Winston Prep

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Winston Prep’s faculty is composed of individuals with a wide-range of expertise that is further enhanced through frequent professional development where they explore the science of learning and the most current best practices in the field. In this way, the school ensures that every student has an educator with experience who meets their individual needs. One of the core elements elevating education at Winston Prep is the celebrated Focus Program. For 45 minutes each day, every student meets one-on-one with their highly trained Focus instructor to target important individualized goals remediating their greatest challenges. “[Focus] is successful because we provide daily, one-to-one, skill-based instruction that is individualized to a student's unique learning profile and targets their areas of greatest need,” says Patrice Ryce, Focus Program Director at Winston Preparatory. “Through our Continuous Feedback System, we provide continual assessment, remediation, and analysis of students' response to their individualized program, making adjustments as necessary throughout the school year.” These areas of focus may include decoding and fluency, organization and self-regulation, reading comprehension and writing skills, as well as social skills, among others. Whatever the focus, instructors are called upon to engage with each student's learning profile with the intention of helping them grow according to the evidence-based methodology that works best for them. In addition to the daily Focus program, students at Winston Prep dive into a skill-based curriculum through the lens of literature, writing, history, math, and science.

For students with learning differences, an individualized program with a committed staff and an uplifting community can make all the difference. For over 40 years, families in the New York City area have trusted Winston Preparatory School, the first high school in the region dedicated specifically to students who need more one-on-one support due to dyslexia, other language processing disorders, nonverbal learning disabilities, and executive functioning difficulties. From the moment a student enters Winston Prep’s NYC campus, they are presented with an environment designed for their success. This includes a student body much smaller than surrounding New York City schools — only 230 students in grades four through 12 — allowing for more individualized attention and understanding. Crucially, students are grouped together according to their learning profile in highly structured classes of eight to 12 students. Learning profiles vary greatly with students who struggle with decoding, comprehension, and executive functioning. By prioritizing learning profile over age or grade level, Winston Prep gives students the opportunity to collaborate with similar learners within a two-year age range. This allows teachers to hone in and remediate skills in an effective way rather than simply offer accommodations for weaknesses.

Manhattan’s Winston Preparatory School serves students with learning disabilities with highly individualized education

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Regular communication is crucial because it allows parents to partner with Winston Prep in order to have the most up-to-date information about their child's learning and progress and provide necessary support at home.

All the while, every Focus teacher stays in constant contact not only with the student’s other teachers but also with the student’s family, ensuring a strong line of communication. “Focus teachers are a crucial liaison between school and families at Winston Prep,’ notes Ryce. “We send home weekly updates letting families know how the student is progressing in school. This regular communication is crucial because it allows parents to partner with Winston Prep in order to have the most up-to-date information about their child's learning and progress and provide necessary support at home.” This unique partnership between the school faculty and the family is one of the many reasons a collaboration fostering optimal student growth is formed. Winston Prep NYC aims to serve a wide range of students with a variety of learning disabilities, all centered around the idea that every student has the capacity to learn when guided by patient specialists and community support. Educating children from all five Boroughs, Long Island, New Jersey, and Westchester, Winston Prep takes diversity seriously, with a student body of 35 percent students of color. Winston Prep has a long history of effectively serving students whose previous school environments did not provide the attention, services, and instruction that they needed to thrive. Winston Prep prides itself on its accessibility to all students from a multitude of backgrounds. Incorporating a holistic approach, Winston Prep knows that a student's development depends on learning both inside and outside of a classroom. This is why extracurriculars are given particular attention as a chance for students to socialize and gain confidence while participating in team sports, visual and performing arts, cooking, chess, filmmaking, language clubs and more. Extracurricular instructors also receive professional development in order to apply what’s taught in the classroom to the variety of activities outside of the classroom. One hour each day is set aside for extracurriculars aimed at igniting and cultivating a student’s curiosity, athleticism or artistic passions. In this way, Winston Prep provides elements of a traditional schooling experience compared to other LD schools in the area. Organized sports teams are given the opportunity to compete against other local schools. These vital social experiences give Winston Prep students a leg up in the real world as students learn to apply these skills to all parts of their daily life, while also celebrating their talents.

Of course, Winston Prep’s ultimate mission is to equip all its students with the ability to become successful individuals long after they leave campus. Based on years of research, Winston Prep has developed a list of Qualities of a Sustainable and Independent Learner that are associated with a successful independent life. These qualities include resilience, social responsibility, self-advocacy, self-regulation, self-reflection, social and communication skills, problem-solving, and management and organization. By centering its curriculum and learning models around these essential qualities, Winston Prep is constantly positioning its students for a successful future. Winston’s individualized and assessment-driven programs, supported by the continuous feedback system, enables students to make tremendous strides across academic and social landscapes. With a rate of 90 percent of students heading off to pursue a four-year degree, Winston Prep’s program of specialized learning speaks for itself. By targeting academic, social, and extracurricular skills, Winston Preparatory excels at instilling the fundamentals that every child needs not only to tackle life’s challenges but to create an independent and well-rounded life for years to come.

Virtual schooling at Winston Prep

Programs are accessible from anywhere in the country, and admissions are on a rolling basis.

Winston Transitions: College and career prep

The two-year gap program teaches young adults traditional academics and practical life skills.