Registration for Summer & Fall 2021 is now open!
What is Academic Coaching?
Academic Coaching provides students from elementary school to university the opportunity to learn the tools and strategies they need in order to succeed, essentially helping them learn how to learn.
Academic Coaching helps students by focusing on strengthening their executive functioning skills, therefore enabling them to better self-manage and become productive, independent learners.
How does the Coaching Process Work?
Step 1: Relationship-building
The Academic Coach works to build a strong and secure relationship with students by working to earn their trust and buy-in to the process, and by helping to get them and their parents into a structured plan that puts everyone on the same page.
Step 2: Learning Skills & Strategies
Students and families learn tools and strategies to help them with organization, time management, executive function development, study skills, accountability, active reading comprehension, and structured writing skills (see full list of areas targeted below).
Step 3: Implementing (or doing)
Students work with their Academic Coach to implement the strategies they've learned in a structured and accountable way. With support, practice, follow-up and accountability, students will eventually be able to master the implementation of these skills and become independent learners. This can take place over several months or years.
How do coaching sessions work?
Dates: Sept 1 to June 15 & July 1 to Aug 15 | Duration: 1-2 times per week | Cost: $80.00 per session
Students meet with their Academic Coach for up to 45 mins on a weekly basis to work on areas identified in their initial Blueprint session.
Organization &
Time Management
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Material management
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Planning & prioritizing
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Using a visual planner to manage and track time
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Breaking assignments into small, manageable parts
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Using an agenda properly
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Setting & attaining short and long-term goals
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Setting up accountability systems
Active Reading for Comprehension
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Reading actively
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Reading for comprehension
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Previewing
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Finding the main idea
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Reading between the lines
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Establishing connections
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Identifying the themes & literary devices
Executive Function Development
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Specific instruction about executive functions and their impact
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Situational awareness (reading a room and understanding your role in a given situation)
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Flexible thinking & generalization
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Time awareness & identifying time robbers
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Doing and following through
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How to plan for anything!
Written Expression Development
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Breaking down written work
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Developing a plan for written assignments
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Brainstorming & idea generation
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Developing a structured outline
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Developing strong thesis statements
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Paragraph and essay writing
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Editing your work
Study Strategies & Test Preparation
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How studying works
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How to prepare for a test
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Effective note-taking strategies
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Previewing and pre-teaching upcoming academic material
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How to study effectively
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How to effectively answer various types of test questions
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Planning & estimating time during the test itself
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Evaluating test performance
Self-Management & Independence
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Development and management of healthy routines (for homework, morning, night time, etc.)
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Development of self-confidence and independent skills
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Support to manage family dynamics and reduce arguing around academic and EF related tasks
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Setting up communication with school & support IEP development