisor, dean, counselor, and learning specialist. The team works to encourage students to use their accommodations as well as to self-advocate. Students are initially  made aware of their accomodations in one of three ways; parents may share the plan with the student, the learning specialist may share the plan,  or the student and parents can meet with the learning specialist. The choice is based on parental preference, student readiness, and development. 

At times, additional help may be needed and parents are able to independently contract with speech therapists, tutors, homework coaches, and other providers who are invited to work on our campus.

At the heart of this stage in learning support is the goal of encouraging students to access their accommodations,  embrace their learning difference and realize that everyone learns differently.

Students continue to grow in the process of becoming self-aware, understanding their unique learning style and developing lifelong learning skills such as time-management and organization, effective communication and study skills, and self-advocacy. Students are served by a relational team approach to intervention and to academic support. The team led by the US Learning Specialist is comprised of the student, his/her parents, teachers, Upper School Dean of Academics, Student Dean, Upper School Counselor and Advisor. Additional support is available from subject-specific tutors and ADHD/Executive Functioning work coaches that are independently contracted and that have been invited to work with students on Cannon’s campus.

Recognizing a relational approach to student support requires time. The support program strives to meet the needs of our students with learning differences through developmentally appropriate focus goals. Juniors and seniors are provided assistance with requesting College Board and ACT testing accommodations.