Academic Support

The Academic Support program at Suffield Academy is designed to teach and support compensatory study strategies to students who have been identified as having atypical learning styles. Students are scheduled for academic support two to four times per week in group settings of approximately five to eight students. Student participation is voluntary as only through the diligence and commitment on the part of the student will the staff’s recommendations work.

The program does not involve content or specific curriculum tutoring but utilizes assignments from a student’s coursework to develop appropriate compensatory strategies. Additionally, students in the program generally have educational testing in the above average and average range, and need help with executive functioning skills, attention strategies, or auditory processing. Students who have documented grounds for special accommodations in classroom procedures and testing—be it standardized or academic—are expected to speak with teachers about their needs. Students are coached in self-advocacy skills to facilitate this communication. Suffield Academy does not charge an additional fee for academic support services, and like all programs at the school, academic support is covered by tuition.

Student progress is measured in several key areas: awareness, acceptance, and understanding of one’s individual learning differences, challenges, and strengths; a motivation for and commitment to change; and evidence of a growing mastery of compensatory strategies and application of those strategies in an academic setting.