Admissions
Our Primary Goal – Academic & Social Success
The primary goal of our Admissions process is to make every effort to ensure that placement at White Oak School will lead to academic and social success for the student. School districts and parents are encouraged to begin the admissions process by forwarding copies of the student’s current Individual Education Plan and whatever assessment information is available (neuropsychological or psychoeducational evaluations, speech and language evaluations, etc.) to the Director of Admissions.
After a review of the documentation, the Admissions Director will contact the parents to schedule a tour of the campus, so that they may gather a sense of the daily schedule and overall environment and have opportunities to ask questions about our program.
Once a student is referred and/or is determined to be acceptable for White Oak placement, a plan is developed for the student to visit our school and attend classes with a student peer, and thereby learn from personal experience how our classes and activities are conducted.
CONTACT INFO: Alexandra Sutter, admissions@whiteoakschool.org 413-562-9500, menu option 4
Testimonials
“The first time I discovered I had a disability was in the 3rd grade. I realized I was different from everyone in my class. I felt like I did something wrong and I wasn’t sure what was going on. I struggled with the ridicule from the other kids and had a hard time doing the work I was given. I felt like I was sinking faster than I was swimming. I believe I was fourteen when I found White Oak School. That day, Pat showed me around the school and let me know that the teachers really care about the students and just don’t pass them along. By the end of the year, I made many friends and had better grades than when I went to public school.”
“The years of being at White Oak School have benefited my whole life because here I have come to understand my learning disability better. I never knew that my reading could get better and that I could love to read, but that is what has happened. My goal throughout the years has been to become a better reader and thereby come to believe in myself that I am intelligent. Being at White Oak School has caused me to love learning even more, because I have come to recognize what my strengths and weaknesses are and how to work more effectively with them.”
“I would like to thank you for everything that White Oak has made possible. In retrospect (although I spent those years kicking and screaming), the time I spent at White Oak was probably the most critical to my education. Since then I have not only received a Bachelor’s degree from a four year university but I have almost finished law school as well”
“I want to say thank you to every staff member who works [at White Oak School] for helping me, even the times I was not that great to work with. I wanted to say this school is a really good school and I have enjoyed going there. I am happy you guys helped me through my rough days. I also want to say I am way more confident reading in front of people. Believe it or not, those Friday meetings helped me.”
“White Oak School has had great impact on helping me develop strategies to compensate for my learning differences. It seems that the teachers here care more about the students and how they learn. Improving my reading and comprehension skills helped me pass the MCAS. If it were not for my time here at White Oak, I don’t think I would have passed the MCAS.”
“You have all been so committed to your students. I am so thankful we found White Oak. All of you changed Sam’s life. There is no way to thank someone for that, but, I will forever be grateful.”
“Transferring to White Oak School was not easy for me because I had a long bus ride and had to leave my friends. At the time, I didn’t understand that this school was best for me. However, as the years went on, I realized that White Oak was the best fit to prepare me for college. The teachers helped me to feel more comfortable with my learning disability through one-on-one assistance. White Oak has helped me improve my writing, learn the steps of a research project, and read at a higher level. The skills I have acquired there will help me achieve my goal of starting a career in the field of sports management. Even though my learning disability was a giant obstacle in my life, I have learned strategies to overcome it.”
“White Oak School was good for me. The valuable skills I learned at White Oak – organization, self-advocacy, oral expression, social skills, and writing – laid a foundation for my success. The expert matching of tutor and tutee helped me build solid relationships with each of my tutors. This community of constantly intermingling personalities helped me to experience a variety of individuals and situations and gain social ease. Writing has always been a severe issue for me. White Oak’s structured approach to writing greatly reduced my anxiety and stress.”
“At White Oak School, I have learned many strategies and skills, and there are a variety of unique classes that public schools may not have. For example, White Oak School has Tutorial, a daily class dedicated to working one-on-one with a teacher to develop specific literacy and organizational skills. There is also a daily Oral Expression class in which you focus on vocabulary expansion, word retrieval, auditory discrimination, language processing, and developing PowerPoint presentations. The uppermost level of Oral Expression occurs in a class called Media Production. In Media class, you learn video production skills like interviewing, broadcasting, and writing and editing scripts. Through these experiences, White Oak School has definitely helped me to identify and practice what I need in order to succeed when I get out of high school.”
“ I went to White Oak and was finally able to learn. I was able to learn how to spell and read in White Oak. I learned how to work around my learning disabilities using certain tools and accommodations such as extended time on tests, a tutor to help with work, shortened assignments, math help, someone to edit my work, and books on tape.”