Why The Diener School is Unique

After surveying schools in the Washington DC region that serve students with language, learning, and social deficencies, Jillian Copeland, the Founder of The Diener School, determined that there were no programs available that offered a solid academic experience while providing students with meaningful and practical social and developmental growth. With a strong educational background, and a particular expertise in the special needs arena, Jillian researched the best practices of existing programs throughout the country.

Combining those findings and collaboration with renowned experts in a variety of educational and developmental fields, Jillian created the “Diener Pyramid of Learning for the Whole Child” and the Diener School was born. [more]

To Accomplish our mission our Staff will >>>
To Accomplish our mission our students will be provided with >>>

The Diener School Buddy Program

Every Wednesday our students visit the Green Acres School for a 90 minute period. Our Diener students are matched up with a 7th or 8th grade buddy. They participate in a wide variety of experiences from playing board games, sports activities, cooking and art projects. This precious time allows our students to practice their social thinking and pragmatic skills.

Field Trips

The Diener School believes in learning in and outside of the classroom. We have bi-weekly field trips that are curriculum correlated. We have visited Butler’s Orchard, Bull Run, the fire station, enjoyed a hike on the C and O canal.

Movement

The Diener School believes strongly in the connection between movement and learning. Our kids are moving throughout the day experiencing a variety of multi-sensory opportunities. Our movement program consists of the following:

Daily Brain Gym
Gross motor 2x a week with Ms. Kathy, our Occupational Therapist
Fitness for Health 3x a week
Yoga 1x a week
Dance class (Hip-Hop) 1x a week

Staff Like No Other!

On staff at the Diener School are the following professionals:

2 Classroom Teachers
2 Trained Classroom Assistants
1 Part time Speech Therapist
1 Part Time Occupational Therapist
1 Part Time Academic Tutor
1 Part Time Fitness For Health Fitness Instructor
1 Part Time Yoga Instructor
1 Developmental Music Therapist
1 Developmental Art Teacher
1 Part Time Behaviorist

The Diener School Board of Trustees

Jillian Copeland, Director of The Diener School
Michelle Herman, Co-Founder, Dynamic Development Pediatric Services, President of Board
Lois McCabe, Head of Admissions, The Diener School, Vice President of Board
Scott Copeland, RST Development, Treasurer of Board
Lisa Friedlander, Attorney at Law, Secretary of Board

Parent Trainings

The Diener School offers a Winter Parent Training Series for our parents and community. We choose various therapists and professionals (many of whom work with our students at The Diener School) to come educate and empower our parents with knowledge, information and resources!
Our 2007-2008 Winter Parent Training Schedule is as follows:

November 14th 11:30-1:30: Behavioral Strategies and Visual Schedules in the Home by Dr. Robin Allen
January 9th, 9:30-11:00: Sensory and Auditory Processing Dysfunction, What is it and Strategies to use at home, Michelle Herman and Lisa Leyden, Dyanmic Development Pediatric Services
February 9th: The Virtues Project with Dara Feldman, Building Character Values in our Children
March 6th: Nutritional Tips for Kids with ADHD, Dana Laake, Nutritionist