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Our Belief Statements
At Carroll, we believe that smart children with language-based learning disabilities, such as dyslexia, become successful students given proper instruction in a positive learning environment. Carroll’s highly trained teachers and tutors surround our students with energy and enthusiasm for learning. •
Our curriculum challenges students while, at the same time, we provide the academic support needed for our students to develop lifelong skills and strategies.
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Our students become confident, happy, healthy in self-concept, and reflective about who they are as learners. •
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We believe in the ability of our students to succeed.
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“Teaching bright children with languagebased learning difficulties is our only mission.�
Discover Carroll
“When I think of the Carroll School, I think of a place that made me a person again.” “Carroll provides a customized academic experience for each student.”
W H Y C ARR O LL ?
Smart children with school challenges. Dyslexia. Language-based learning difficulties. What do these words mean to you? What do they mean to your child? At Carroll, these words mean an environment that is engaging, supportive, and innovative. Engaging. Students often arrive at Carroll discouraged by their previous learning experiences. Because we have one teacher for every three students, we are able to provide a customized academic experience for each of our students. In order to directly address challenges, we capitalize on our students’ considerable strengths, engaging and empowering them to “own” their learning and take charge of their academic future. Supportive. Because our students have experienced many challenges in mainstream schools, we know it is of the utmost importance to thoroughly understand our students’ learning profiles, and provide the needed academic support. Our highly qualified teachers know how to balance high expectations of smart children with moments when a student needs a thoughtful advocate. Innovative. Carroll is a school full of lifelong learners. Our adults are keenly invested in knowing what the newest research tells us about maximizing the learning of our students. Carroll utilizes the latest technologies and promotes critical thinking in the pursuit of strong self-advocacy skills and independent learning.
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“Teaching bright children with languagebased learning difficulties is our only mission.”
W H Y O UR S TU D ENT S S U C C EE D
Customized education allows our children to learn and achieve academically, socially, and emotionally. Small classes, ranging in size from 2-8 students, present the opportunity for our highly trained teachers to know their students well and to give them personalized attention. Tutors, in specialized one-toone or small group tutorials, teach our children to read, comprehend, and write through a structured, sequential, multisensory, systematic, alphabeticphonetic approach to instruction. For more than 40 years, Carroll has excelled in teaching bright children with language-based learning differences—this is our only mission. We never use the model of pulling children out of class to receive remediation; every child receives a customized education every day. We teach children the habits of highly effective students; they learn to work collaboratively, ask questions, harness resources, use time wisely, and employ reliable memory strategies. Our curriculum is infused with innovative, evidence-based instruction written in collaboration with leading educators and cognitive psychologists from the Boston area. One of Carroll’s most dynamic initiatives is to incorporate cognitive development activities into our curriculum. At Carroll, we believe in the ability of our students to succeed.
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“When I think of the Carroll School, I think of a place that made me a person again.” “Carroll provides a customized academic experience for each student.”
“Carroll is dedicated to an exacting program of teacher development for all faculty members.�
Innovation in Education
“What teachers know and can do in their classrooms is the number one factor in student success.” “I like Carroll School because it is like no other school.”
LEA D ER S H I P
Innovative leadership sparked the idea for creating a school for children who have language-based learning disabilities. Dr. Edwin Cole, a renowned neurologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, was one of the first physicians to diagnosis children with dyslexia. Always researching the best methods, Dr. Cole observed dramatic results when children with language-based learning difficulties were tutored individually or in small groups with methods developed by neurologist, Samuel Orton, and educator, Anna Gillingham. Dr. Cole offered hope to these children and together with the support of parents, educators, and benefactors, established the Carroll School in 1967. The Orton-Gillingham (O-G) approach to teaching the English language continues to be backbone of Carroll’s language programs. Innovative leadership guides Carroll today. Steve Wilkins, Head of School, a graduate of the Harvard School of Education, is dedicated to teaching children to read through the Orton-Gillingham method and to developing and infusing highly scientific, evidence-based instruction into Carroll’s curriculum. Neuroscience, cognitive science, and technology are revealing more specific information about how the brain learns to read. At Carroll, our leadership is actively pursuing these developments and is committed to bringing leading-edge instruction into our classrooms.
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“Carroll is dedicated to an exacting program of teacher development for all faculty members.”
