The Gow School Viewbook 2013

For Students with Dyslexia and Similar Language-Based Learning Differences

Re i gn i t i n g

L i v es

College-Preparatory · Boys’ Boarding and Coed Day · Grades 7–12

Each year Gow students create a set of phonics cards based on our signature remediation methodology, known as Reconstructive Language.

Students turn the cards over, master them, and add new ones, learning how to plug the gaps caused by their language-based learning differences.

The stack grows,

but it isn’t the only thing that grows.

Progress comes fast here and not just because of these “RL cards.” From the freedom provided by assistive technology to

the entire Gow program is designed to bring out each student’s best. Students become fully involved in school life. the structure of dorm responsibilities,

They feel the support of a united Gow community—faculty who view teaching as their calling and fellow students who understand each other’s challenges because they’ve faced them, too.

Successes pile up. Gains

in reading and writing lead to new confidence, which in turn leads to loftier goals than previously imagined—to and through college and beyond.

Every day, learning is rethought. Smiles spread.

Fuses are lit. Lives

are rewritten and

reignited together at Gow.

To rewrite the story of your life,

turn over a new page.

You’ll hear a lot about “RL” here at Gow. It stands for Reconstructive Language, our time-tested, Orton-based language remediation program. We integrate RL throughout the curriculum and couple it with a wealth of supports, from assistive technology—like Kurzweil and speech recognition software—to insistent but caring teachers.

And it works. For decades Gow students have

Students grow dramatically, not just in their

achieved previously unimagined success,

reading and writing, but also in their overall

while educators and counselors have come

achievement, engagement, and maturity.

to Gow to train in RL. You could say we wrote

They gain tremendous self-confidence,

the book so that dyslexic students can read

rediscover the joy of school, and go on to

and write better.

successful college and post-college careers.

But helping Govians—our name for members

For more about RL, Gow’s sophisticated,

of the Gow community—succeed goes well

structured, sequential language remediation

beyond language remediation.

program, go to gow.org/RL.

At Gow, RL means much more than Reconstructive Language. We’re

ethinking and

eigniting

earning

ives.

Gow Profile

Izer Martinez ’13 Before coming to Gow in seventh grade, Chicago native Izer Martinez ’13 had gone to eight different schools, none for more than two years.

What’s different, he says, is that “Gow didn’t just look at my challenges. They looked at my talents and who I am as a person.”

Izer’s program was tailored to his needs.

Since he had trouble saying his r’s in addition to reading and spelling, he took speech class. Whatever the issue, he recalls, the message was, “You can learn. You just learn in a different way. I found out I’m a visual learner. They give you a vast number of strategies to see what works for you. For me, using a four-color pen, taking Cornell notes, and rewriting my notes work well. It’s a process of discovery.”

Armed with these strategies, Izer went on to the University of Pennsylvania, where he hopes to pursue cognitive science “to study the brain and help other dyslexics. Penn will be hard, but Gow has given me the tools and a knowledge of what I need.”

Though far away, Izer will stay connected to the Gow community. “They sort of raised me,” he admits. “It’s

amazing how close everyone is and how devoted the teachers are. They’ll always want to know how I’m doing, and I’ll always know I have a special place to come back to.”

“You can learn. You just learn in a different way.

I found out I’m a visual learner. They give you a vast number of strategies to see what works for you.”

“Before I came here I had to bear people telling me that I would fail at anything I attempted to do. I came here, went to college, and dared to be something more. Gow changed my life.� – Gow alum

Fast

Start Finish Strong After spinning their wheels at previous schools, many students come to Gow looking for a fresh start. Most are surprised at how fast that start can be.

With our purposeful curriculum and total

Govians also develop less tangible qualities,

commitment to students, Gow provides the

rooted in our Four Pillars of kindness, respect,

traction they need to take off. Soon after

honesty, and hard work. While students build

investing themselves in the program — often

reading, writing, and other academic skills,

as quickly as six weeks — students are reading

they are also building character.

and writing better. Making progress becomes

addictive, and they begin rethinking what

When students stick with the Gow program,

they can accomplish.

success sticks with them. Our graduates

And what they can accomplish is amazing.

achieve long-term academic, career, and personal success. Not only are 100% accepted to college, but we help them choose the right college and send them on their way with the resources to graduate.

Though dyslexia can’t be “cured,” it need

Take a look at some of the stories in this

not close doors. Students learn how they

book. You’ll see that it’s okay to dream big

learn best and what their strengths and

at Gow, because we help students develop

weaknesses are, so they can use them to

the strategies and self-assurance to make

their best advantage.

their dreams happen.

