Guidelines
Admission Guidelines
Intellectual Characteristics
Marburn Academy seeks to enroll the classic dyslexic, ADHD, or learning disabled student who tests within the average to superior range of intelligence. Marburn Academy may consider enrolling a student with slightly lower test scores if other evidence clearly indicates that the student has the cognitive capacity to make steady, long-term progress in Marburn Academy’s academic skills curriculum.
The school will decline to accept or retain students who, in the school’s judgment, have learning needs which will not be met by its methodology, or who demonstrate cognitive limitations which make steady academic progress within Marburn Academy’s program unlikely.
Marburn Academy’s programs are not designed to be appropriate for children with learning obstacles such as autism, PDD, or developmental delays.
Behavioral Characteristics
The growing emphasis on early identification and intervention means that many students now enroll at Marburn Academy without having experienced the loss of self-esteem or the resulting behavior issues which often accompany school failure. Unfortunately, many other children are still not identified early enough to avoid these difficulties. By the time they reach Marburn Academy they can be somewhat fragile emotionally and easily frustrated. Consequently Marburn does accept students whose school experience has included mild behavioral issues which are the direct result of the frustration caused by failure to progress academically or by the social failure that often accompanies academic distress. We do not enroll students with persistent or severe behavior problems stemming from primary neurological, psychological, or emotional problems.
Peer Relationships
For academic remediation to occur, it is vital for students to build and maintain self-esteem through rewarding relationships within age appropriate peer groups. Occasionally, new applicants or current students interested in re-enrolling will have academic needs that can be met within one of Marburn’s instructional groups, but not within a group that provides a developmentally appropriate peer group. Marburn Academy believes that the importance of meeting this need is so great that it will accept or re-enroll only those students for whom it can provide a developmentally and age appropriate peer group.
Student Motivation
Remediation of skill and process deficits caused by learning differences requires of the student a high level of engagement and a commitment to hard work. Such an investment is virtually impossible to evoke through compulsion. Thus, the school will enroll only students who willingly make the transition to Marburn Academy. Candidates will not be enrolled or re-enrolled against their will, even if the school and the parents agree on the appropriateness of the school’s program for the student. In such cases, conditional acceptance may be granted, but enrollment will be withheld until the student can freely indicate that he or she is making the move willingly.
Conditional Enrollment
Occasionally, a student may be admitted under special circumstances in which a conditional contract will be offered. Such a contract will outline behavioral or performance expectations which the student must meet within a specified time frame (e.g., four to six weeks) to continue with the program. If the conditions are met, the contract can be extended.
"We value the atmosphere, the professional competence, and the individualized remediation plans. Combined, our child has come around 180 degress in self-esteem, confidence, motivation, and ever-increasing competence."
~Comment from Marburn Academy Parent Survey, 2004
For additional information, please e-mail us.