E X TRA O R D INAR Y C O MMITMENT
Research reveals that “what teachers know and can do in their classrooms” is the number one factor in student success. At Carroll, every teacher understands the bedrock principles of teaching children with language-based learning difficulties, and, every teacher is fully informed about how to customize instruction for individual students. Our teachers and tutors are certified in the Orton-Gillingham (O-G) approach and, at the same time, are responsive to new evidence-based remediation methods. What is Carroll’s unique formula for success? Carroll is dedicated to an exacting program of teacher development for all faculty members. This commitment plays out in a multitude of ways: Our teachers engage in advanced professional development in our Friday afternoon Everyone@One program. Our teachers learn from experts and veteran teachers, for example, about “data informed instruction”, the latest cognitive development programs, leading-edge approaches for teaching mathematics, and educational technologies; every teacher has a coach as a collaborator to ensure optimal service to students; veteran, returning and new teachers form triads to provide guidance, share best teaching practices, and support one another. Carroll’s unique professional development provides a solid platform for teachers and prepares them to expand their quest to be the best, most informed educators benefitting our very specific population of students.
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“What teachers know and can do in their classrooms is the number one factor in student success.” “I like Carroll School because it is like no other school.”
“My favorite part is the unique way we learn.�
Customized Learning
“Our daughter excelled in learning to read.”
“I like math because it is fun and challenging at the same time.”
O UR C O M P RE H EN S I V E A P P R O A C H
Focused attention on improving language-based learning is central to all teaching that occurs at Carroll. To address these challenges, every Carroll student has three English Language Arts periods each day. Two language periods are taught daily in classrooms to small groups of students with similar learning needs. Depending upon the greatest academic needs of a student, the additional language period can either be 1) an Orton-Gillingham tutorial—a structured, sequential, systematic, and multisensory approach to teaching reading (decoding) and spelling (encoding). The cornerstones of O-G are phonology (the sound-symbol relationships of reading), morphology (how words change with prefixes and suffixes) and orthography (the way words are spelled). 2) A RAVE-O tutorial—a program taught in Grades 2-4 that combines with Orton-Gillingham to form a comprehensive approach to addressing the key elements of language learning: Retrieval, Automaticity, Vocabulary, Enrichment, and Orthography. The major premise of RAVE-O is “the more a child knows about a word, the better and faster the child can read and comprehend it.” And 3) after students have mastered early levels of Orton-Gillingham, they are placed in a Language Focus Area small group—a daily instruction that addresses (in any combination): Fluency, Comprehension, Reinforcing Revision Skills, Organization and Study Skills, Writing Composition, Tech Tools (introducing educational software as tools for learning), or other offerings depending upon each student’s individual needs.
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“My favorite part is the unique way we learn.”
C ARR O LLMAT H
Carroll students can be strong math students when conceptual understanding (number sense) is firmly embedded in the curriculum. Our approach to math education centers on teaching children to think logically. We emphasize that children must build visual-spatial models in order to demonstrate their understanding. Further, problem solving activities give math meaning to our children so that computational fluency is a logic activity rather than a rote memory task. Three essential components of Carroll’s approach to mathematics instruction are significantly different from a textbook approach: 1) Development of number sense – students work through a program that helps them induce meaning from the quantity-symbol associations in mathematics through visual-spatial and hands-on experiences; 2) Computational fluency – children move from the physical representations of numbers systematically until the symbol representations make enough sense to promote computational speed and accuracy; and 3) Thinking – our program focuses largely on developing logical reasoning skills in children so that they see themselves as problem solvers in mathematics, rather than followers of rote algorithms and prescribed procedures. The inherent concept of this approach to math instruction harnesses the strengths within children with language-based learning difficulties.
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“Our daughter excelled in learning to read.”
“I like math because it is fun and challenging at the same time.”
“My dream started here in Bounders.”
Thriving with Dyslexia
“What I like best about the Carroll School is the small classes.”
“Carroll School isn’t just a school, it’s a family.”
ENRI C H MENT AN D AFTER S C H O O L P R O G RAM S
Our students are visual artists, performers, woodworkers, beginning yogis, and technology gurus. In addition to our core academic program, Carroll students have scheduled blocks (Lower School has two daily and Middle School has one daily) dedicated to enrichment classes: yoga and movement, visual arts, performing arts, music, woodworking, and Bounders, which is an Outward Bound adaptation to promote self-resilience and team work training that has been an integral part of the Carroll program since the school’s beginning. The After School Program is an opportunity for our students, who come from 70 different towns and cities in eastern New England, to spend time pursuing diverse activities and sports with their Carroll peers. Offerings range broadly, for example, from crafts and cooking to Lego building and robotics. Interscholastic athletics are also part of the offerings in the middle school; soccer and cross-country take place in the fall, basketball in the winter, and track in the spring. All interscholastic teams provide offerings for both boys and girls. Friday afternoon programs also provide Carroll students with a wide variety of enrichment opportunities including clubs, sports, skiing, and snowboarding.
