Learning Disabilities School in LA County, California

Art of Learning Academy, Los Angeles County:
The Art of Learning Academy is a private co-educational school in Northridge in Los Angeles County, CA, serving students in grades 6-12 from Reseda, Canoga Park, Winnetka, North Hills and surrounding communities. The Art of Learning is not an ordinary private school. It grew out of a unique partnership between an educational therapist, an artist, dedicated teachers, students who want to learn and parents who dared to believe that learning differences could be surmounted in an atmosphere of care and individualized attention to their children. The Art of Learning Academy accepts students who do not do well in traditional school environments, large environments and large classroom, including students with Dyslexia and Dyscalculia. We are non-sectarian and accept students of all races and religions.

English Literature:
The students read entire books at the rate of approximately one book every two weeks. There are comprehension questions for every page of the book, and the students meet in seminar daily to discuss their book, using the questions as a guide.

Composition:
Students write a minimum of three five-paragraph essays per week on a variety of topics because the only way to learn to write is to write.
All student essays are corrected and returned to the students who make final copies. In this way, the students master writing.

Spelling and Vocabulary:
Students study spelling and vocabulary daily and have several tests per week.

Grammar:
Punctuation is also taught and tested several times a week.

Film:
Students occasionally see quality films as a stimulus for discussion and writing.

Penmanship:
We insist that all students achieve legible printing and/or handwriting, and we practice this daily until it is achieved.

Typing:
In some cases, particularly children with severe visual motor integration problems, we change the student’s mode of writing to typing. We do teach typing to all of our students.

Math:
All students are assisted until they can demonstrate automaticity in math. Automaticity in math refers to the ability to add, subtract, multiply and divide the basic math facts automatically. Once automaticity is achieved, we cover the basic skills of sixth and seventh grade math, as well as pre-algebra.

Social Studies and Science:
We cover standard social studies and science for grades six, seven, and eight in the state of California.

Art:
Our art program is taught by our Mr. Ruben, a former Walt Disney Imagineer. The program is superlative. It includes drawing, painting, sculpting, jewelry making, woodcarving, and a choice of over 50 different crafts projects per year. The art studio is a fully equipped shop of over 1200 square feet.

PE:
Our PE program is daily and includes swimming, basketball, games, and Tai Chi therapy for those students trying to learn to slow down. We purchase a membership to LA Fitness for each child and visit there daily.

Music:
Unfortunately, we cannot offer music as part of our program because of the noise factor and the school being in a home. We love music and urge our clients to choose an instrument for their child and engage a private music teacher outside of our school.