Arrowsmith School - Strengthening Learning Capacities

A Summary of our Model for Delivering the Arrowsmith Program

The Arrowsmith Program identifies, intervenes, and strengthens the weak cognitive capacities that affect learning. We believe that students will be able to capitalize on their increased learning capacities and be reintegrated into the full academic curriculum after they leave the Arrowsmith Program.

Our expectation is that this will allow them to function without the need for any further special education intervention or program modification.
We provide all of the cognitive and instructional methodology. Each student is assessed using Arrowsmith developed tests which allow us to create a learning profile that forms the basis for each student’s program of Arrowsmith cognitive exercises.

The schools that offer our program provide the teachers, classrooms and equipment. The students are enrolled at their own school and are registered with Arrowsmith Program so that we can monitor their progress throughout the school year.

The public and private schools that offer our program are as diverse as any in the educational system and we work closely with these schools to ensure that the Arrowsmith Program is delivered to the same standard at each school. Students spend a minimum of four 40-minute periods per day on the Arrowsmith Program cognitive exercises over a period of three or four years.

This is a program for established public and private schools or educational organizations operated by professionals with extensive experience in the administration of educational programs. We believe that the greatest benefits can only be realized by students who are working in a school environment under the supervision of trained teachers.

Eaton Arrowsmith School, which has over 100 students in full-time enrolment in Vancouver, also offers some components of the Arrowsmith Program to adults and seniors at the Eaton Brain Improvement Centre that opened in 2008. We do not offer our program over the internet or through home schooling.

The Arrowsmith Cognitive Exercises {back to top}

The Arrowsmith Program encompasses a series of cognitive exercises that have been developed from research in the field of neuroscience for students with learning disabilities. Each cognitive exercise program has a hierarchy of levels from simple to complex and is designed to address a specific area of cognitive functioning.

A list of some of these specific areas appears in the accompanying chart of learning dysfunctions and learning outcomes.

Each student is placed on an individualized program depending on his or her specific learning profile. Each cognitive program is comprised of a series of intensive and graduated tasks designed to strengthen that specific learning capacity.

Performance evaluation criteria are built into each of the cognitive programs based on the principles of accuracy, consistency, and automaticity of performance. In order to master each level of a program, these criteria must be met prior to a student advancing to a more difficult level. The program is modified each year based on the student’s progress through the cognitive exercise program.

The cognitive programs are designed to target the specific areas through different modalities:

Pencil and paper: Students work on specific programs to improve the cognitive capacities required for motor skills related to the mechanical aspect of writing, skills required for written communication, organization, and planning and skills required for non-verbal communication
Auditory: Students work on specific auditory programs to help improve short and long term auditory memory, oral output, vocabulary development, phonemic awareness and increase the ability to hold and process information
Computer based: Students work on computer programs designed to strengthen the ability to reason, use logic, and comprehend, as well as programs for strengthening numeracy skills, reading and visual memory for symbol patterns

Further information about the Arrowsmith Program including an introductory video is available as a link on the Arrowsmith School website.

What Type of Student Can Benefit from the Arrowsmith Program? {back to top}

The typical student in the Arrowsmith Program is

of average or above average intelligence
has a combination of the learning dysfunctions described in the accompanying chart of learning dysfunctions
does not have severe intellectual, cognitive, emotional or behavioural disorders that would significantly affect his or her ability to participate in the Arrowsmith Program
does not have acquired brain injury or an autism spectrum disorder
meets the general admission requirements of the school or board in which the student is enrolled

The Arrowsmith Program Coordinator is available to consult with the school concerning the admission of students.

What the Assessment Involves {back to top}

Every incoming student is assessed with specific Arrowsmith designed tests administered on a one to one basis. Starting in 2008, we will introduce a web based assessment that has been designed in consultation with Dr. William Lancee, in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto and Mount Sinai Hospital.

