Lower School Student Support

Each boy has an individual profile of characteristics, talents, abilities and challenges that result from predisposition, learning, and development. Through differentiation, we help each boy achieve his best.

The Lower School Support Team works with some boys on strengthening key abilities in school. The mission of the Support Team is to provide information, guidelines, and tools designed to support student learning and positive social/emotional development. Each boy has an individual profile of characteristics, talents, abilities and challenges that result from predisposition, learning, and development. Through differentiation, we are able to help each boy achieve his best.

Members of the Lower School Support Team include Dr. Carol Ann Luongo, the Director of Learning and Support in the Lower School, two Reading Specialists, a School Counselor, and Dean of Students. The Team works collaboratively with the teachers on how to implement best teaching practices for the boys while supporting the students’ individual learning styles.

Reading

Since reading is such an important part of the learning process, we have two Reading Specialists who work with faculty and small groups of boys on developing fluency, decoding, vocabulary, and retelling/comprehension skills. Boys who are in reading support are first identified by their teachers and given further assessment by the Reading Specialists. Mrs. Laird works with boys in grades K-2 and Mrs. Campbell works with boys in grades 3-5 in developing reading skills in the Lower School.

Mathematics

Mrs. Williams works with boys who benefit from additional support in the understanding of mathematics. She coordinates her small group instruction to coincide with the concepts and skills being taught in the classroom. Mrs. Williams comes to us from the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit and works with boys in grades 1-5.

Counseling

Mrs. Barrett works with a number of boys and families on a range of issues, including: conflict resolution, expression of feelings, building coping skills, social skills, anger management, in addition to other social, emotional or behavioral areas.

Speech and Language

Mrs. Neary works with boys who need to improve speech articulation or expressive language skills. She comes from the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit and works with boys in grades 1-5.

Mrs. Cindy Weissman, our Speech and Language Consultant, collaborates with teachers to implement best practices in instructional strategies for expressive and receptive language skills.

Lower School Dean of Students

As Dean of Students, Mr. Brown is responsible for the overall discipline of the school. He works with students, teachers, and parents when students misbehave or when they do not follow the rules. Additionally, Mr. Brown teaches 5th grade Decision Education, focusing much of his attention on integrating decision-making skills and character education into the lives of our boys.