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.

The school offers optional Learning Support programs in which teachers work one-on-one or in small groups with students to overcome obstacles to their academic success. Our teachers have the training, experience, creativity and patience 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.

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

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 and former Kildonan School 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. Read more about this historic alliance. For more information, please contact the Office of Admission. 

Marvelwood is now home to two additional Kildonan programs:

Camp Dunnabeck

An co-ed academic summer camp for students with dyslexia and other language-based learning challenges, Camp Dunnabeck is the oldest residential program of its kind. Running from the the last week in June through the end of July, Camp Dunnabeck offers day and boarding programs for students ages 8-16 years old.

Camp Dunnabeck Info
 

Kildonan Teacher Training Institute (KTTI)

Fully accredited by the Orton-Gillingham Academy of Practitioners and Educators, the Kildonan Teacher Training Institute offers:

• Orton-Gillingham trainings & practicum supervision
• Informal screenings and evaluations
• Comprehensive reading evaluations & standardized testing
• Tutoring

KTTI Info

Learning Support Programs

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