Frequently Asked Questions

What is Twice Exceptionality and Who is a 2E child?

A 2E child is curious, persistent, creative, capable, sometimes rigid, anxious, may be diagnosed (or undiagnosed but with the characteristics of) ADHD, ASD, executive functioning, sensory processing, sensory regulation challenged, and/or a dyslexic child who will benefit from the 1:1 Orton Gillingham and academic instruction model. All of our faculty is highly trained to develop your child’s resilience, self-esteem, focus and compensatory skills while providing a rigorous academic and enrichment menu to capture our children’s imagination—and yours!

 

Why 1:1 academic instruction?

Our children enter our school with a host of prior experiences throughout which they were one child among a class of many. The sheer numbers, and the typical classroom mindset of teaching to the middle set them up for the classic “falling through the cracks.” At The Long Island Whole Child Academy, your child IS number one—every child is our most important child, and their education begins at their own individual level, when they first arrive, and throughout their education with us.

 

1:1 academic instruction gives our faculty the ability to create individualized lessons, teach with specific styles, pace and materials designed for your child’s very distinct interests, preferences and capabilities. Along with 1:1 academic instruction, your child will be actively involved with the entire staff and student body during the rest of the day, for social thinking and problem-based learning projects, movement, Yoga, art, music, aeronautics, engineering, Makers’ work, our Equi-ceptional Equine program, and more. 

 

In addition, our STEAM Dream Team has designed the gold-standard in STEAM instructional opportunities: a project-driven, hands-on environmental program inspired by a unique team of educators and the natural resources of Long Island's North and South shores- interweaving our full STEAM curriculum of biology, chemistry, physics, aviation, engineering, architecture, and more. These experiences will be provided in both daily classes in a 1:1 setting as well as in team-based project groups.

 

What is PBL? (Project/Problem-Based Learning)

Problem-based learning is more than just creating projects around teacher-assigned topics. It provides the venue for our students to have a voice in their educational program design and curriculum. Teachers develop scope and sequence for a complete and rigorous curriculum that ensures our children develop appropriate skills. But our program allows for special interests, talents, and preferences suggested by each child, and more importantly, the opportunity for them to learn to be observers and thinkers about the world around them. They will be encouraged to question assumptions and begin to identify cultural, societal and physical world issues that demand attention and change. They will develop change-agent and leadership skills through observing the natural world, and identifying problems for which they will define solutions. This will also require team-building capabilities, difficult for our 2E children. Learning to collaborate, share ideas, listen to opposing views, is the foundation of our Social Thinking curriculum and primary goal for each child.

 

Who is our faculty of educational/clinical professionals?

We provide intensive professional development training for all of our academic and clinical professionals to create the fully integrated team that is required to accomplish our mission. Each clinician is fully involved in the academic goals and objectives for each child, just as all of our academic faculty are involved in the clinical goals and objectives for each student. Our unique community of learners includes administrators, faculty, clinicians, students, families and outside providers, all of whom are the symphonic members following your child’s lead.