Academics in Grades K-6

Students with dyslexia and other learning differences need the right instruction, coupled with the right intensity, to close the academic achievement gap. Many students come to Lawrence School from environments where they had daily pull-outs or afterschool tutoring with programs like the Wilson Reading System…but it is the high dosage of multisensory instruction offered at our Lower School that is critical to their academic progress. When it comes to student growth, we achieve impressive results and much of it is due to our intensive daily schedule.

Morning at Lawrence Lower School

Lower School students begin their day in a language arts homeroom. Typically made up of only eight to ten learners, this class is grouped by ability instead of age or grade level. Together, they spend 160 minutes learning to read, write, and spell. That is more than 2.5 hours of direct, systematic, multisensory instruction in language arts EVERY DAY! 

After language arts, this same group of students participates in their daily special. These consist of classes in physical education, music, library, design engineering, and art. Even teachers of these specialty classes are fully trained in our instructional approach, as well as best practices for students with dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia. 

Much like traditional school, the morning is rounded out with lunch and a generous recess where students play tetherball, enter a friendly match in the GaGa ball pit, shoot hoops on the basketball courts, or just swing and climb on the jungle gym.

Afternoon at Lawrence Lower School

In the afternoon, we regroup our students based on their math instructional needs. The students who have class together in the morning, based on reading ability, rarely have the same math skill set. So, we “reshuffle the deck.” This new classroom of students spend 75 minutes participating in multisensory math instruction. 

Our school day concludes with social studies or science. For these subjects, students are grouped according to their grade level, allowing them to access the concepts and content outlined in the State of Ohio’s learning standards.

Learning time at Lawrence Lower School is often triple, or even quadruple, the intervention minutes required by a student’s IEP. When children become Lawrence learners, their academics take off. It’s no wonder why.