ACADEMIC COACHING

PAUL MIDKIFF

For the 2021-2022 school year, Mount de Sales has rolled out a new delivery model for the student academicsupport program. Known for our curriculum and rigorous academics, MDS is also well respected for the services we can provide to students with diagnosed learning differences. Our goal has always been to meet students where they are academically and help them excel by providing the support, environment, and tools to be successful now and in the future.

As the program evolved, the administrative team worked to ensure that academic support was more than just tutoring time. Over the last several years, we have discovered that what most of our students with learning differences need is to have the support to become better students. As they participate in the program, students become more organized, better planners, and more independent and confident learners. Our coaches are experienced classroom teachers who guide and support students via hourly conferences built into the regular academic day. Academic Coaching is also a daily course Middle School students can take for a semester or a full year. Best of all, this service is now offered at no additional expense to our families. In middle grades, Mrs. Martha Barrett and Mrs. Laura Heacox help students plan for the weeks ahead by developing a study plan, assisting with and teaching how to organize notebooks and learning materials, and encouraging students to advocate for themselves.

Mrs. Barrett, in reflecting on the program’s mission, shared, "Through the academic coaching program, we are able to work with the students to help them develop strategies for academic independence and success. The small-group atmosphere allows for an individualized approach with each student."

According to Dr. Mike Franklin, Middle School division head, the goal is to "coach them out of the program" as they become more responsible and confident.

Upper School students work on executive-functioning skills such as working memory and time management but also have full access to the Academic Coaching Center from 7:45 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. on a dropin basis or by referral.

The biggest change in the Upper School has been opening the program to students without a formal diagnosis. Any student who may be struggling academically is welcome to seek assistance from academic coaches. "Sometimes that assistance is simply time management. If a student misses a couple of days, coming back to school with all the make-up work looming can be overwhelming for some. For those students, all we do is sit down and form a plan to get all the work done," said Mr. Paul Midkiff, Upper School counselor. Sometimes students who seek assistance may only need help communicating with their teachers; coaches assist these students with what to say when they request a teacher’s help.

Students with common learning differences receive accommodations that include extended-time testing, preferential seating, and access to teacher lecture notes. Personal counselors at each division remain an integral part of the relationship between the school, families, and students, and oversee the paperwork and accommodations associated with diagnosed learning differences.

Since all too often those students who could benefit most from academic support are also the ones most reluctant to try it, Mr. Midkiff shared one of the program’s signature goals: "We are trying to offer a 'safe space' where students can feel comfortable asking for assistance on something they are struggling with. Through these conversations we offer strategies for students to try when they are faced with similar difficulties in the future."