“One of the things that Gow does well is help kids find success, and they help them understand that success is not the same for everybody.”

– Gow parent

“We know what’s expected of us: the highest of all possible standards.”

– Gow student

Gow Profile

The Milsoms Oliver Milsom ’15 didn’t initially want to come to Gow. At first glance, who could blame him?

He enjoyed life on Barbados, spending his time surfing, while his grades reflected his indifference as a student. Then, on a flight to Miami, the truth came out—Oliver couldn’t read.

The Milsoms acted quickly. Oliver was tested at a dyslexia center. His father, Tony, researched schools on the Internet, while mother Carol talked with fellow islander Brian Talma ’84. An Olympic and professional windsurfer and promoter, Brian had flourished at Gow, which he credited with “turning my learning disability into an asset that later bolstered my career.”

All signs began pointing to Upstate New York. With the testing results, Gow’s dyslexia experts confirmed that Oliver could benefit from the school’s program.

Reluctantly, he traded Barbados for Buffalo, surfing for success.

“Within six weeks, things began to change,” says Tony.

Because of the program, the structure, “and the teachers, who are completely dedicated,” Oliver’s GPA went from a 2.38 to a 3.50.

“He’s able to read properly,” Tony continues, “and we’ve seen a lot of growing up. He was always a confident child, but now he’s confident in his schoolwork.” With good friends, he is thriving in the “warm love.”

In his first year, Oliver was accepted to a summer program at the University of Miami School of Architecture, something he’d like to pursue post-Gow.

“He’s reaping the benefits,” Tony sums up.

“If you’ve got a learning disability, you need this kind of education.”

“He was always a confident child, but now he’s confident in his schoolwork.”

Gow

United At Gow, the sense of belonging, of equality, and of connection is strong and immediate. New students are woven into the fabric of this close-knit community quickly and warmly.

Bonds are forged of common trials and

dorm, on the stage and the playing field—a

shared triumph. Students, faculty, and

level playing field for all.

staff understand dyslexia’s challenges and support all who are tackling them.

The result is a community of empathy and compassion, but also of enthusiasm and celebration. We encourage each other’s

Chock-full academic and extracurricular programs get everyone involved. Students

try new things and play new roles, and thanks to the richness of boarding life, they become close to both peers and

talents, often hidden until brought out

faculty mentors. Like the adults who guide

at Gow. And we support one another’s

them, students are “all in”—busy and

achievements, in the classroom and the

determined together.

In time, students go from being welcomed to doing the welcoming, making lifelong friends and becoming role models for the next generation of Govians.

Expressing Newfound Voices

With Quiet

Confidence Without the proper help, dyslexic students can feel silenced, their intelligence unappreciated, their talents hidden. Parents know their child has something to say but not how to bring it out.

Somewhere between their RL class and their

game where someone has to lose for another

dorm, Gow students find their voice. They

to win. Instead each person’s achievement

discover their strengths and grapple with

belongs to all.

their weaknesses, and through this process of grappling, discovering, speaking up, and

Here, too, what each person has to say is

reaching up, they achieve success.

different. Students express themselves by

They gain self-esteem as well as selfexpression, but it’s understated, not

artwork, reading a book, writing a poem, or

boastful. Here success is not a zero-sum

says what they’ve wanted to say all along.

playing a sport or a role, creating a robot or delivering an eloquent graduation speech that

They head to college with a quiet confidence that they will do well and a voice loud enough to advocate on their own behalf.

Gow Profile

Thomas Allison ’08 After graduating from the University at Buffalo with a major in international business and foreign affairs, Thomas Allison ’08 began working for Apple in New York City.

There he is in charge of multimillion-dollar sales and more than 30 people. Though his future wasn’t obvious when he came to Gow, looking back, his path was clear.

Several family members are also dyslexic, says Thomas. “I was terrible at reading and mathematics. I needed remediation to be able to get into college. Gow allows you to see where your opportunities are and gives you the technology to help.” His laptop, with software that read books to him and let him do dictation, was a “tool I used to succeed every day.”

Thomas’ mentor, the late acting teacher Mr. Weisenberg, “helped me identify all my strengths and encouraged me to do public speaking,” which developed confidence as well as presentation skills.

Gow’s many international students also influenced Thomas.

“The relationships that I built with those students helped me interact with people from all over the world. Most of my customers now are international.”

“If you’re going to be successful, you need to

“Gow teaches you that and gives you the toolkit you need to build the final product. initiate,” Thomas concludes.

I’ve used my people skills and my technology skills, begun at Gow, to advance to where I am today.”

“The relationships that I built with those students helped me interact with people from all over the world. Most of my customers now are international.”