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“My dream started here in Bounders.”
T W O C AM P U S S C H O O L
Carroll is fortunate to have one campus devoted to the Lower School (Grades 1-5) at 1841 Trapelo Road in Waltham and a second campus three miles away for the Middle School (Grades 6-9) in Lincoln. The Lower School campus lays out ideally for younger children in that it is organized in discrete hallways for each grade. Within the same building, students move from their classrooms to the library, gymnasium, art room, music class, science labs, and school assemblies. Carroll’s Lower School students enjoy two playgrounds, an athletic field, and some outdoor, wooded landscape for Bounders. The Middle School campus is on the grounds of the former Storrow Estate at 25 Baker Bridge Road in Lincoln. All Carroll students from 1972-2010 were educated on this campus. When in 2010 the Waltham campus became available to Carroll, the Lincoln campus become home to our older students. The Lincoln campus is more appropriate for young teenagers in that there are four main buildings, and the campus provides an environment in which students feel a little freedom moving from classroom to classroom, and often along the beautiful wooded paths that define the campus. The Lincoln campus has three classroom buildings, specialized arts facilities, a gymnasium, athletic fields, and a yurt that is home to the Bounders program.
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“What I like best about the Carroll School is the small classes.”
“Carroll School isn’t just a school, it’s a family.”
“Carroll School changed my world.”
Transitions
“I left Carroll School transformed.”
“Carroll provided our son with the skills and support he needed.”
AFTER C ARR O LL
Our goal is to ensure that after leaving Carroll, our students continue their education in the most appropriate settings—ones in which they can continue to grow, be challenged, and be successful students. We give families individual advice on all matters relating to transition. We review the student’s learning profile, academic performance and potential with current faculty and advisors, and make recommendations about different schools that we feel would be the best match for each student. During the transition process, we support student applications by organizing and submitting transcripts and official school recommendations; guiding families through public school re-enrollment and IEP development, and independent school selection. Our transition team also provides support as a liaison between Carroll and our students’ future schools. After Carroll, many students attend the public schools within their communities, while other students transition to independent day or boarding school programs.
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“Carroll School changed my world.”
A P P LY IN G T O C ARR O LL
Admission to Carroll is based on diagnostic testing, personal interviews, and additional information pertaining to a child’s academic history. Carroll accepts students who are of average to above average intelligence, and whose academic difficulties are primarily due to language-based learning disabilities, such as dyslexia. Our programs are not designed to meet the needs of children with primary emotional or behavioral difficulties, or for students who have significant speech and language challenges. Financial aid awards are made on the basis of financial need, and financial aid materials are available upon acceptance to the School. We encourage interested families to visit our website: www.carrollschool.org to experience what’s happening today at Carroll and to download or complete an application. Please contact the Admissions Office at (781) 259-8342 or by email at admissions@carrollschool.org with any questions. Parents can learn more about our programs by scheduling a campus tour, which can be arranged by the Admissions Office at either the Lower or Middle School. On tour, you will have the opportunity to observe classes, see the facilities, and become more familiar with our School’s curriculum and culture.
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“I left Carroll School transformed.”
“Carroll provided our son with the skills and support he needed.”
M i ss i o n S tat e m e n t
The Carroll School is dedicated to meeting the educational needs of children diagnosed with language-based learning disabilities, such as dyslexia, and to supporting the constituencies that serve them. Carroll seeks a culturally, ethnically, and economically diverse population and is an active public champion for persons with learning disabilities. Carroll admits students of any race, color, gender, sexual orientation, religious affiliation, national and ethnic origin, and qualified handicapped students to all rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded or made available to students at our School. We do not discriminate in violation of any law or statute in the administration of our educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and loan program, or other school administered programs.
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Middle School 25 Baker Bridge Road Lincoln, Massachusetts 01773 Lower School 1841 Trapelo Road Waltham, Massachusetts 02451 (781) 259-8342
www.carrollschool.org