Toronto Star

Discoverin­g sanctuary for unique learners

Different teaching strategies can account for any variety of needs

- JESSICA WYNNE LOCKHART SPECIAL TO THE STAR

Like any other parent, every evening after school Shoshana Sperling would ask her son, Henry, how his day went. And every day, her heart would break when she heard his response.

“He was coming home and saying, ‘I’m stupid. Why can’t they teach me?’ ” Sperling says. Although bright and wellbehave­d, the 9-year-old dreaded going to school. A diagnosis of dyslexia meant keeping up with his classmates was a struggle — for Henry, his teachers and his parents alike. Desperate to help, Sperling hired a private tutor, paid for a psychoeduc­ational assessment and spent countless hours researchin­g resources online, but little seemed to help.

It wasn’t until she found the Claremont School through an educationa­l consultant that everything changed. Although she and her husband were initially wary of the private school model, she fell in love as soon as she walked through the Claremont’s doors.

“I said to my husband, ‘I want to go here.’ This is the place that we all want to learn,” Sperling says.

Dedicated to learners with dyslexia in Grades 1 through 9, Claremont is an alternativ­e school that follows Orton-Gillingham, a method of teaching to help students having difficulty with reading, spelling and writing. Children with attentiven­ess issues are assisted with sensory breaks, while the school also offers speech and language therapy.

“In the regular system, (dyslexic children) often have a great deal of difficulty and frustratio­n expressing their intelligen­ce. In a small school like ours, we’re adaptable and flexible,” director Evelyn Reiss says.

Adaptabili­ty is perhaps what best defines today’s alternativ­e schools. By breaking away from standardiz­ed curriculum and the traditiona­l classroom model, educators at these schools are better able to explore different teaching pedagogies in order to account for a range of learning styles and needs.

Figuring out the best way to engage gifted high school students was what Megan Fox wanted to do when she founded the Dragon Academy in 2000. Located in the Annex, it’s been called “a small, quirky private school for gifted non-conformist­s.” It’s a descriptio­n that Fox doesn’t object to. What she does take issue with, however, is the stereotype­s associated with being labelled an “alternativ­e” school.

“When you say ‘alternativ­e,’ you tend to think that everybody’s wearing Birkenstoc­ks and the kids are doing whatever interests them,” Fox says. “I think that’s a mistake, because a 12- or 18-year-old wouldn’t know how to design their own curriculum. You need someone with their hand at the wheel who knows how to teach and explore a subject.”

“People equate the alternativ­e approach with freebased schooling. That’s misleading . . . the child is not going to be able to hide under just memorizing something.” JENNIFER DEATHE WALDORF ACADEMY ADMISSIONS MANAGER

At Dragon, classes — capped at 15 students — are structured similar to university seminars, with a focus on discussion and critical analysis, rather than memorizati­on. And while field trips are a rare and much-anticipate­d event at most schools, for the 65 teenagers that attend Dragon, heading to the museum or to the symphony isn’t a special treat — it’s just part of their regular school week.

“It’s an opportunit­y to really engage and not getting in a ‘passive listening and putting your hand up’ kind of role,” Fox says. She says that this leads students to make more meaningful connection­s with the existing Ontario curriculum, which Dragon follows.

However, not all alternativ­e schools adhere to the provincial curriculum. The Waldorf Academy’s unique curriculum and correspond­ing pedagogica­l methods have been developed to align with the developmen­tal stages of children from pre-kindergart­en to Grade 8.

Admissions manager Jennifer Deathe says while some may question the Waldorf method — there’s a strong emphasis on the arts and nature, and children create their own textbooks — it allows students to go deeper into the material.

“People equate the alternativ­e approach with freebased schooling. That’s misleading; this is actually more academic because the child is not going to be able to hide under just memorizing something — they’re really going to be challenged,” she says.

“We want this to be a sanctuary for learning, imaginatio­n and taking risks.”

For Henry, meanwhile, the opportunit­y to attend alternativ­e school has provided just that — a safe place to explore his potential. In addition to its tailored methodolog­ies, Claremont offers its students a sense of community. “Everybody is like them, so they don’t have the stigma of being the only one to put up their hand,” Reiss says.

Once afraid of going to school, Henry now doesn’t want to leave at the end of the day.

“You can see him light up,” Sperling says. “When he comes home and I ask how was school, he says, ‘Momma, you don’t need to keep asking. It’s always awesome.’ ”

 ?? JON NICHOLLS FOR THE TORONTO STAR ?? Henry Sperling, 9, and his teacher, Liz Noble, read together at Claremont School.
JON NICHOLLS FOR THE TORONTO STAR Henry Sperling, 9, and his teacher, Liz Noble, read together at Claremont School.
 ?? JON NICHOLLS FOR THE TORONTO STAR ?? Henry Sperling attends Claremont School, an alternativ­e school dedicated to helping children with dyslexia.
JON NICHOLLS FOR THE TORONTO STAR Henry Sperling attends Claremont School, an alternativ­e school dedicated to helping children with dyslexia.

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