Sue Kroczynski, St. Amelia School Arrowsmith teacher, works with some of her students. (Courtesy of St. Amelia School)

TONAWANDA — St. Amelia School is one of only two schools in New York state and the only school in Western New York to offer the innovative, research-based Arrowsmith Program.

The Arrowsmith Program was founded by Barbara Arrowsmith Young and is based out of Toronto, Canada. It has been helping children and adults for over 35 years.

The Arrowsmith Program works on the premise that everyone learns differently and sometimes struggle with different concepts or activities. Based on neuroscience research, the program looks to retrain brain to improve brain capacity known as neuroplasticity. Through a series of specific thinking exercises, a student with learning difficulties can achieve success.

St. Amelia School has operated the Arrowsmith Program as a school within a school since the fall of 2013. The students typically spend four class periods of their day in the program. They take math, science or social studies and ELA/reading with their classmates. Along with their core subjects the students participate in the encore classes of art, music, physical education and dance/drama with their peers. "The students are more comfortable and confident in their regular classrooms. They are not overwhelmed by the class materials" said Principal James Mulé.

Most programs for students with learning difficulties focus on teaching compensation skills and strategies, or make changes to the content to be learned. The goal of the Arrowsmith Program is to identify the root cause and retrains the brain to eliminate the learning difficulty.

The average length of time in the program is two to five years. The goal is for students to become effective, confident and self-directed learners for life. Enabling them to achieve their goals of academic and career success.

To learn more about this program and the benefits, go to www.arrowsmithschool.org or give us a call716-836-2230 for more information.