Student Support
Science & Arts Academy recognizes that asynchronous development is characteristic of gifted learners.
Our Academic Resources and Counseling Department identifies and supports students by understanding their academic and social needs in order to develop and share supportive strategies with teachers and parents. Director of Academic Resources and Assessment Ama Thompson, Director of School Counseling Carolyn Manley, SEL Coordinator Tina Centineo, Literacy Specialist Rebecca Kleps, and Academic Resource Specialist Shirley Krzyzyk are knowledgeable educators of exceptional and twice exceptional children. Each has expertise in current strategies and effective interventions to support students with diverse learning needs.
Our Academic Resources and Counseling Department identifies and supports students by understanding their academic and social needs in order to develop and share supportive strategies with teachers and parents. Director of Academic Resources and Assessment Ama Thompson, Director of School Counseling Carolyn Manley, SEL Coordinator Tina Centineo, Literacy Specialist Rebecca Kleps, and Academic Resource Specialist Shirley Krzyzyk are knowledgeable educators of exceptional and twice exceptional children. Each has expertise in current strategies and effective interventions to support students with diverse learning needs.
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Learning Support
In collaboration with teachers, support staff provide the tools that students need to be academically successful, while helping to remove obstacles that may interfere with the ability to work to their full potential. Our goal is to assist each student in identifying how they learn best and the approaches that best fit their learning profile. We help our already bright and curious students fine-tune the skills they already have while developing new techniques. Additionally, SAA focuses on supporting the development of executive function and self-regulation skills, particularly important for gifted children as part of the SAA curriculum. Organization and self-efficacy are focal areas beginning in Junior Kindergarten, and subsequent skills are taught in each grade level with the intention of supporting the growth of executive function skills. |
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Social Emotional Development
SAA is focused on developing both the academic and social-emotional gifts of each student in a safe and nurturing environment. We provide Social Emotional Learning for all students, an Advisory Program for middle school students, and the services of a school counselor.
SAA is focused on developing both the academic and social-emotional gifts of each student in a safe and nurturing environment. We provide Social Emotional Learning for all students, an Advisory Program for middle school students, and the services of a school counselor.
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Advisory Program
Through Science & Arts Academy’s Advisory Program, each student in the Middle School is assigned an advisor who acts as a bridge between the student, their teachers and parents, thereby strengthening student-teacher relationships. Advisors meet with advisees in small-group sessions each day. This experience allows students to know faculty members on a more personal level and assures that our faculty truly knows, understands and values them. Advisors nurture, advocate for, and guide their advisees. In return, students learn to share with a group of peers while developing important academic and interpersonal skills. Our advisors have a wide-angle view of a child’s experience and can best share information regarding academics, social life, extracurricular activities and character from this perspective. |
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Social Emotional Learning
Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) at Science & Arts Academy is dedicated to maximizing student engagement and learning while focusing on the well-being of students. Teaching our students the skills they need to be successful in school, as well as in life, is at the core of our Social Emotional Learning program. SEL provides a framework for teaching and an approach to education that focuses on developing both the academic and social-emotional gifts of each student while learning in a safe and nurturing environment. Students in grades 1-4 have a dedicated SEL class weekly, while middle school students enjoy dedicated SEL time every other week as part of our curriculum. |
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Counseling
SAA provides comprehensive and developmentally appropriate counseling organized around the concept of wellness; taking an educational, preventative approach to building skills in such areas as emotional management, stress management, interpretation of social cues, problem-solving, self-awareness, and communication. These issues may be addressed in individual, small group, or classroom settings. School counseling is, by definition, short-term in nature, and centers on normal developmental issues for children and adolescents. Sometimes, a student may need more long-term assistance or may require additional services outside of school. A referral for counseling/therapy or a referral for an outside assessment may be recommended or required. |
