Chatham Academy fits the curriculum to the student, not the student to the curriculum.

Chatham Academy has designed the classrooms, teaching techniques and curriculum to allow each child to experience academic and social success. Students are grouped in classes by age and skill level. Each class is structured so students have clear expectations, accommodations, and academic supports. From the moment a student walks through the door to the time they leave each day, we work to provide an environment that is conducive to the learning needs of students with learning disabilities.
 

Academic Approach

We create a learning profile that is individualized to meet the learning needs of each student; pushing them forward in areas of academic strength, while remediating their learning deficits. Executive Function skills and Mindfulness activities prepare students for success in academic settings and beyond. Parents collaborate with the teaching team throughout the school year in order to monitor progress toward individual goals. 

Chatham Academy supports student's strengths and interests through the arts, sports, and a wide range of extracurricular activities and clubs. We also provide support and college counseling, in order to best prepare every child for college, and for life after high school.
 

Instructional Foundations Based on the Orton-Gillingham Approach

Orton-Gillingham (OG) is an approach to reading instruction that is phonetic and based on cognitive science. This approach engages the visual, auditory, and kinesthetic centers of the brain simultaneously in order to build or strengthen neural pathways. Instruction is individualized, diagnostic and prescriptive. This approach encourages students to build thinking and reasoning skills rather than to rely on rote memorization. Concepts are taught directly and explicitly, building true understanding of our language, which leads to automaticity and independent appplications in academics and beyond.
 

Orton-Gillingham Approach Applied Across the Curriculum

The Orton-Gillingham principles guide instruction at Chatham Academy beyond reading, providing the structure of our curriculum.

• Small Class size (10:1 student to teacher ratio or less)
• Instruction based on cognitive science
• Simultaneous multisensory instruction
• Concepts taught directly and explicitly
• Consistent encouragement to understand what they are learning, why it is important, and how it applies to future learning.

All Chatham Academy Teaching Staff are trained in the Orton-Gillingham Approach.

Chatham Academy is not the right fit for every student.

Chatham Academy specializes in Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, Dyscalculia and other Special Learning Disabilities in Reading/Writing/Math, and ADHD.
We do not offer specialized programs for those with behavioral or certain psychiatric diagnoses, and are not a therapeutic school.*

These Include:
- Moderate to Severe Autism Spectrum Disorders
- Moderate to Severe Emotional Problems
- Emotional Behavioral Disorder (EBD) 
- Oppositional Defiant Disorder
- Conduct Disorder
- Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder

*On occasion, a student without a diagnosed learning disability may be accepted if our learning environment fits the student's needs.

Chatham Academy welcomes students without bias towards sex, age, race, ethnicity, nationality, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.