- Is there any funding for the Diener School from MCPS or DCPS?
- How is the Diener School approach different than other programs?
- What curriculum will be used?
- What reading programs will you be using?
- How many kids will be in each class?
- What instructional/therapeutic professionals are on staff?
- What will my childs daily schedule be like and how will you incorporate therapeutic services?
No, there will be no funding from either district our first year. We do have information about nonprofit organizations that give partial scholarships to families for school programs.
Our program is unique in many ways. We provide a holistic approach where all experts from the various disciplines collaborate to provide the best educational experience for each individual child.
Our holistic approach includes families as well. We partner with families to communicate goals, expectations, strengths and concerns. We offer a sibling program for sibs of our students. This program occurs twice a year and give our sibs the opportunity to enjoy a fun experience and allow them to express their feelings in a safe, supportive group. We also offer two "Parents Night Out" during the year while we take your kids out bowling and for pizza!
We provide daily social skills lessons and the opportunity weekly to apply those skills outside of our classroom walls in an after school program.
All children are on a token system. Our daily positive reinforcement encourages appropriate behavior as well as be an incentive for students to work hard and accomplish goals.
We have a behaviorist and neuro-developmental professional on staff. Not only do we look at kids academic skills, but their cognitive functioning as well. Our kids have visual schedules. These schedules reduce anxiety levels and help students with their organizational skills.
We use the Maryland Voluntary State Curriculum. This curriculum can be downloaded at www.marylandpublicschool.org.
We seamlessly integrate our therapeutic strategies within this curriculum.
Our staff has knowledge about several reading programs including Read Naturally, Phonographix, Orton Gillingham, and Great Leaps. Reading instruction is individualized and therefore a variety of programs will be used.
We have up to 8 kids in each class.
- 1 Classroom Teacher per classroom
- 1 Trained Classroom Assistant per classroom
- 1 Speech Therapist
- 1 Occupational Therapist
- 1 Learning Skills Specialist
- 1 Fitness For Health Fitness Instructor
- 1 Yoga Instructor
- 1 Dance Teacher
- 1 Developmental Music Therapist
- 1 Developmental Art Teacher
- 1 Behavior Psychologist
- 1 Drama Teacher
- 1 Science Teacher
We have established a tentative daily schedule. You can download the schedule in PDF format here.