Academic Excellence
From Self-Esteem to Self-Advocacy
A child’s face lighting up with comprehension. A student performing a previously difficult task with ease. A classroom full of confident, engaged, and happy learners. At The Stephen Gaynor School, these are the moments we live for.
Children enroll at Stephen Gaynor at nearly every stage in their development, and often, they have experienced failure at another school. Our first job is to build their self-esteem. We take the time to understand students’ unique challenges, showing them that by approaching tasks in their own special way, they are capable of just about anything. It’s not long before students realize that they are smart, capable of academic work, and that learning is a joyful activity.
The Stephen Gaynor School’s highly individualized program is based on the New York City standards for independent schools and built around four key components:
Through this comprehensive educational framework, students become successful independent learners armed with the tools for success.
Differentiated Instruction:
Tailoring the academic experience to your child’s unique learning style
Students with language-based and other learning differences often have difficulty absorbing content through traditional instructional methods, such as listening to a teacher or reading textbooks and taking notes. What’s more, the most effective learning methods and strategies are different for everyone. At Stephen Gaynor, we get to know your child’s strengths and weaknesses, and teach them using methods ideal for their needs.
Every student has a unique educational experience at the Stephen Gaynor School. Students progress at different rates, focus on some subjects more intensely than others, and demonstrate their knowledge in different ways. For example, while children in one class may be studying Native American communities, they may be asked to express their comprehension in ways that reflect their individual abilities, such as creating a piece of art, reporting their research findings orally, or writing a full-length essay.
Every student also benefits from our multisensory approach to teaching, which helps cement new concepts and skills. Students don’t just hear and see what they learn – they touch and move those concepts. From manipulating blocks to help build number sense to acting out scenes from a book or play, Stephen Gaynor activities help build comprehension and retention. How do we support such differentiated instruction? With one educator for every three students, your child benefits from a strong circle of support that includes two homeroom teachers, language clinicians, occupational therapists, math and reading specialists, and subject matter experts. Students are divided into homeroom clusters, and further into reading and math groups, based on their abilities. Throughout the year, we continually assess students’ comprehension, skills development, and maturation, making sure they are in the right groups and receive proper support at every step of the way.
Skills and Subject Mastery:
The building blocks of soaring achievement
A child cannot perform algebraic functions without first mastering addition and subtraction. Students must read fluently and with full comprehension before they can express themselves in writing. At the Stephen Gaynor School, we make sure students master fundamental concepts and skills before moving to more complex and abstract lessons. Our focus on depth of mastery over breadth of content gives students the strongest possible foundation on which to build future success.
For example, when teaching lessons on ancient civilizations, rather than focus on China, Egypt, Greece, and Rome, we pick two of those places – and dive deeply into each one. This way, students benefit from a deep connection to the subject matter, which improves retention, and focus on important concepts such as how communities function and why they’re important. By mastering concepts rather than memorizing facts, our students learn to think critically and creatively.
Personal Enrichment:
Giving students every opportunity to shine
We’ve always been committed to giving students every opportunity, from robust arts and competitive athletic programs to the chance to exercise their leadership skills on the student council. Students have the chance to participate in afterschool athletics, choosing among basketball, soccer, baseball, and softball. They also have access to a highly integrated, comprehensive arts program including fine arts, music, drama, and photography. Students hone their writing skills by performing self-written plays and improve their understanding of geography by creating topographical maps.
What’s more, because our students benefit profoundly from experiential learning, we take every opportunity to introduce them to the rich cultural, historical, and artistic opportunities in Manhattan and beyond. Lower School students explore Central Park, visit firehouses and Ellis Island, and spend a day in Philadelphia. Middle School students have traveled to the Armory in Manhattan and Liberty Science Center in New Jersey, and enjoyed overnight trips to Boston and Washington, D.C. Students also engage with the community not just as observers but as good Samaritans, learning the importance of giving back by volunteering in our Community Learning Center and participating in clothing, food, and toy drives.
Academic Independence:
Tools for a lifetime of learning
The ability to ask for more direction when an assignment is unclear. Acknowledging difficulty with time management and knowing when to ask for help. Understanding how to break a math problem into manageable parts and to sound out new words and decipher their meaning. Stephen Gaynor gives students a toolbox of strategies from which they can pull the right tools for the task.
Students begin to develop two of the most important tools – self-awareness and self-advocacy – from day one at the Stephen Gaynor School. Our youngest students understand that everyone has unique challenges, needs, and abilities. They are respectful of each other’s differences and celebrate each other’s talents. When the time comes for the students to leave the Stephen Gaynor School, they leave as independent, confident learners, well aware of what they need to be successful – and how to ensure they get what they need.