Academic Support

For more than 30 years, the Academic Achievement Center’s student-centered atmosphere and highly skilled and caring learning specialists have enhanced academic success and personal growth for students in all four divisions. Heathwood Hall believes that all children bring different talents alongside different challenges and have the potential for academic excellence in a supportive and empowering learning environment.

Through a network of multidisciplinary services focused on empowering students as life-long learners, the AAC promotes positive self-esteem, self-awareness and management, independence, and self-advocacy.

Please come explore all that the AAC offers to students and families. If you have any questions about programs and services, contact Suzy Madden, Director of the AAC, at 803-231-7762 or smadden@heathwood.org.

Additional Resources

Services

Tutoring

Individualized tutoring in specific content areas is available to Heathwood students who require additional academic support to master subjects and study skills. Individual sessions in the AAC are typically 45–60 minutes in length and take place between the hours of 7:30 AM and 4:00 PM Monday – Friday. Students may schedule tutoring during free periods, study halls, or before and after school.

Speech Therapy

Our national board certified speech and language pathologists play an important role in the prevention of literacy problems and provide opportunities for success in spoken and written language. Areas assessed and treated include articulation, fluency, voice, auditory processing, written language, and receptive-expressive delays. Speech and language therapy is offered daily for 30 minute sessions during the regular school day.

Occupational Therapy

Occupational Therapy is available to children who demonstrate delays with gross motor skills, fine motor skills, visual-motor skills, as well as decreased coordination skills, poor handwriting, and sensory processing difficulties. Students are evaluated by our board certified occupational therapist. Families and teachers are then provided with recommendations and goals. Individual treatment sessions occur during the regular school day, focusing on improving the child’s development.

Academic Coaching

Sometimes students struggle with organization, study skills, and time management. Our academic coaches help students identify goals, set priorities and stay motivated and on track to achieve these goals. Coaches also work with students to identify learning styles, study habits, and difficulties with organization. Students are engaged in the following activities: monitoring weekly grades, reviewing past tests or quizzes to determine common mistakes or difficult areas, and looking ahead at weekly calendars and schedules to help plan for papers, homework time, and tests. Furthermore, academic coaches help students strengthen such skills as reading comprehension, written communication, and note taking. Individual sessions are typically 45– 60 minutes in length in the AAC between the hours of 7:30 AM and 4:00 PM Monday – Friday. Students may schedule tutoring during free periods, study halls, and before and after school.

Language Development

Our language development program is for young students (grades 1–4) who present with language-based learning differences. Learning interventionists provide intensive daily support to individual and small groups, using special reading instruction to include Wilson Reading System and Read Naturally. Intervention sessions are designed to meet the needs of students based on their educational testing and learning profiles. Instruction in decoding, fluency, comprehension, and/or written expression is offered, along with multisensory instruction. The program centers on the remediation of language skill deficits in order to help the student progress in the classroom.