“I like the feeling that people have faith that I can do something...

I have more faith in myself.”

– Gow student

Teaching As If Their Students’ Futures Depend on It

Because

They Do Gow teachers are exceptional. They teach, coach, counsel, care, eat, sleep and breathe the school.

In classes of three to seven students,

help well into the evening, oversee dorm

faculty members trained in RL and their own

activities, and lend a friendly ear.

discipline adjust their teaching to best reach each individual. They set the bar high but

not too high, lending a helping hand or a push, as needed. When a goal is reached, teachers celebrate with students and then

Gow teachers view their job as their calling and their students as their partners in

the learning process. Students sense this commitment and credit faculty in their

raise the bar again.

success. When students come to love school

Faculty involvement extends well beyond

respect their teachers. When they say they

the classroom, however. They supervise

have a future again, it is Gow teachers who

extracurricular activities, provide homework

put it within their grasp.

again, it is largely because they love and

Gow Profiles

Eric Bray

Lynn Chafin

“Everyone wants the students to succeed,” says math teacher Eric Bray. “We’re going to lift them up any way we can.”

RL teacher Lynn Chafin loves breakthroughs. “You give students strategies and tools, and they’re off running, though they have their breakthroughs at different times.”

For this Teacher of the Year, one such way is to flip his algebra classes. “With spatial reasoning, in

Much of it comes down to connecting with a

courses like geometry, students with dyslexia are

teacher and to confidence. “Most students are ready

generally quite good. But in algebra, with its word

and excited to learn, even though they’re working

and logic problems, they have more trouble.”

on something that’s hard for them.”

Eric records lessons on video for students to watch as their homework.

They can rewind and rewatch, ensuring they understand the material and take effective notes.

During class, Eric circulates while students solve problems in small groups. The collaborative format

“I’m persistent. I tell them if they keep working at it, they will improve.

Once they feel confident, it’s amazing how much progress they make.”

keeps individual issues, like dysgraphia, from getting in the way of learning math.

Thanks to his understanding of both language-based learning differences and math, Eric Bray is customizing his teaching methods for the benefit of his students.

As a dorm parent, Executive Function Coach, and Student Council advisor, Lynn

also knows her students’ varied strengths and the importance of non-academic time. “In the dorms we teach skills they would learn at home, like getting themselves ready, keeping their room clean, and baking cookies.” All in a long day’s work for a Gow teacher.

“The Gow School didn’t change my life. It is my life.”

– Gow teacher

Structured

To Fit

Gow provides the structure that many students need in order to achieve.

With a busy schedule that includes a packed

based on what’s best for students, as a group

academic day, after-school sports, study hall,

and individually. Teachers can modify what

and Saturday classes, students have little

they do to suit their style and their students.

unprogrammed time. House jobs in the dorms

Extra help, such as Executive Function Coaching,

develop responsibility, and the dress code reflects the school’s—and the students’— seriousness of purpose.

is available, and though boarding life doesn’t include a lot of free time, it has plenty of room for fun. In fact, it is because students get so

Not all aspects of a Gow education are so

involved—playing sports, going on trips, and

structured, however. Unlike at schools where

interacting with one another—that they get

testing drives the curriculum, Gow’s program is

the most out of the rich boarding experience.

Gow Profile

Adam Kendrick ’04 “The structure is what helped me the most,” asserts Adam Kendrick ’04.

“The teachers are always there to help you, but they aren’t breathing down your neck. Gow basically says, ‘This is your shot.

You take advantage of it.’”

Between the Reconstructive Language program and the daily routine—classes, sports, study hall—

Art teacher and mentor Mr. Parsons helped inspire

he learned to manage his studies and his time.

Adam’s love of design. He went on to earn a Bachelor

“When I went to college, I didn’t have the issues my

of Science in architectural engineering technology

fraternity brothers had.”

and construction management from the University

Adam compares Gow to a college-like experience.

of Cincinnati, and today Adam designs stores for the

Even with the structured day, the school gives

Kroger Company. “I always wanted to be an architect.

students independence.

Gow gave me the tools to help me become one.”

Truth be told, this is just the beginning of the Gow story.

For more in-depth information, go to gow.org. Come visit us in Western New York to get a feel for our beautiful campus, bright students, and warm community.

Most importantly, contact our Admissions Office to discuss whether Gow’s individualized, structured language remediation program fits your family’s needs.

We hope this

is just the

beginning of your story, too.

Admissions Office admissions@gow.org p 716-652-3450 f 716-687-2003 gow.org

2491 Emery Road • South Wales, NY 14139 716-652-3450 • admissions@gow.org

gow.org