This web based assessment will incorporate a rating scale in conjunction with a number of cognitive tests and will generate a learning profile of strengths and weaknesses to enable us to program the cognitive exercises and their levels for each individual student.

All incoming students are assessed at their school by the Arrowsmith teacher at that school at the start of the school year. It is this assessment that enables us to develop an individualized program of cognitive exercises for each student. The assessment will take about half a day to complete for each student.

What Can a Student Expect in the Arrowsmith Program {back to top}

Arrowsmith Program creates a learning profile based on the assessment results for each student that identifies the specific cognitive areas that require intervention and programming.

Students in the Arrowsmith Program spend at least four 40-minute periods every day working on cognitive exercises under the supervision of an Arrowsmith Program trained teacher. This allows each student to work on four cognitive areas at a time.

Our fee to the school for each student includes access to the entire suite of Arrowsmith Program exercises for four or more periods per day.

Students spend the other periods of the school day in an age appropriate grade for instruction in other school subjects. Arrowsmith periods are not necessarily consecutive but dependent on the Arrowsmith Program teacher and the academic teacher working out an appropriate schedule for each student. One Arrowsmith trained teacher will work with ten students.

Classroom Structure {back to top}

all grade levels are accommodated in the Arrowsmith classroom during the course of the day with students rotating to academic classes over the course of the day depending on the student’s schedule
within this classroom the students are each working on an individualized Arrowsmith program of cognitive tasks
the initial Arrowsmith Program learning profile determines the approximate number of years that the student will require of the Arrowsmith program
the average time spent in the Arrowsmith Program is three to four years, depending on the number and severity of the identified learning dysfunctions. There is benefit to the student for each year the student spends in the program.
students are typically in the Arrowsmith class for half of the day (a minimum of four 40 minute periods) and in the academic classes for the other half of the day but that is dependent on the individual student’s need
students have been in the Arrowsmith class for as many as a eight periods (for severely learning disabled students) and as few as one period (in subsequent years when the student is functioning well in the age appropriate academic class and there are only one or two areas requiring further programming)
principals, teachers, parents, students are all involved in deciding which academic subjects the student will receive in the regular class
the student to teacher ratio is 10 to 1

Responsibilities of the Arrowsmith Program Teacher {back to top}

Every teacher in an Arrowsmith Program classroom has successfully completed the Arrowsmith Program Training Course and has been certified to teach the Arrowsmith Program and will be responsible for:

administering the assessment at the time the student enters the Arrowsmith Program and at the end of each year in the program
implementing the Arrowsmith Program in accordance with the procedures established by Arrowsmith in the training course and reference manual and as periodically revised and updated by Arrowsmith
entering student progress on a monthly basis in the on-line Record of Program
participating in ongoing professional development provided by Arrowsmith
participating in accordance with the policies of their school and in consultation with the Program Coordinators in the selection of appropriate students for the Arrowsmith Program
ensuring that all materials that the students require are prepared in accordance with the Reference Manual and kept organized on a daily basis
reporting to parents in accordance with the policies of their school and in consultation with the Arrowsmith Program Coordinator in connection with matters pertaining to the Arrowsmith Program
keeping parents informed and aware of their child’s monthly goals and homework responsibilities and progress

What Arrowsmith Program Provides {back to top}

Arrowsmith Program provides all of the methodology and materials to enable a school to provide the Arrowsmith Program together with ongoing supervision, support and professional development that will ensure that the Arrowsmith Program is delivered at a consistently high level at all participating schools.

