A unique new school is opening Aug. 27 on Mercer Island. The Academy for Precision Learning (APL) is a private, inclusion-based school serving students of all needs from kindergarten through fifth grade. The school will employ a method of teaching called precision learning, wherein each student is monitored and instructed using a highly individualized curriculum.
For Magnolia mom Erin Brewer, the school has been a labor of love, and a victory for families like hers who are raising young children with autism.
"It's so much work to combat autism every day," Brewer said. "To have something positive to work toward, and build a school I really think will succeed, has been great."
The idea of opening a private school with a complete inclusion environment has been in the works for some time. Academic director Alison Moors has worked as a therapist and consultant for children with autism for a decade, always with the end goal of opening an independent school. With the help of the Brewers and other local families, the project received enough funding to become a reality.
The goal of APL is to invite children with special needs, gifted students and everyone in between to explore an alternative to a traditional school system. Together the children can share a safe, cooperative educational environment, learning from books as well as social interactions. And, thanks to small class sizes - typically 15 students - and a 1:4 student-teacher ratio, each student is guaranteed a large amount of one-on-one instruction with a teacher.
"The curriculum is adaptive to each individual student, whether they are autistic or gifted, instead of the student having to fit into the mold," explains Brewer.
"I believe any individual student will have the benefit of that personal style of learning."
As a parent, Brewer has seen the positive effect of her daughter's interaction in an inclusive program. The Experimental Education Unit (EEU), offered through the University of Washington, is a comprehensive early childhood center that works with children, including those with special needs. Brewer and many other parents of autistic children saw the EEU as a positive and effective way to provide the best education, and include the all-important social lessons as well.
"I think certainly for special-needs children like my own, they'll get the best education they can," she explains. "It's so important to have students of all levels of ability learning from each other and structuring a sense of community. There's so many skills needed to teach special needs, and those kids learn from social interaction. We saw it work so well at the EEU, and we want to model that at this school."
More information on the APL can be found at www.aplschool.org
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