Morningside Academy

Abstract

Morningside Academy is a private school in Seattle, Washington, offering an academic program for students in grades K-10. Many of the students have performed below their potential. Some have been diagnosed as having Learning Disabilities and others are said to have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Some are behind their peer group for no diagnosed reason. Initial remediation of academic skills is accomplished through the use of a combination of Direct Instruction for mastery of basic academic skills and Precision Teaching to build rate. Once students have learned required basic skills, instruction shifts from Direct Instruction to concentrate on teaching thinking skills in reading comprehension, math, social studies and science. This is accomplished through the use of Talk-Aloud-Problem-Solving (TAPS) and peer tutors. Staff received pre-service and ongoing in-service training. Teaching is adjusted as needed based on student performance. Ten years of standardized test data support gains in reading, language arts, and math averaging over two years gain per academic year.