For Students ages 12-21

We welcome you to Learn to Succeed with Aurora Strategies
 

The Aurora School is Fully Accredited by the Georgia Accrediting Commission and by the Georgia Special Needs Scholarship Program (SB10).

Unparalleled Success!
The Aurora Strategies Full Day Program was an overwhelming success in its pilot year – 2005-2006. The student’s, ages 15-21 made between 2-6 years of gains in the subject areas of reading and math and in cognitive and language abilities – as stringently measured by nationally standardized, norm-referenced assessment batteries. It was a demanding program and our students worked hard. Their hard work and the dedication of our teachers and therapists combined with the solid, research-based, intensive programs and curriculum made the first year an unforgettable and extremely rewarding one. We are excited to continue and expand into a fully functioning school thus opening this rare opportunity to even more families. 

The Aurora School begins in August   (please see the school calendar) and runs through the school year. We also accept students on a rolling admission policy and, if a student makes rapid progress and completes the program before the end of the school year, graduation takes place when the student finishes – thereby allowing them to return to their local academic setting ready to fully engage in learning.

It’s not Rocket Science, but it is Neuroscience
Students enrolled in this program are fully evaluated to allow us to understand their needs and strategically form their structured program. Experts in the field of Neuroscience have identified that a minimum of 24 hours of intensive, interactive intervention is required for a struggling learner to make and maintain progress and that’s exactly what we’ve used as the foundation for the Aurora Strategies Full Day Program. Our students receive 30 hours a week of intense therapeutic instruction using a variety of programs, including, The Listening Program, Interactive Metronome, Fast ForWord Family of Programs, Sound Reading Solutions, Math Makes Sense, the Lindamood Bell Family of Programs and others. All intensive intervention is research-based and proven effective. We do what works and we see lasting results. 

Reading and Math instruction occur daily from the beginning as they are inherent ingredients in our scientific programs. Once the student builds a stronger foundation in Reading, Math, and Language Arts, the teachers add Social Studies, History, and Science to the students’ curriculum at their appropriate grade level. This customization allows a student to learn at their ability level. For example a student may receive instruction at a 5th grade level for math and an 8th grade level for reading/language arts. During the therapeutic learning process, learning at different age levels is not uncommon. Of course our goal is to bring all academic areas up to the same grade level, but we don’t specific subject strengths during that process.

Go Forth with Confidence
At the conclusion of the program, students are again assessed with a nationally standardized, norm reference battery. By using such strict criteria for progress, we not only measure a students’ acquisition of the curriculum, but we also measure their performance against same age peers throughout the United States. Holding the Aurora Strategies Full Day Program accountable at such a high level is exactly what we and our families have come to expect. Our students should be able to travel anywhere with the assurance that the skills they’ve gained at Aurora Strategies are not due to modifications or watered-down instruction. Their gains are the result of applying brain-based learning techniques – simply doing what research tells us works to help kids learn.

Who are Aurora students?

These are students who have been unable to negotiate the academic, social, and emotional pressures of the typical school environment. Aurora students may have struggled with reading, math, organizational, and social demands for several years. Some have been diagnosed as learning disabled, on the Autism Spectrum, or Attention Deficit Disordered, and many have experienced educational frustration.  At Aurora, the explicit purpose is academic; the implicit purpose is therapeutic and remedial as necessary to enable our students to achieve academic goals. Small but challenging classes are offered in a warm caring milieu that includes individual therapeutic assistance and any required remedial help. Small group instruction (3-4 students), large group classes (8-12 students), and individual instruction are all available to our students.

The Aurora Day School - Sample Schedule*

Sample Schedule* 9:00 Brain-building Warm-ups 9:15 Therapeutic Reading  10:00 Music Therapy 10:30 Therapeutic Math 11:30 Language Arts 12:15 Lunch/Sensory Recess  1:00 Biofeedback 1:15 Social Studies 2:00 Science 2:30 Yoga   *This is a sample schedule only.  Each student receives his or her own schedule, depending on his or her individual needs.  Students with increased sensory needs have additional sensory breaks built into their individual schedule.