Understanding that each student learns best through varied modalities, Radcliffe Creek School employs a fully Multi-Sensory curriculum. We focus on cultivating strengths and tapping into each student's potential through immersive teaching methods, which turn abstract concepts into engaging experiences. Our comprehensive approach also includes targeted strategies, such as the Orton-Gillingham method for reading, small-group instruction, specific guidance on core Social-Emotional competencies, the use of Technology as a vital tool to enrich the student experience, and specialized support in Speech-Language and Occupational Therapy.
Multi-Sensory Learning
Unlocking Potential Through Immersive Learning
We recognize that each student learns uniquely. That's why The Radcliffe Way emphasizes multi-sensory learning and active learning as the clearest path to student success.
Our curriculum is designed to engage all aspects of a student's learning — incorporating visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and tactile senses. This strength-based approach focuses on how students learn best, rather than dwelling on weaknesses, empowering them to use multiple senses to grasp concepts and enhance learning and memory.
This immersive learning environment brings lessons to life. Imagine students tossing water balloons to understand physics concepts or drawing rhyming sounds in chalk to master phonetics. These hands-on experiences are key to our approach. For example, incorporating large body movements into reading instruction has shown favorable results. Students might use scooters to gather words or hop on words written in chalk, simultaneously engaging visual, auditory, and kinesthetic modalities for mastering reading skills.
Specific strategies interwoven into our daily instruction include the Orton-Gillingham method for teaching reading, small group instruction, speech and language therapy, and occupational therapy. By providing multiple pathways for understanding, Radcliffe Creek School ensures that every student is challenged, engaged, and equipped to achieve their full potential.
Orton-Gillingham (OG)
Unlocking the Code
For nearly 30 years, Radcliffe Creek School has championed the Orton-Gillingham (OG) approach as the cornerstone of our reading program, transforming students into confident and capable readers. This highly specialized, research-based methodology is particularly effective for students with dyslexia and other learning differences, offering a multi-sensory, structured, and explicit pathway to literacy.
How Orton-Gillingham Ignites Learning
OG uniquely engages multiple senses – visual, auditory, kinesthetic (movement), and tactile (touch) – to build strong connections between sounds, letters, and words. Imagine students tracing letters in shaving cream, tapping out sounds, or even using body movements to represent letter shapes! This active, hands-on approach takes the guesswork out of reading and spelling, making it engaging and fun. Lessons are meticulously structured, starting with basic phonemes and gradually progressing through syllable types and spelling rules, ensuring a solid foundation and preventing learning gaps. Instruction is explicit, systematic, and cumulative, building on previously learned concepts with consistent review for mastery.
Beyond the Basics: Building Fluent Readers
Radcliffe Creek's reading program goes beyond decoding, aiming to cultivate fluent readers who can read with expression and natural flow. This involves developing decoding skills, reading rate, and overall comprehension, all within a supportive environment. Even proficient readers benefit from literature classes that incorporate OG principles, fostering higher-order thinking, vocabulary development, and spelling skills within small, ability-grouped settings (typically a 2:1 ratio).
A Dedicated Faculty and a Rich Toolbox
Radcliffe Creek boasts a faculty extensively trained in the OG methodology, ensuring a commitment to delivering engaging instruction tailored to each student's individual strengths and needs. The school leverages a wide array of supplementary tools and programs alongside OG, including:
- Visualizing and Verbalizing (VV) by Nanci Bell
- Wilson Reading Program
- Explode The Code
- OGstar App
- Lindamood Phonemic Sequencing (LiPs)
- Learning Ally Audiobook Program
- Lexia Online Phonics Program
By embracing the Orton-Gillingham approach with fidelity and creativity, RSC provides its students with the foundational skills and targeted support they need to become confident and successful readers, prepared for a future of literacy and lifelong learning.
Social-Emotional Learning (SEL)
Beyond Academics
Student success extends far beyond grades. That's why Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) is not just a program, but a foundational pillar woven into every aspect of our environment. We empower our students to thrive academically, socially, and emotionally.
The transformative power of SEL
SEL equips students with essential skills to:
- Develop healthy identities: Fostering self-awareness, building confidence, and recognizing their unique strengths.
- Manage emotions and achieve goals: Learning to regulate feelings, persevere through challenges, and set positive objectives.
- Show empathy and build positive relationships: Understanding others' perspectives and collaborating effectively.
- Make responsible decisions: Considering the ethical implications and consequences of their choices.
The impact of strong SEL skills at Radcliffe Creek is profound: improved academic performance, reduced behavioral issues, enhanced mental health, stronger relationships, and a positive school climate where every child feels safe, valued, and respected. Ultimately, SEL prepares our students for lifelong success, equipping them for higher education, careers, and active community involvement.
SEL in action at Radcliffe Creek School
Radcliffe Creek's commitment to SEL is evident in its holistic approach:
- Integrated Learning: SEL themes are seamlessly woven into daily lessons across all subjects, providing consistent opportunities to practice vital skills.
- Explicit Instruction: Students receive direct teaching and guidance on the core SEL competencies, from self-awareness to responsible decision-making.
- Tailored Support: Recognizing the unique needs of students with learning differences, SEL programs are customized to build upon individual strengths and address specific challenges.
- Supportive Environment: Our compassionate community fosters a safe space where students can express emotions, take risks, and build healthy relationships.
- Specialized Resources: We offer additional support through programs like "Brain Talk" and "Conscious Discipline," enhancing executive functioning and self-regulation.
- Parent-Teacher Collaboration: We partner closely with families, reinforcing SEL skills both at school and at home, ensuring a consistent and supportive network.
By prioritizing and integrating SEL into every facet of the student experience, RCS empowers students to become not only academically successful but also emotionally resilient, socially adept, and confidently prepared for their future endeavors.
Technology
Powering Potential: Technology at RCS
At Radcliffe Creek School, we see technology not as a distraction, but as a dynamic springboard for student success in the 21st century. We seamlessly weave innovative tools and digital literacy across our curriculum, ensuring every student is equipped to thrive in a rapidly evolving world.
Engaging with Technology as a Learning Tool
We go beyond simply encouraging technology use; we teach students how to effectively leverage it as a learning tool, bridging the gap of technological efficacy often found in other educational settings. This means empowering students to:
- Collaborate and Connect: Our partnership with Google provides every student with a Chromebook, fostering a vibrant and collaborative learning environment. Google's Apps for Education facilitate increased interaction between students and teachers on academic projects, building essential teamwork and communication skills.
- Immerse and Interact: Classrooms are brought to life with interactive whiteboards and projectors. These fundamental tools transform lessons into engaging and immersive experiences, sparking curiosity and active participation.
- Navigate a Multi-Platform World: Students develop versatility by engaging with Chrome OS, Mac OS, iOS, and Windows across various devices utilized in their curriculum.
- Support Diverse Learning Styles: Recognizing that every student learns differently, particularly those with learning differences, we utilize assistive technologies like text-to-speech software. This allows students with reading difficulties to hear written content and proofread their work, enabling them to focus on comprehension rather than decoding challenges.
- Prepare for the Future: By mastering digital literacy and engaging with technology in meaningful ways, students gain valuable skills essential for success in higher education, future careers, and responsible digital citizenship.
This comprehensive approach ensures that every student at Radcliffe Creek School is prepared not just for today's classroom, but for the dynamic technological landscape of their future.