This includes the following:

training of all new teachers in an intensive three-week summer training course at Arrowsmith School in Toronto prior to the teacher implementing the Arrowsmith Program in the school setting
development of a learning profile of the strengths and weaknesses of each student in the specific cognitive areas addressed by the Arrowsmith Program
establishing a program of cognitive exercises based on the individual learning profile of each student for each year that the student is enrolled in the Arrowsmith Program
monitoring and evaluation of the progress of each student through an on-line Record of Program
full access to the Arrowsmith methodology, intellectual property and exercise materials for each student in the Arrowsmith Program including the Arrowsmith Program Reference Manual, computer programs on CD, master copies of auditory exercises, master copies of tracing and written exercises and sets of laminated drawings for thinking exercises
a Program Coordinator assigned to each school to provide on-going support to the Arrowsmith classroom teacher
ongoing professional development, support and training for teachers

What the School Provides {back to top}

teachers who will be trained and certified by Arrowsmith
students who are enrolled at the school and who are suitable candidates for the Arrowsmith Program
a separate classroom for the Arrowsmith Program, equipment (including a computer for each two students in the Arrowsmith Program and CD players for the auditory programs) and school administration
copies of Arrowsmith Program exercise materials for student use in the classroom

Teacher Training and Professional Development {back to top}

Every teacher in an Arrowsmith classroom has successfully completed the Arrowsmith teacher training course, which is an intensive three-week course that is designed to provide them with the theoretical background and practical skills that are necessary to supervise a class of students in the Arrowsmith Program including training on the web-based assessment. The teacher training course is currently offered each year in August at Arrowsmith School in Toronto.

Candidates for the teacher training course are selected by the school in consultation with Arrowsmith. Each school will have its own requirements for academic training and professional qualifications. Arrowsmith does not require that a teacher in the Arrowsmith Program hold a teaching degree or equivalent qualification but non-teachers should have relevant academic qualifications (such as a degree in neuroscience, psychology or early childhood education) and experience working with students in a school environment.
We also offer ongoing professional development to Arrowsmith Program teachers throughout the year through seminars over the internet.

The Role of the Arrowsmith Program Coordinator {back to top}

Arrowsmith assigns a Program Coordinator to each school who acts as the liaison between Arrowsmith Program and the teacher implementing the Arrowsmith Program at the school. The Program Coordinator is responsible for monitoring the progress of each student on a monthly basis using the Arrowsmith Program on-line Record of Program, which records the progress of students through the exercise program and measures their advancement against benchmarks.

The Arrowsmith Program Coordinator provides on-going education, professional development and feedback in the delivery of the Arrowsmith Program. The Program Coordinator is available to provide assistance and advice in the selection of teachers and the admission of students who are appropriate for the Arrowsmith Program.

The Arrowsmith Program Contract and Fee Policy {back to top}

All schools that offer the Arrowsmith Program operate under a similar form of contract that sets out the respective rights and obligations of each party as summarized above and most importantly, requires all of them to deliver the program in a consistent manner in accordance with our methodology.

Fees are charged on a per student basis for each year that the student is in the Arrowsmith Program. Every student is assigned a number by Arrowsmith at the time of entering the Arrowsmith Program for monitoring, reporting and billing purposes. All students will be identified by this number on their initial learning profile and on school issued reports while they are in the Arrowsmith Program.

The fees are paid by the school to Arrowsmith and Arrowsmith does not communicate directly with students or parents of students in the Arrowsmith Program. Our communication is with the teachers in the Arrowsmith classrooms through our Program Coordinators, and also with the school administrators.

There is a separate fee charged for the teacher training course that is currently $4,000 per teacher. Out of town teachers will need to arrange their own accommodation while they are participating in the course.

We do not charge anything in the nature of an initial or start-up fee. The fees paid to Arrowsmith include all the components of the Arrowsmith Program and there are no additional charges.

In Canada, but not in the U.S., the fees paid to Arrowsmith by the school are subject to the Goods and Services Tax.

Also in Canada, fees paid to the school for students in the Arrowsmith Program are not tax deductible as an education expense but may qualify for the Medical Expense Tax Credit that is described elsewhere on our website.

Except for the Arrowsmith Schools in Toronto and Peterborough, all of the other schools offering the Arrowsmith Program operate independently of Arrowsmith Program and Arrowsmith School, which have no involvement in any aspect of the administration, policies or procedures of those schools except as they may affect the delivery of the Arrowsmith Program.

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