Academic Success

There are many schools that provide simple accommodations for students with learning disabilities. The challenge is that each student is unique and has often dramatically different needs. The real benefit of White Oak School is that we not only provide comprehensive accommodations, but our experienced teachers provide direct instruction in the specific academic skills that each student needs to fully succeed.

White Oak sees accommodating a student’s needs as the starting point of instruction, not the finish line. Students need to learn to do research, to collect data, to write analytical papers, to take great notes, and to do all the other skills that will lead to academic success… and they need to have this direct instruction throughout their day and across the curriculum.

White Oak starts with the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks, which identify the grade-appropriate curriculum for every student in the Commonwealth, and then the teacher adds individualized instruction in the core literacy and academic skills necessary for success in that class.

Every day, every student has a full course load of seven 50-minute classes, including a one-to-one tutorial class in reading, spelling, reading analysis and written composition. There are no pull-out sessions for any student. We believe that no child should have to miss part of his or her program in order to be taught appropriately. Even the one-to-one tutorial is individually scheduled into each student’s daily schedule, as an independent class.