At Marvelwood, we are committed to the belief that every student learns differently, and that these differences are to be appreciated and accommodated through a combination of intensively targeted efforts on the part of the faculty to make even the most challenging college preparatory curricula accessible to students of all abilities, talents, interests and learning styles. Our unique Learning Support programs provide the tools that help students with learning challenges experience academic success, increase self-confidence, and acquire strong learning and self-advocacy skills needed in college and beyond. Students at every level of ability are encouraged to participate actively in their studies, practice self-advocacy, and accept guidance from the professionals with whom they interact every day.

We offer optional Learning Support programs for a wide range of academic challenges including those related to:

• Executive function skills
• Language-based skills (reading, writing, verbal expression)
• Dyscalculia
• Dysgraphia
• Dyslexia
• Processing speed
• Working memory

The newly-refurbished Clark Center for Learning Support houses our Learning Support program. 
 

Marvelwood has expanded its support for students with dyslexia and other language-based learning differences through a partnership with the Kildonan organization.

Kildonan School, which closed its Amenia, NY campus in 2019, made its reputation through programming specifically designed for students with dyslexia.  In 2020, Marvelwood announced an advantageous partnership with the Kildonan organization to strengthen our programming and support of students with dyslexia and other language-based learning differences. 

Instructors trained through the Kildonan Teacher Training Institute are now part of the Clark Center for Learning Support staff, employing Orton-Gillingham (OG) -- a structured, multi-sensory approach to teaching reading and writing -- to support students with language-based learning challenges.

Learn more about Kildonan programs and support for students with dyslexia at Marvelwood.
 

Imagine a place of possibility...

The mission of The Marvelwood School’s Learning Support Department is to provide the support and tools that students with learning differences need in order to experience academic success, increase self-confidence, and acquire strong learning and self-advocacy skills needed in college and beyond. Students at every level of ability are encouraged to participate actively in their studies, practice self-advocacy, and accept guidance from the professionals with whom they interact every day. Our faculty collaborate closely with all other departments at Marvelwood to ensure that the skills students adopt in Learning Support class support the mainstream class curricula in a timely, informed and seamless manner. We aim to identify and remediate weaknesses in basic skills, to support a student's efforts in content classes through the use of specific learning strategies or assistive technology, and to fill in the gaps which may present an impediment to success in college preparatory coursework. Ultimately, the goal of the Learning Support Department is to use a scaffolded program model to gradually move students toward full independence, where they use all the skills and resources at their disposal without teacher prompting to achieve and maintain academic success.

Education...Reimagined