Academic Support

What is the value of Academic Support?

Academic Support at our after school program aims at supporting families and engaging students in reinforcing their school day learning or addressing the gaps in their academic subjects. It also promotes continuous learning during school vacation weeks and the summer months.

Our fun and multi-faceted learning center in Bahrain promotes pride in student achievement. Students enrolled in grades 1 through 12 can select from a number of sessions including remedial, special ed, homework help and/or online education. Bundled sessions are available. For example, your child can work with his/her tutor one-on-one while participating in group homework help sessions.

Intellectual Functioning:
The evaluator usually administers a measure of intellectual functioning, WISC-V or Stanford- Binet, which assesses a student’s intelligence in a variety of areas, including linguistic and spatial intelligence. These are norm-based tests, meaning that student performance is measured against the performance of students at various grade levels. The questions are designed to help differentiate between students performing below grade level because of cognitive disabilities and those who do so for other types of reasons.

Observational Records:
People who work with the child can provide information about the child’s academic performance and behavioral issues. Checklists are used as observational records that show a child’s performance over time and are typically completed by those individuals who are working most closely with the child on a regular basis such as teachers, parents and other relevant individuals.

Developmental and Social History:
A historical record forms an essential component of the evaluation process. The evaluator in conjunction with the parents, pediatrician and school teachers help formulate this narrative assessment. They may fill out checklists, answer questions, participate in an interview or write a report addressing a child’s strengths, challenges and development (or lack thereof) over time. The focus here is on issues such as the child’s health history, developmental milestones, genetic factors, friendships, family relationships, hobbies, behavioral issues and academic performance.

Specialists such as speech pathologist, occupational therapist, in coordination with the child’s general practitioner use certain diagnostic measures for determining a child’s gross motor skills, fine manipulative skills and hearing, sight, speech and language abilities.

Does your child get into trouble in class? Are trips to the principal’s office common but unproductive? If so, you might be curious about new ways to address your child’s behavior. Unless you understand what is driving the behavior it will be difficult to use appropriate strategies to shape it. It may be time to ask us to conduct a behavioral assessment. We use a variety of assessment tools to understand what’s behind inappropriate behaviors. This includes looking at non-academic factors that might be contributing to your child’s frustration with learning.

Educational Testing:
Educational assessment is an integral part of learning, as it determines whether or not the goals of education are being met. Assessment affects decisions about grades, placement, advancement, instructional needs, and curriculum. Students with learning challenges have typically either failed to meet the academic demands of their regular educational institutions given behavioral issues that impede their ability to learn, or have special learning needs that the regular classroom environment cannot meet. The goal is to identify the students’ unique needs as they struggle to complete their educational requirements successfully.

Samples of Student Work:
A folder of assignments, tests, homework and projects can provide a snapshot of a child’s abilities and challenges in performing grade-level work. A more nuanced portfolio, which may include a research project, a writing assignment with several drafts or samples of work throughout a thematic unit, affords the materials for an in-depth investigation of a child’s learning style, thought process and ability to engage in critical thinking tasks. These are used to further assess a child’s academic or cognitive functioning.

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