Educational models are changing in the US. And as we continue to discover what helps children learn, educational institutions are implementing new, more effective models. There’s just one problem. Even highly targeted models — like those that focus on a particular curriculum — often overlook the most important factor across all pedagogy: the individual. This is especially prescient for students with learning differences. Individualized curriculum has proven results for children with learning differences like dyslexia, executive functioning difficulties (ADHD), and nonverbal learning disorders (NVLD).
Without individual attention, children with learning differences suffer. California has the lowest literacy level in the US and a high concentration of students with learning differences (LD). This disparity is partly explained by the continuing stigma parents and students with learning differences face but is also due to a lack of options prioritizing education models that work for the individual student. One network of educational campuses is changing this. Since 1981, Winston Preparatory School has been offering students ages 8 to 21+ with learning differences a highly individualized, holistic and responsive education.
Winston Preparatory School helps Bay Area students beat the odds
By StoryStudio on APRIL 18, 2023, updated on September 4, 2024
- The Torrettos, parents of Winston Preparatory school alumn
“It is such a relief as a parent to see your child self-advocate comfortably, have self-confidence and enjoy learning.”
“It is such a relief as a parent to see your child self-advocate comfortably, have self-confidence and enjoy learning,” Don and Michelle Torretto wrote in a recent letter to the staff of Winston Preparatory School in Marin County about their child, PJ, who attended the day school. “PJ is doing well at Beacon College online and getting all A's. We wanted to share this because we feel PJ was given this support while he was attending Winston Prep. The Winston Preparatory School team gave him the tools to self-advocate, to know how to be prepared for college courses and plan ahead for getting assignments done and turned in on time.”
California’s model for students with learning differences isn’t working. Winston Preparatory School has a solution.
With campuses in Marin County and San Francisco dedicated to different stages of the educational journey, Winston Preparatory School is providing new opportunities for Bay Area students with LD to thrive. Through education attenuated for each student who attends, taught by teachers who are experts in the field, most of whom hold master’s degrees, Winston Preparatory School offers a level of future success unparalleled across institutions. Over 99 percent of Winston Preparatory School students graduate from high school — versus 70 percent of students with LD nationwide — while 80 percent continue to college. Once there, 75 percent of Winston alumni graduate from either a two- or four-year college compared to 33 percent of LD students nationwide.
SPONSORED BY Winston preparatory school
What makes Winston Prep different
Winston Preparatory School’s programming is what makes the difference. It isn’t just a school, but rather a comprehensive support program that includes day school and tutoring after, while focusing on a student’s emotional growth, all quarterbacked by a teaching staff working in concert for the success of each student. Unique approaches to education using the Focus Program and Qualities of a Sustainable and Independent Learner are big value propositions for parents and students.
The Focus Program provides daily, one-to-one remedial instruction for each student that targets individual goals in the areas of a student’s greatest need. Every student enrolled in a Winston Preparatory School receives this attention from a learning specialist. Both the Marin County and San Francisco campuses feature the Focus Program where every specialist, who has no more than seven students on their caseload, serves as each child’s case manager and remediation specialist to make sure no student gets lost along the way. Every day, each student spends 45 minutes one on one with a Focus teacher, making the Focus Program a defining differentiator that leads to the success of Winston Preparatory School students.
The Qualities of a Sustainable and Independent Learner (QSIL) program identifies the eight qualities that really matter and that correlate with postsecondary success and independence. It’s based on Winston Preparatory School’s ongoing Lives Over Time research that, since 2013, has explored the experiences of individuals with learning differences after graduation in an effort to understand what helps them to be successful. QSIL offers parents and educators unique insights into Winston Preparatory School’s educational approach, putting preventative measures in place so students will have the best skill set for success after they leave the school. QSIL is used in both Winston Prep day schools and their Transitions programs.
Grades 4 through 12 reimagineD
Parents in the Bay Area who are looking for an effective and beneficial alternative to traditional, cookie-cutter education for their student with learning differences now have Winston Prep as an option. Winston Preparatory School’s bucolic Marin County campus offers students in grades 4 through 12 the opportunity to learn and grow in an environment that encourages exploration.
Located in San Rafael, the day school’s garden campus also houses high-tech centers for engineering and the arts. Like all Winston Prep day school campuses, the Marin County location utilizes the Focus Program as well as Winston Preparatory School’s Continuous Feedback System, a pedagogical approach designed to gain a deeper understanding of students while facilitating independence through continual assessment, remediation, and analysis of a student’s response to their individualized program.
Bridging the gap to adulthood
While Winston Preparatory School alumni can thrive in the college environment, the school understands that not all students want to go to college and offers help to those students who may benefit from additional support after high school. Its Transitions program is a highly individualized gap-year model specifically designed for students who may not yet possess the social or academic skills to be ready for university or the workplace. This unique program builds on the Winston Preparatory School model that prioritizes one-on-one attention while encouraging students to build independence, resilience, responsibility, self-awareness, and self-advocacy. Whether a student needs extra academic prep to attend college or requires a leg up to enter the workforce – like a robust internship and skills training – the Transitions Program provides what your young adult needs.
Dimitri Vinson, a 2021 graduate of the Winston Preparatory School Transitions program in New York City, wasn’t yet ready to move on after graduating high school because he lacked the direction and confidence to move forward in a timely and successful manner. Transitions taught Vinson to develop the skills needed to move forward into adulthood. The program was so successful for Vinson that he began to mentor incoming students to help them understand the benefits Transitions can offer.
“My time at Winston Transitions was a beautiful one,” Vinson recalls. “I went from a kid who didn’t have a direction in life to leaving Transitions with not only a direction, but the confidence to go after what I want. I owe it all to the teachers for never giving up on me and encouraging me to never give up on myself. Transitions helped me turn into the young man I am today, and I owe it all to them.”
Winston Preparatory School has a proven track record on how to better serve students with learning differences. If your child is struggling in a traditional educational model, it’s time to rethink the model. Winston Preparatory School has already shown how beneficial a model built around individual attention and care can be for students with dyslexia, executive functioning difficulties (ADHD), and nonverbal learning disorders (NVLD). Now’s the time to put the success of your child first. Learn more or schedule an open house today.