Our Academic Program
Learning and feelings go hand in hand, as we know our emotions can have a huge impact on whether or not we can be available for learning. At West End Day, we're proud of our dynamic approach not just to learning, but to supporting our students in a “big picture” way. We take into account our students' academic and social-emotional needs to provide tailored educational plans based on each student’s ability level, learning style, strengths, and interests. These customized plans allow students to build upon their strengths and develop the confidence they need to embrace challenges.
What you can expect from West End Day School:
- A highly customized classroom setting with an average of eight to ten students with two classroom teachers
- Small groups of three to five students for core academic areas including reading, writing, and math
- An evolving curriculum that meets the needs of our bright students with unique and diverse learning styles and differences, such as ADHD, mild-to-moderate learning disabilities and/or language differences, dyslexia, executive functioning challenges, and anxiety
Reading
We take a comprehensive approach to reading, using several methods of instruction based on ability level and learning style.
For students who are just starting to learn about reading and written language, we use Preventing Academic Failure (PAF), an Orton-Gillingham program. This program is one of the most effective classroom adaptations of the Orton-Gillingham method, using a multi-sensory, direct-instruction approach for phonics, spelling, reading, comprehension, and writing. In conjunction, we also integrate Heggerty, the leading provider of phonemic awareness curriculum. This intentional and systematic program is designed to supplement an existing reading program and orally and auditorily target pre-reading/phonological awareness skills, meaning that students are not asked to read or write during this part of reading!
For our students who are more fluent, we use a guided-reading approach, in which students are reading chapter books and focusing on more advanced comprehension skills as well as vocabulary expansion. This all ladders up to higher-level thinking skills, helping students to learn strategies that allow them to take on more difficult texts independently.
Writing
Our writing program focuses on teaching students to write in a clear and organized way.Writing can be one of the most overwhelming subjects for many students, especially for those who struggle with executive functioning challenges, ADHD, dyslexia, learning differences, and even anxiety. Here at WEDS, we know tackling “the hard stuff” comes with feeling safe and understood—and that’s our first priority when we approach academics.
Using the Basic Writing Skills program, we begin with the most basic forms of writing, at the sentence level. From there, students learn to write paragraphs using graphic organizers and outlines to help structure their thoughts in a clear and concise way. We thoughtfully integrate explicit instruction on sentence construction, grammar, and the phases of writing as a way to support our students’ executive functioning needs. When students are ready for more creativity and open-ended asks; we move onto poetry, essays, research assignments, and short stories.
We utilize the Spellwell curriculum for teaching reliable patterns, phonetic elements, and rules for learning around spelling. For direct academic vocabulary instruction, Wordly Wise allows our students to learn grade-level-appropriate words that help them successfully comprehend content-area texts.
Math
We are revolutionizing math education at our school by implementing Big Ideas Learning’s innovative Math & YOU curriculum—for both our elementary and middle school students.This modern approach to math aims to engage and inspire all students, connecting mathematical concepts to their present and future lives. With a focus on real-world applications and relatable content, this curriculum provides a strong conceptual foundation while incorporating a more digital learning experience. By providing teachers with differentiation resources, we ensure that every student receives the support they need to succeed.
Each chapter begins with a career exploration and ends with a culminating activity that brings it all together. Each chapter has learning targets, success criteria before moving on; as well as a mid-chapter test and performance task at the end of each chapter. There is also coherence through the grades - so students can see when they’ll use a certain skill in their math future!
STEM
Our STEM curriculum is taught in our state-of-the-art STEAM Center.
This space provides an essential environment for our hands-on, inquiry- and project-based curriculum. Lessons are centered around life, earth, and physical sciences, plus space and technology. Our older students study humans' impact on the Earth’s climate and biodiversity. Every spring, we have our annual STEM Fair, which is a platform for our students to showcase their individual or group science experiments.
Social Studies
We take a broad, humanistic approach to teaching our students about the ideas, cultures, people, and events that shape our world.
As our students move through grades, they use rich content themes to study history, geography, economics, government, and civics related to the United States and the globe. Our younger students explore different types of communities and take part in an in-depth study of New York City, while our oldest students dive into different world religions, developing case studies for each. Class field trips are a big part of the entire social studies curriculum, giving students the ability to make real-world connections to what they’re learning about in the classroom.
