Study Skills Classes
Study Skills is a small group, fee-based, elective class. To enroll as a new student in this class, parents meet with the Director of Learning Support to determine if placement is desired. Once a supplemental contract for Study Skills has been signed, a student is scheduled into a Study Skills class. Students receive support for executive functioning, as well as additional content support. Study skills are taught in the context of the content curriculum from students’ core academic courses. As with all electives, students receive an elective credit and a grade for this class. Middle School students take Study Skills in place of Latin in 6th and 7th grade or first year world language in 8th grade. Upper School Students take Study Skills as an elective course and take a world language class.
Study Skills at SAAS FAQ
- Who is Study Skills for?
- What does the Study Skills class look like?
- What else does the Study Skills teacher do to support students?
- How much is the fee for Study Skills?
- How do I sign up for Study Skills?
Who is Study Skills for?
Students who typically enroll in a Study Skills class are ones who benefit from high frequency, individualized support for a variety of reasons:
- students who need help with organization and time management
- students who need help with managing stress
- students with specific learning differences who need help in learning how to utilize their accommodations and developing individualized learning strategies to work around their specific areas of challenge
- students who need help with making connections in the curriculum or need more guided practice in doing reading, writing, or math assignments
- students who are waiting for developmental maturity to catch up and need help managing expectations of a fast paced and demanding academic environment
What does the Study Skills class look like?
Students work on individually identified goals based on their own specific learning profile, but the group setting allows them to work collaboratively on similar assignments or learn different strategies from peers. Initial emphasis is on developing habits for tracking assignments, time management, willingness to ask for and accept help, and metacognition. Once students have established regular habits around turning assignments in on time, higher order study skills are introduced. Rather than a separate study skills curriculum (ie stand alone unit on note taking or mnemonic memory strategies), students are learning to apply these skills to their coursework from their content area classes. While Study Skills teachers can help support students in their content area classes, the class does not provide basic skill remediation, and Study Skills teachers are not necessarily content area specialists across subjects.
What else does the Study Skills teacher do to support students?
The Study Skills teacher serves as an advocate for the student in helping them navigate their accommodations and communications with their teachers. Study Skills teachers work closely with classroom teachers so they know what the assignment expectations are and can help the classroom teacher better understand the student’s learning profile. The teacher also has regular communication with parents around assignment completion and progress.
How much is the fee for Study Skills?
The fee for the 2019-20 school year is $7392 and a variety of payment plans can be arranged with the business office. Upper School students can take Study Skills by trimester and the cost of the program is prorated for the time they are enrolled ($2464 per trimester). Middle School students are committed to a full year.
Families already receiving financial aid will receive an additional award for the Study Skills class. Families who are not currently receiving aid for tuition but need assistance with the additional Study Skills cost can fill out the financial aid forms through the School and Student Services (SSS) and see if they qualify for an award.