The Learning Center at Stoneleigh-Burnham School offers academic support services for students requiring additional assistance that goes beyond what can be provided by classroom teachers and advisors; in addition, students requiring academic accommodations are served through the Learning Center.

What type of support is available through the Learning Center?

Students who receive support through the Learning Center are enrolled in a non-credit-bearing course called “Academic Skills" in the upper school and “Learning Lab" in the middle school. Upper school students meet individually with a teacher once, twice, or three times a week for the duration of the academic year; middle school students meet in pairs with a teacher three times per week.

What do students do in a Skills session if they are in the upper school?

Skills sessions are not designed to provide subject-specific tutoring or homework help, but rather to assist the student with development and use of appropriate academic strategies in all subjects. Curriculum is tailored to the needs of the individual student; the most common areas of instruction include organization, time management, note-taking, test-taking, memory and recall, writing strategies and essay planning, advanced reading comprehension, academic confidence, critical or abstract thinking strategies, and/or self-advocacy.

What kind of support is available for students if they are in the middle school?

Given the different developmental needs of middle school students, the program is slightly different. Seventh and eighth grade students meet in pairs in a Learning Lab session with a learning specialist; they meet three times a week in General Learning Lab, and may either add or substitute Math Learning Lab depending on their needs. Learning Lab combines specific skill instruction similar to that found in an Academic Skills class with guided practice time.

What other benefits are involved with enrollment in the Learning Center?

A student's Academic Skills or Learning Lab teacher does not only provide attention during designated sessions - he or she is in regular contact with the student's advisor and teachers, serves as a liaison and resource for the student as she develops the skill of self-advocacy, and provides suggestions and support to the student's classroom teachers as the student works to master independent academic skills.