PRENTICE’S EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM IS DESIGNED FOR YOUR CHILD!
By utilizing the Orton-Gillingham multi-sensory teaching approach as our core instructional methodology we are able to teach your student in the way they learn. Our program strategies are applied in small groups, whole class, and school-wide learning. This helps students generalize their skills across classrooms and attain social skills. Because it's not limited to a specific curriculum, these techniques can serve an individual for a lifetime.
Our program wouldn't work without an amazing team to implement it. All Prentice teachers are fully credentialed. Beyond that, the school requires that they receive full training in the Orton-Gillingham Approach, as well as other research validated instructional approaches.
Learn more about The Prentice's School educational program below!
The Orton-Gillingham Approach is a direct, explicit, multisensory, structured, sequential, diagnostic, and prescriptive way to teach literacy when reading, writing, and spelling does not come easily to individuals, such as those with dyslexia. At the Prentice School, the Orton-Gillingham Approach always focuses upon the learning needs of the individual student. Our Orton-Gillingham teachers design lessons and materials for their students at their level by pacing instruction, differentiating, and accommodating the individual strengths and weaknesses of their students. Throughout the week, the teacher is gathering informal and formal data to inform upcoming lessons.
All Orton-Gillingham instructors at Prentice are trained and certified by the Dyslexia Training Institute.
Grades 1-2 receive 60 minutes of Orton-Gillingham instruction daily week in groups of 3-5 students.
Grades 3-6 receive 75 minutes of Orton-Gillingham instruction daily in groups of 3-5 students. These students are working their way through a specific Orton-Gillingham progression (60+ “rules of language”) but at a pace that is appropriate for them. This progression is driven by phonology and based on the seven syllable types of the English language, syllabication rules, spelling rules, spelling exceptions, and sight words.
Based on need, students in grades 7 and 8 receive Orton Gillingham instruction between two and five days per week.
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Our ELA program incorporates a combination of curriculum and other strategies in order to provide purposeful and differentiated ELA instruction. Currently, we use Savaas’s Ready Gen curriculum for grades 1-6, and Savass’s My Perspectives for grades 7 & 8. In addition to this Common Core aligned curriculum, our teachers utilize Lindamood Bell’s Visualizing and Verbalizing comprehension strategies. The Visualizing and Verbalizing strategies develop concept imagery, or the ability to create an image in your head from language in order to support comprehension and higher order thinking skills. The development of these skills improves reading and listening comprehension, memory, vocabulary, critical thinking, and writing.
For writing, we incorporate the Common Core aligned curriculum, Step Up to Writing. Step Up to Writing curriculum supports writing instruction across all content areas. It is a multisensory, explicit, and systematic approach to teaching writing. It provides clear strategies, methods, and supports in order to increase knowledge and success with each step of the writing process.
In addition to this curriculum, our teachers are trained in Expanding Expression Tool and Story Grammar Marker. The Expanding Expression Tool improves oral and written expression. It is a multisensory tool to help students give more detailed descriptions and definitions. It is used for summarizing, biographies/autobiographies, and compare and contrast writing.
The Story Grammar Marker is a multisensory tool that can help students with reading comprehension, critical thinking, oral/written expression, listening comprehension and social interaction. It’s primary function is to build a platform for students to learn the narrative structure of writing. This tool supports the organization of writing a story or storytelling. Both of these strategies are accompanied by hands-on manipulatives and graphic organizers.
Students in grades 1-6 receive 60-75 minutes per day ELA instruction.
Students in grades 7 and 8 receive a 100 minutes daily of ELA instruction.
Our math program is a combination of Common Core aligned curriculum along with multisensory strategies and approaches. Our adopted math curriculum is Go Math! by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. The instructional model is to engage, explore, explain, elaborate, and evaluate in order to develop mathematical understanding. Along with our Common Core curriculum, our teachers also utilize the On Cloud Nine® strategies from Lindamood Bell. This approach is considered the Visualizing and Verbalizing for math. The On Cloud Nine® approach supports students in imagining and verbalizing the concepts of math. This approach improves the students ability to have concept imagery in order to understand and apply math computation, problem solving and math reasoning. There is also an emphasis on making our students aware of the accommodations that are appropriate for them to have access to during math instruction. Again, this increases their ability to progress in math and access the math curriculum at a more independent level.
Grades 1-5 students engage in frequent hands-on science experiments and labs to promote active learning. Students are exposed to scientific language and encouraged to view the world through a scientific lens. It is a time for exploration, discovery and critical thinking.
Grades 6-8 students study Earth Science, Life Science and Physical Science. Classrooms employ interactive science simulations, hands-on labs and activities. The science instruction is enhanced by research projects and collaborative learning experiences. Explicit instruction and support in note-taking, organization, and study skills are integrated into daily lessons.
Prentice’s Social Studies curriculum for grades 1-5 explores a curriculum aligned with the Common Core Standards. Students complete many project-based assignments, role playing activities, and discussions to show their understanding of the standards. Students learn about their community, citizenship and their local regions. They also study California, economics, and early American history and colonization.
Grades 6-8 are students also engage in group projects, class discussions, debates, and project-based assessments to show understanding of the standards. Students in grades 6-8 study geography, ancient civilizations and American History. This is also a time to practice note-taking, study skills, organization, self-advocacy, and application of assistive technology.
Physical Education (PE)
Prentice students participate in PE class multiple times per week. Our PE program is designed to promote a healthy attitude towards physical activity and physical wellness. Through age-appropriate activities, games and athletic skills, students have opportunities to practice sportsmanship and grow in their physical coordination and endurance.
Social Emotional Learning (SEL)
Led by our licensed marriage and family therapist, all Prentice students participate in weekly SEL class to develop their tools for managing school-based stress and anxiety. Students learn to identify and articulate their feelings and learn meaningful and effective ways to manage their emotions.
Executive Functioning (EF)
Students in grades 1-6 have a daily executive functioning class built into their schedule. This is an opportunity for our students to develop their executive functioning skills to improve their student success. Students are introduced to EF language. They’re explicitly taught and practice the following skills: response inhibition, working memory, emotional control/self-regulation, flexibility, sustained attention, task initiation, planning/prioritizing, organization, time management, goal-directed persistence, and metacognition.