OUR SCHOOL

The Joy School prepares students with learning differences to return to traditional classroom settings by enabling them to reach their academic and social potential in a safe, supportive environment. 

We believe students with learning differences learn best when given opportunities to: 

• Be viewed and taught as individuals with unique strengths, weaknesses, and learning styles 
• Understand and respect individual strengths, weaknesses, and learning styles in others 
• Set reasonable and achievable goals for themselves 
• Discover and accept their personal strengths, weaknesses, and learning styles, then practice advocating for themselves based on these qualities 
• Receive remedial instruction in areas they find difficult, while being allowed to excel in other areas 
• Learn in small group settings 
• Participate in activities which allow them to work directly on social skills 

We believes teachers of students with learning differences are able to best serve their students when given opportunities to:

• Teach students as individuals based on their unique needs
• Learn from their peers through observations, discussions, and group planning opportunities
• Foster creative thinking in both their students and their colleagues
• Collaborate with team members and outside professionals when planning for students
• Use their own qualitative judgment in conjunction with quantitative data when planning for students

• Provide remedial academic instruction in order to grant students the opportunity to improve their performance so their test scores more closely match their expected grade level
• Allow all students to be successful in order to promote higher self-esteem 
• Create opportunities to practice positive pragmatic skills, including self-advocacy 
• Support students and their parents in finding appropriate schools for placement following attendance at The Joy School