THE GRAHAM ACADEMY 469 Miller Street, Luzerne, PA,18709 (570) 406-3313
 

What is the Graham Academy?

The Graham Academy is a primary school for children with sensory processing disorders, autistic spectrum disorders, attention problems, or other developmental challenges.

              

What makes the Graham Academy different from other schools?

The Graham Academy was designed to close the "huge gap" that exists between current educational practices and what neuroscientists know about how brains learn and develop  (Novak, 2003).  By incorporating scientific advances into our classroom design, curriculum, and teaching practices, the Academy is able to offer unique advantages to children who are unable to thrive in a traditional educational setting because of a sensory processing disorder, attention problem, autistic spectrum disorder or language delay.  Here are some of these important differences:

  • Children are grouped by developmental stage in each subject rather than by age so that information is always appropriate and meaningful

  • A sensory gym, rotational chairs, ball chairs and sensory materials help meet sensory needs so that children can stay alert and focused

  • Classroom design facilitates active learning; materials are arranged on open shelves around the room to engage curiosity and facilitate exploration

  • Desks have been replaced by tables with ball chairs, couches and floor pillows to improve comfort and facilitate cooperative learning activities

  • Learning is "concept" or "problem based" rather than "fact based," which has been found to improve learning as well as communication skills

  • Textbooks, drills, flashcards and workbooks are replaced by hands-on, multi-sensory activities, videos, illustrated books, games, interactive computer programs, and a wide variety of activities designed to help children learn concepts

  • There are no homework assignments; researchers have found that homework does not improve academic skills in primary school children (Kohn, 2006).   

  • Learning activities are designed to respect the way brains develop concepts and skills; information and activities are constantly adapted as a child progresses through the stages of concept development  

  • Teachers facilitate communication by matching their language to the child's stage of development and illustrating meaning through 3-D objects, signs and gestures

What curriculum do you use?

We use a hands-on, activity-based curriculum based on E. D. Hirsch Jr.s Core Knowledge Curriculum Guidelines, which are used in more than 700 schools across the U.S.  These guidelines were adapted by Dr. Michelle MacAlpine, a cognitive neuroscientist, for use with children with sensory, developmental or cognitive disorders. The curriculum is taught using educational games and activities designed by teachers from around the world.  Here are some examples:

  • Children learn about geography and history by playing the role of secret agents who must solve a mystery using only clues found in guidebooks, working puzzles to strengthen geography skills, playing geography and history games, reading high-interest books, watching videos, exploring history and geography on the computer and internet and creating dramatic plays about historic events  

  • Children learn how people adapt to life in a wide diversity of environments by designing and building models of houses and creating meal plans for people living in extreme environments 

  • Children learn about animals by studying their habitats, watching National Geographic videos, learning to recognize their tracks and classifying them

  • Children learn math concepts through the abacus and a developmental series of games, then put their knowledge into practice by cooking, performing experiments, building things, estimating and laying carpet and wallpaper in doll houses, finding hidden treasures using grids and maps, keeping score and playing computer games.

  • Children learn science by exploring telescopes, microscopes, and building skeletons or heart and brain models, constructing pyramids and famous buildings from blocks, taking apart mechanical toys, designing and constructing things with blocks, rods, erector sets, Legos, or wood with tools, and watching National Geographic videos. Researchers found that children in activity-based science programs perform 20 percentile points higher on standardized tests than those in programs that use traditional or textbook approaches (Bredderman, 1982).

  • Children learn to read through a multi-sensory phonics program and high-interest illustrated books, 3-D objects and pragmatic language games and activities that help children link meaning to words and grammar, writing and illustrating their own books and reading out loud to improve fluency.

If you have other questions about our program, please call for a personal tour.
 The Graham Academy 
469 Miller St Luzerne, PA  18709
(570) 406-3313
Copyright Graham Academy, 2008. All Rights Reserved.