A plea to parents of students who are struggling...
from Ian Spence, Headmaster
Emeritus, Ben Bronz Academy
Dear Parents,
Please don't wait! If your school-age child is bright, but she or he is struggling with reading and writing and self-expression, get help now! Our data show that kids can be helped quickest in their younger grades, and by the time they reach Grade 8 or 9, only a few are still willing to trust you and the teachers enough to change their history of failure.
The data are alarming! The good part is our report on children in Grades 3 to 6. Of our 15 Lower School students, only 1 did not make a year-for-year gain in reading. All of the rest were catching up rapidly, some with 2 or 3 years gain. Most of them were or will be able to return to their home schools after two years, scoring as well as their peers in most areas.
Some Middle and High School students also made impressive gains, but out of 40 students, 6 gained then fell back, and four were not progressing fast enough to catch up. We think they had used up their energy trying in Public School before they came to us. In all cases, the students and their parents wished they had come to Ben Bronz Academy earlier!
If your child is more than 2 years behind in reading, a different approach is needed. Four hours of pull-out from classes will not make the difference needed, especially if he/she is being exposed to "Whole Language" in the classroom. Your child needs three or four planned, coordinated classes of remedial reading per day, as well as follow-up exercises at home weeknights and weekends. Almost no school is able or willing to provide this massive kind of intervention. Some districts have asked us to train them in our Reading Programs, but even after the training, they have not been able to implement the special scheduling and commitment of time to the trained personnel.
If you live in Connecticut, the solution we offer is to try Ben Bronz Academy. Your child will get the 4 periods (or more if necessary) of remedial help in reading, plus the other remedial and regular courses needed. Our school day is longer - 8 hours for most students, and not a moment is wasted. If you are paying the tuition costs yourself, it is worth it because we will get lasting results faster. It is also financially cheaper for the School District, because most children return to an almost regular program, rather than all special-education classes.
Get started now! If you are asking the School District to pay the costs, there will be a waiting period while testing is scheduled and carried out, and a longer wait if you have to argue your case in arbitration an hearings. In the meantime, get the remediation started! Arrange with us to begin CyberSlate, an intervention that is carried out through the Internet. It will not do the job, but it is direct help for your child - carried out by you and guided by us, while you are waiting.
Let us know if we can be of help!
Yours truly,
Ian Spence, Ph.D., M.S.W.
Headmaster Emeritus.