Since we wrote our blog post on Parenting Your Right Brain Kinesthetic Learner, Private School Challenges, we have received quite a reaction from parents. Specific reactions included:
- “We appear to have created a “Private School Challenge”. Private schools are becoming much more selective. Is this likely to get better or worse and what can a parent do?”
- “The private school has told me that my child needs to improve their performance to be invited back. They offer in school tutoring. Is that the best option?”
- “Is private school the best option for the bright right brain kinesthetic learner or is public school and investing in private interventions a better option?”
Parenting Your Bright Right Brain Kinesthetic Learner, Why Private Schools are Likely to Become Even More Selective
As we described in our prior blog post, the demand for private schools has increased dramatically as:
- Those parents who are financially able to afford private school, like the option.
- Many families from the Northeast and the Midwest have moved to South Florida. Many are financially stable and like the private school options, thinking they are better educational options.
- Private school vouchers have made private schools affordable for many parents.
- The pandemic made private schools more desirable as they tended to remain open to “in-person” learning. For our Right Brain Kinesthetic learners, this was a huge benefit.
- What is happening in 2023 is likely to accelerate the growth in private school demand as:
-
- Public and charter schools are experiencing more challenges as so many kids are behind as well as a hostile political environment toward public schools.
- School vouchers are likely to be available to many more students.
- More parents want a safer environment with less behavior issues.
Several things a parent can do when considering private school for their child:
- Start your school search early and be aware that your child might not get into your first option, even though you have followed all of the application procedures. Have a Plan B and potentially a Plan C.
- Read any psychoeducational reports carefully before submitting them to a private school.
One case from a family moving from the Northeast, where their daughter had no behavior problems at school, but was a challenge at home, stated the child was “difficult”. The private school rejected their application, citing behavioral challenges that were reported over a year ago. Work with your child’s psychologist to remove red flags, where appropriate. You want to be truthful, and get appropriate help, and professionals can help in this area. If your child is acting out or frustrated, it is often a sign that they are struggling somewhere in the school environment.
- Consider public schools or alternative private schools. There are also new or relatively new private school options that may be an excellent fit.
- Be a collaborative parent – focusing on how you can make it work. In a market where private schools have the upper hand; combative parents will find it hard. We always look for the win-win.
- Private school tutoring may be the right intervention if a child just needs one-on-one help and learns the way the teacher teaches.
For the right brain kinesthetic learner, a tailored outside intervention may be better if they:
- Teach using an engaging, experiential and more effective approach.
- Identify and/or address the relevant executive function issues (e.g., working memory, processing speed and attention issues.
- Help you to be the coach and advocate your child needs.
6. Consider outside interventions. We have helped parents:
- Have their child stay in a very competitive private school by increasing the student’s reading comprehension 3 grade levels in less than a year.
- Have their child go from an expensive academy to a public school the following year and into the gifted program the year after that by significantly improving his reading comprehension and attention.
- Reduce their monthly tutoring costs. A family was spending $750 a month on tutors, and we significantly reduced the amount of tutoring needed, over the years to come, with our program.
The good news is that many bright right brain kinesthetic learners can make significant gains in months.
We offer a no cost conversation to help you navigate these challenging issues. You can arrange a conversation by either:
– Giving us a call at 561-361-7495 or
– Clicking here to Schedule a Conversation
We have had a number of calls from private school parents of bright right brain kinesthetic learners, (i.e., kids who learn best when they see and experience information). The private schools are flagging academic, or behavior challenges and the parents are not sure what to do. The surge in demand for private school slots is increasing the pressure on parents to either help their child improve or find another private school. It is important to note that Florida private school enrollment has continued to increase over the last nine years.
We expect this demand to continue as more families move from the Northeast, prefer private schools, an increase in state funded voucher programs, and with the increasing frustration with public schools.
The challenge for parents of smart struggling students is that private schools can now be more selective and may ask more parents of struggling students to find another school for their child. Even worse, with the pandemic, many smart struggling students are even further behind as a result of the pandemic.
Parental Challenge, Especially for Bright Right Brain Kinesthetic Learners
We have had a number of calls from parents this year asking about their options. Their child is struggling, the schools are making the parents aware of their child’s challenges, and now the ball is in the parent’s court. Some parents, who transferred from public or charter schools, are finding that the services and accommodations that were legally mandated at public and charer schools, need to be negotiated at private schools.
To make matters even more challenging, more private schools are shifting to phonics-based training. This may address one of the challenges their child has, but it does not address 4 big challenges. First, many of these students learn best when they see and experience information. They are what we call bright right brain kinesthetic learners. The phonics training certainly helps with reading fluency (i.e. how efficiently one reads), but it may not help as much with reading comprehension, math and writing deficits; second, many of these students have executive function issues (i.e. attention, working memory and processing speed) that virtually no schools address; third, visual processing issues (i.e. when a child skips words and lines when reading) are often not identified or addressed: and your child may now be more anxious and frustrated. In some cases, this may result in behavior challenges.
