Learning Services at Fay School Individualized Learning that Fosters Success The Learning Services Department supports children with diverse learning needs from Kindergarten to grade nine. Primary, Lower, and Upper School specialists work in collaboration with classroom teachers to ensure that each child has the specific support he or she needs to establish a strong foundation of academic and life skills. Directed by a Massachusetts-licensed school psychologist, the department includes learning specialists, reading and math specialists, and a speech and language pathologist, all of whom understand children’s unique learning styles. In-school evaluations are conducted as needed in order to assess a child’s learning style and needs. Information derived from these evaluations is used to create learning profiles that are shared with classroom teachers. At each grade level, specialists provide academic support individually, within a small-group setting, or integrated into the classroom based on a child’s learning profile.
Meet Our Learning Services Faculty Sally Supinski Director of Learning Services B.A., Ithaca College; M.Ed., C.A.G.S., Northeastern University As Director of Learning Services, Sally Supinski works closely with children and families in all three divisions of the School. She spends time in classes observing students, assessing their learning styles, and offering supportive strategies for success, as well as conducting in-house psycho-educational assessments based on teacher referrals and parent requests. In addition to attending all grade-level faculty meetings to advocate for students with specific learning needs, she provides one-to-one academic support. An active member of the school community, Sally also leads an advisory group of Upper School girls and coaches junior varsity tennis.
Jill Cordon Primary School Speech and Language Specialist B.S., M.S.L.P., Duquesne University Jill Cordon is certified as a speech language pathologist through the American Speech Language and Hearing Association (ASHA). She is trained in the Visualizing and Verbalizing language development method and can administer assessments to determine whether a child has a speech and language disability. Jill provides remediation for Fay students with mild articulation or language difficulties and teaches classes in language enrichment and social language skills. She also assesses children in the area of articulation and language. In addition to her work at Fay, Jill is an Adjunct Professor at Dean College, where she teaches courses on children with special needs.
An independent co-educational day and boarding school for K - Grade 9 48 Main Street • Southborough, MA 01772 • 508.490.8201 • fayschool.org
Amy Curry Learning Specialist B.A., Ohio Wesleyan University
Learning Ser vices at Fay School
Amy worked in the Wellesley public school system for ten years as a reading intervention specialist and special education teaching assistant. Her responsibilities in these roles included supporting students at risk of not learning to read at grade level, in both one-on-one and group settings. During the past year, Amy has worked as an outreach coordinator at Boston University. Leslie Overbye Primary and Lower School Reading Specialist B.S., Wheelock College; M.Ed., Salem State University In addition to her master’s degree in reading intervention and support, Leslie Overbye is trained in the Wilson Reading System and the Orton-Gillingham method. Leslie provides individualized support and coordinates small group work for students in the Primary and Lower Schools. Through close consultation with classroom teachers, she conducts reading evaluations and DRAs (Developmental Reading Assessments), which enable her to support students’ specific needs. Leslie lives on campus and serves as a dorm parent for our boarding community. Jennifer L. St. John Lower School Learning Specialist B.S., University of Maine Jennifer has taught in public, charter, and independent schools, and she has tutored students privately. She joins Fay from Carroll School, where she worked as an Orton-Gillingham Language Practitioner for students in grades six to eight. In this role, she developed individualized lesson plans that were diagnostic, prescriptive, and multi-sensory for students with dyslexia and other language-based learning differences. Jennifer also worked as a grade six language teacher at Carroll School, implementing multi-sensory, structured and sequential programs using Orton-Gillingham, Project Read, Literature Circles, and other tools. She has worked as an elementary school teacher in Maine and Michigan.
Amy Mohn Upper School Learning Specialist B.A., M.Ed., College of William and Mary Amy Mohn’s areas of expertise include writing, learning strategies, and executive functioning; she is also trained to work with students with neurobiological disorders such as ADHD and anxiety disorders. In her work with these students, she focuses on helping them rebuild confidence and learn to self-advocate. Amy’s typical day might include helping a boarder develop structures and routines to keep track of materials and feel more relaxed about the school day; helping a student use a planner to prioritize assignments; showing a student how to use a new app to study vocabulary words; or guiding a student in developing an outline and supporting details for an essay. Amy is a busy and active member of the Fay community: she runs the after-school horseback riding club, supervises an advisory group of Upper School students, and coordinates the Campus Cares student activity group. Elisabeth Williams Learning Specialist B.A., William Smith College; M.Ed., Lesley University Liz Williams joins Fay from the Learning Prep School in Newton, where she was a special education and mathematics teacher. In this role, Liz provided learning strategies and instruction for students with a wide range of complex, language-based learning disabilities. Prior to that role, Liz worked in the Needham Public Schools as a middle school learning center teacher and provided inclusion support within the core curriculum classrooms. She has worked as a tutor and has experience as a testing specialist. As a member of the Fay community, Liz serves as advisor to eight upper school girls, as well as an assistant coach to girls JV lacrosse and co-coach of Fay’s ski and snowboard intramural team.