Academics

A student and teacher stand and look at poster paper inside a classroom.

Westmark School transforms lives. We spark the imaginations of our youngest learners as they explore the world. We nourish the growth of our Middle School students as they develop character and confidence. And we illuminate the futures of our high schoolers as they push past limits and reach for success.

Because our students think and learn differently, we teach differently. Offering differentiated instruction, evidence-based teaching strategies, and a nurturing school environment, Westmark celebrates the distinct learning styles of our neurodiverse students. Championed by our dedicated and caring faculty—all trained in multisensory, practice-proven methodologies that bridge the latest neuroscientific findings to classroom practice—our Westmark Lions turn struggle into strength and challenge into opportunity.

We have seen a huge transformation at home and a significant shift in our child's attitude about school since starting second grade at Westmark three months ago. He genuinely enjoys going to school, and we are so happy with the progress he's making in reading.

Amena
Westmark Parent

The Westmark Difference

Westmark School strives to nourish the bright minds of students with language-based learning differences (LD). By way of a multimodal pedagogy, we empower them to embrace their unique learning profiles, cultivate their strengths, and address their areas of need.

Our structured and highly individualized approach to teaching is grounded in the following best practices and principles:

Inclusive, Multisensory Pedagogy

To ensure that learning is accessible and challenging to all students, Westmark has adopted the research-based framework known as Universal Design for Learning (UDL).

This inclusive pedagogical approach requires that we proactively reimagine and adapt our classrooms, curriculum, and instruction to meet a wide range of strengths and abilities rather than attempt to change—or “fix”—the learner. Westmark’s learning environments and experiences are intentionally designed to reduce barriers so that every student can engage in rigorous, meaningful learning and have an equal opportunity to succeed.

Learn more about UDL:

About Universal Design for Learning | CAST
How to break down barriers to learning with UDL | Understood

What does this look like in practice?

For example, instead of teaching a lesson just one way for the entire class, Westmark faculty make sure to present content in a variety of modalities—auditory, visual, kinesthetic, or tactile—in order to reach and motivate every student.

In turn, Westmark students are afforded multiple ways to express their knowledge and understanding of targeted learning goals. By building in this level of flexibility, variability, and inclusivity, we meet the needs of our LD learners.

Structured Literacy

At Westmark, structured literacy instruction refers to the intervention programs we use to teach our students to read.

Drawing from the science of reading—and therefore the latest evidence about how the brain processes written words—it is highly effective for students with dyslexia.

Westmark’s core reading intervention programs are guided by the Orton-Gillingham Approach, Lindamood-Bell Learning Processes, and the Slingerland Approach. Through these programs, our Reading teachers target skills in phonology, sound-symbol association, syllables, morphology, syntax, and semantics.

Learn more about structured literacy:

Here's Why Schools Should Use Structured Literacy | International Dyslexia Association
What is Structured Literacy? | Orton-Gillingham.org
What is Orton-Gillingham? | Understood

What does this look like in practice?

At all grade levels at Westmark, structured literacy requires the following:

Instruction must be explicit—Teachers take students through the steps of reading in a way that is specific and unambiguous.
Instruction must be systematic—Skills and concepts are introduced at an appropriate pace and in a methodological order, from simple to complex.
Instruction must be cumulative—Each step of reading is based on a previously taught skill or concept. Emphasis is placed on continued practice, review, and repetition.
Instruction must be diagnostic—Teachers track student progress to assess their understanding of content and differentiate instruction as needed.

Social-Emotional Learning

Academic achievement is inextricably linked to one’s personal well-being. Social-emotional learning (SEL) is therefore embedded in Westmark's curriculum and culture.

Our goal is that students understand and manage their emotions, set and achieve constructive goals, feel empathy for others, forge healthy relationships, and make responsible decisions (Collaborative on Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning).

In 2022–2023, all Westmark faculty and staff began training in RULER, a systematic approach to SEL developed by the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. In the coming years, RULER will be implemented in the classroom as we continually seek to teach the whole child, build community, and foster a healthy school climate.

Learn more about SEL:

What is Social and Emotional Learning? | Child Mind Institute
What Is the CASEL Framework? | Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL)
What is RULER? | RULER

What does this look like in practice?

In every classroom, Westmark faculty place emphasis on creating and maintaining a learning environment that is supportive, inclusive, and conducive to learning. Here are just a few ways SEL works in practice at Westmark:

We kickstart the academic year with community-building activities that foster personal connections, developing healthy identities, and establish a sense of belonging for students. This lays the foundation for making every child feel appreciated, respected, and emotionally safe.
Classes form shared agreements that outline expectations for how everyone will treat one another. These are regularly revisited throughout the year.
Through partner and small group work, students practice communication and teamwork skills, including how to resolve conflicts peacefully. Within this environment, there is an understanding that making mistakes is OK and part of the learning process.
Throughout the day, students are encouraged to identify, monitor, and manage their emotions. Guided by teachers and counselors, they work on strategies to develop emotional and self-regulation skills, further fostering self-awareness, healthy and supportive relationships, and resilience.

Executive Function Training

To support our LD students—many of whom have been diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)—Westmark has established a number of routines and procedures.

These unvarying, well-planned, and regularly communicated practices promote executive function (EF) and help our learners stay focused, organized, and on time.

Learn more about EF:

What is executive function? | Understood
Executive Function Strategies: The Building Blocks for Learning to Read | International Dyslexia Association

What does this look like in practice?

Across all divisions, for example, a daily agenda, the lesson’s content, and the day’s learning objectives are posted visibly in each classroom. Proper materials management is taught, such as a daily planner to record homework assignments and deadlines and a binder to organize papers for each class. Our faculty explicitly teaches these and many other EF routines and procedures to help students learn how to plan ahead, start and stop what they wish to do, monitor their own behavior, and regulate and sustain their attention.