Curriculum

The Gregory School's programs are designed for students who have speech and language, learning, organizational, reasoning or attention difficulties and who may be functioning below age expectations. The primary/junior class is designed for students aged 6-9. The junior/intermediate class is designed for students aged 9-13. Each class is taught by a certified teacher and has a maximum of seven students. Each student receives individualized programming to meet his or her specific needs. The school has a consultant speech and language therapist, music therapist and occupational therapist who will assist in planning and carrying out the students' educational programs.

Teaching Methods

At the Gregory School, core subjects are taught using direct instruction methods and program materials. Direct Instruction (DI) programs have been developed through empirical research and have been proven highly effective. DI is characterized by an efficient delivery of the program material. This delivery depends on the design of the DI programs as well as the techniques used by the teacher.

Program Design

Developed through research and field testing. Proven highly effective.

Concepts and skills are introduced in a carefully sequenced manner.

Concepts and skills are taught gradually over a long stretch of time.

In each lesson students work on several topics.

Design allows students to completely master skills and concepts.

Develops learning from component skills to applications and problem solving.

Teaching Techniques

Energetic delivery of material.

Rapid pacing.

Simple, clear instructions.

Continuous monitoring of students' performance.

Consistent feedback given to the students.

Instruction that overcomes attention difficulties

DI methods and programs are particularly effective for students with attention difficulties because the lessons are quickly paced and the teacher is continually requiring the students' participation.

Instruction that overcomes learning difficulties

DI programs are equally beneficial for students with learning problems because the skills and concepts are learned gradually over a long period of time with plenty of opportunity to obtain mastery.

Early instruction using effective DI programs and methods can PREVENT later learning problems, because basic skills, concepts and knowledge are taught in a sequential, hierarchical way to ensure mastery. Students who miss out on these crucial first skills struggle more and more as they are expected to advance without having mastered the preliminaries. Later remediation, while often effective, is more difficult and time consuming than simply "doing it right the first time". More importantly, self-esteem, which grows from success and suffers with early failure, is much harder to remedy.

Our Curriculum

	Reading Tricks		Speech Therapy
	Reading Mastery		Music Therapy
	Language for Learning		Occupational Therapy
	Reasoning and Writing		Martial Arts
	Connecting Math Concepts		Brain Gym
	Science		Music, Art, Drama
	Social Science		Social Skills Training
	Organization and Research Skills		Keyboarding and Computer Skills

The Gregory School for Exceptional Learning is designed to meet the needs of students who require individualized programming. The school serves students who have communication disorders, learning disabilities and attention difficulties. Cutbacks in Ontario's public education system have led to large classroom sizes as well as the limited use of special education teachers and educational assistants. For this reason, many parents are finding that their children's needs cannot be well met. The Gregory School has been created to provide a setting in which students can receive specialized programming with individualized instruction. We firmly believe that the right educational setting can help children be successful and lead to fulfilling and productive adult lives.

In our Junior Class, our students benefit from explicit instruction in the skills required for successful reading comprehension and written expression while enjoying creative opportunities which allow them to build on their strengths. These students are receiving a combination of individual and group sessions during the day. They are being taught the direct instruction programs: Reading Mastery, Reading Tricks, Connecting Math Concepts and Reasoning and Writing. The Ontario Curriculum is being followed for Science and Social Science. The Junior Class students also receive instruction in Spelling, Typing, Physical Education, Art and Music. Individual speech therapy sessions are provided as needed.

In the Primary Class, our students benefit greatly from considerable individual attention along with structured group activities to encourage their inter-personal and communication skills. They are being taught the direct instruction programs: Reading Tricks, Reading Mastery, Language through Literature, Language for Learning, and Connecting Math Concepts. Each student's communication goals are being addressed in individual speech therapy sessions as well as during classroom activities. Music Therapy and Occupational Therapy also occur regularly in our primary classroom.

	Our Mission and Philosophy		Our Staff
	Teaching Methods and Curriculum		Our Success
	Fee Structure		Contact us

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