Supporting Intellectual Diversity

St. Andrew’s-Sewanee School welcomes and celebrates intellectual diversity. Our students represent a broad spectrum of academic preparation and intellectual ability. We enjoy the challenge of finding the artist in the math whiz, the writer in the inarticulate adolescent, the curious child in the impassive teenager.

Both of my sons benefited from the Learning Resources Center. The coordinator helped them manage assignments, develop work period schedules, and stay accountable to their action plans. Regular check-ins provided me, their advisors, and other teachers with updates from all their teachers. I appreciated having a liaison at school to advocate on behalf of my sons when needed.

- Kathy Lindlau, parent

Providing Personal Attention

Students benefit from our emphasis on personal attention. With 14 students in the typical classroom and fewer than 250 students in the entire school, a student's academic needs, whether they are for more assistance or more challenge, will be acknowledged and met.

Scheduled Time

School days include work periods when teachers are available for extra help or consultation. Required study hours for boarders are 7:15-9:15 p.m., Sunday-Thursday. Students may spend this required study period in their rooms, in their house study room working on a group project with other students, or in supervised study where a teacher's help is nearby. With close to half of our faculty living on campus, a teacher’s help is always close at hand.

The Learning Resources Center

The Learning Resources Center, located in our academic complex, is open every school day until 4:30 p.m. Our Learning Resources Coordinator works with students at the request of the student or the recommendation of a teacher, advisor, academic dean, middle school coordinator, or parent.

The Learning Resources Center: 

  • Provides individual, small group, or grade level help with time management, organization, and other study skills.
  • Coordinates extra help for students in math, science, and writing through the Writing Center and Math & Science Lab.
  • Creates Student Action Plans for students with learning differences.
  • Submits College Board and ACT accommodation requests for students with diagnosed learning differences
  • Communicates with teachers regarding student work plans and classroom needs.
  • Provides a quiet study area or test-taking environment in a supervised space for students with accommodations.
  • Monitors the progress of upper cchool students on academic concern or probation, as well as any upper or middle school student experiencing academic difficulty.
  • Communicates with parents regarding the academic progress of students using the services of the Learning Resources Center.
  • Monitors the progress of students engaged in additional academic challenge.
  • Coordinates peer or outside tutoring for students needing course specific help.
  • Provides resources and suggestions for successful exam preparation to all students.
  • Provides peer tutoring opportunities.

Additional help for Math, Science, and Writing

Extra help for math/science and writing is available one night a week during Study Hours, 7:15 p.m. to 9:15 p.m.

SAS supports all students in developing a broad range of math skills and understanding concepts in the life, chemical, and physical sciences. Faculty help students strengthen their writing skills, from crafting a thesis statement to properly citing sources.

Meeting Your Needs

For incoming students who have diagnostic test results available or for whom we request such testing, our Learning Resources Coordinator will create a Student Action Plan that provides recommendations for the student’s classroom teachers. Recommendations may include allowing additional time on tests, offering a distraction-free environment, or encouraging a student to use audio books.

Unlike some programs that track students to courses with lower expectations or that separate students from their higher performing classmates, the SAS academic support program is considered a supplement to, not a replacement for, normal classroom instructions and interactions. Working with the Learning Resources Coordinator is a dynamic process, and students will come in and out of the program as needed.

Finding a Balance

SAS believes in the value of after-school activities, exercise, and recreation and will work with students to find a time and place for academic support that does not preclude engaging in the co-curricular activities available on our campus.

Peer Tutoring

The peer tutoring program selects and trains upper school students who have completed the course they wish to tutor with a final grade of 85 or higher and good overall academic standing. Peer tutors earn on-campus service hours for their time. Both the tutors and those they tutor strengthen their academic skills through this individualized support. Peer tutoring provides additional challenge to students who have excelled in a field of study by providing them the opportunity to teach and share their knowledge with peers. For more information about the peer tutoring program, contact Learning Resources Coordinator Charles Houston Beaumont.

Need More Help?

The Learning Resources Coordinator maintains contact with available tutors and will help a family to identify additional help when needed.

Learning Resources Staff

The Learning Resources Staff
  • Creates Student Action Plans for students with diagnosed learning differences.
  • Communicates with teachers regarding student work plans and classroom needs.
  • Provides help with study and organizational skills by appointment or drop-in.
  • Provides a quiet study area or test-taking environment in a supervised space.
  • Consolidates information and serves as an advocate for parents of students with learning differences.
  • Is an additional contact for academic support after the teacher.
  • Coordinates the peer tutoring program and outside tutoring for students needing course-specific help.
  • Provides personalized assistance to approximately 20% of our student body.
 
Curriculum

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