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Our Fourth Pillar | Build a Foundation for Life
By addressing deficits, teaching strategies, and strengthening stamina, we prepare students for successful transitions to alternative learning environments.
Throughout Dyslexia and Learning Disabilities Awareness Month, we have been reflecting on each of the four pillars that are the bedrock of what we do at Trident Academy. As this month of celebration draws to a close, we will review our last pillar: Foundation for Life.
Everything we do at Trident Academy builds toward this final pillar. During the past three weeks, I wrote about meeting individual needs, promoting academic growth, and providing encouragement and support. Individualized instruction helps students become independent. As students grow academically, they develop the confidence to try new and more challenging things. The care and nurture students receive through their teachers’ encouragement and support provide a safe environment where students are not afraid to take academic risks and work on the next hard task. Putting all of these together on a daily basis naturally helps students build a firm foundation on which to stand, grow, and mature.
As I mentioned last week, I receive great joy in watching our students learn, grow, and become beautifully engaged learners. The transformation that occurs at Trident Academy has no time frame associated with it. Each individual student progresses through our hallways at a different pace. Some catch on quickly and move through our academic and executive functioning programs within a couple of years. Other students may need more time to catch on, catch up, and gain the confidence needed to achieve success elsewhere. No matter what the individual trajectory is, we celebrate each success as it happens and continue to push our students to reach their goals.
Because each student brings their own strengths and weaknesses to the table, along with any learned avoidance practices and bad habits, it may take a while for them to gain trust in our strategies. Ultimately, this can slow down the transition progression.
The timing of the transition progression is unique to each student. Some students transition to other schools from Trident's lower school, while others may make the transition in middle or high school. The families of some Trident students prefer to have their children remain at our school through their high school graduation. There are a number of reasons for this, all having to do with the individual student's needs, family goals, and expectations for the future. Trident Academy graduates become accountants, flight attendants, mechanics, Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriters, artists, small business owners, entrepreneurs, and more. Some of our graduates even return to teach or work at Trident Academy!
The future is bright for our students, no matter when they transition: elementary school, middle school, high school, college, and, ultimately, life!
Have a safe and happy Halloween!
Blessings,
Betsy
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