At 3D Learner, our goal is to address the whole child with an integrated, engaging and effect effort
Helping the Frustrated Parent with a Bright Right Brain Kinesthetic Learner
We have helped kids like these for over 25 years. Three advantages we offer parents are: We are collaborative advocates who can help you navigate a tense conversation; second, our assessment process is designed to identify a student’s learning style, strengths and challenges; and our learning process can be tailored to result in significant gains within months. This allows a student to succeed and opens up more options for the next school year.
Every situation is different. In a number of cases, we have helped the student make dramatic gains and allow the student to be far more successful than even their parents thought possible. In most cases, the student is able to stay at their present school. In rare cases, we help the parents to find a better placement for their child. Most changes are for the next school year, but occasionally immediately, when there is a need to change schools right away.
For parents of smart kids who learn differently and have multiple issues or difficulties, it is important to understand that: collaboration with private schools is important. They are not legally bound to provide extra services or accommodations. Second, for the child who learns differently, it is helpful to identify how your child learns best and what their challenges are. Third, outside help can be tailored to help your child succeed within months.
Since every situation is different, we offer a no cost 15-minute conversation to understand your options and to explore ways to work more effectively with your child’s school, to improve performance and to increase your options for next year.
If you would like to have a no cost conversation to discuss your bright right brain kinesthetic learner or any other issue, you can either:
If your child is struggling at private school, especially in elementary school, there is a good chance they:
- Are a right brain or visual learner
- Are below grade level in reading comprehension
- Have executive function challenges
- May have anxiety and/or behavioral challenges
If this describes your child, we have found that they can be far more successful with strategies that:
- Capitalize on their strengths to improve their reading comprehension and love for learning
- Identifies and addresses the relevant challenges
- Is designed to help them maximize their potential
Is your child a right brain or visual learner? Have you noticed that they:
- Remember places visited, even from years ago?
- Learn best when they see and experience information?
- Have a reading comprehension level well below their peers?
These creative “out of box” learners are the students we help.
The challenges for them at private schools are:
- The best private schools often pride themselves for having a more rigorous curriculum and being a year ahead of public schools, This makes life much harder for the smart struggling right brain or visual learner
- Their tutoring programs are often limited and one dimensional. This approach is hard for a right brain or visual learner who often does not have a good working memory, skips words and lines when reading and/or is bored with the process
- In many States now, the demand for private school seats exceeds the supply, and they can simply say “we do not have the resources to help your child.”
- We are seeing more private schools than ever suggesting to parents that their child may not be right for their school.
If your child is struggling at a private school and you want to understand what can be done to improve their performance, give us a call at 561-361-7495 and or click here to schedule a Private School Conversation.
The good news is your right brain or visual learner can often succeed
Donna called us with this exact problem. Her third grader was two years below grade level and his private school was suggesting they go elsewhere. Donna found us on the internet and called us. After a 10 minute conversation she commented, “How is it that after 10 minutes, you appear to know my child better than people who have known him for years?’
We explained that our specialty is working with kids like her son who are:
- Far smarter than their present level of reading comprehension would indicate
- A right brain or visual learner
- Appear to have working memory and attention challenges.
With our help, he was able to make significant gains over the summer and stay in that private school. The testing the next year showed he had improved his reading comprehension 3 grade levels in a year. His teacher commented, “Bobby made more progress in a year than any student I have had in 27 years of teaching”.
We have had many similar cases including:
A student whose parents were told to hold their child back. She went from one of the weakest readers in her class to the top reading group after completing our program. Even better, in a reading contest over a month, she read 720 pages, while the second place reader read only 374 pages and the average student read 172 pages. When her mom asked her how she went from a non reader to an avid reader she commented, “3D Learner taught me how to visualize what I read, do you know how cool that is?”
A parent was told, by a professional, not to even consider a private school where the work would be too demanding. With our help, their son went from the 58th to the 99th percentile in reading comprehension. He went on to become valedictorian at that prestigious private school and proceeded to graduate from Harvard.
Note: in this case, the psychologist had recommended two more dyslexia treatments. After he mom said these types of programs did not help her son and asked if there was a different approach, the psychologist then recommended 3D Learner.
A word of caution. Sometimes the school is right. For the right brain or visual learner with a below average IQ, the most demanding private school may not be the right place. These cases happen and we work with parents to find the right place for their child.
Note: the catalyst for the 3D Learner Program ® was when we were told our daughter had limited potential and was not “college material”. She is now close to completing her Doctorate in Education. We love helping kids to succeed whose parents have been told something similar. No one has the right to put limitations on what kids CAN DO! The right brain or visual learner can often make far more progress than others thought possible,
If your child is struggling at a private school and you want to understand what can be done to improve their performance, give us a call at 561-361-7495 and or click here to schedule a Private School Conversation.
Recent Comments