Jordan Lake School of the Arts offers an advanced liberal arts program with a focus on nature sciences. The arts allow an in depth exploration of our subjects as well personal expression. The learning environment at JLSA is inclusive, mixed age classes with a low 5:1 student to teacher ratio.
How does this program benefit a unique child?
We offer a top quality liberal arts program with a focus on nature science. All students benefit from small class size, an art based education, and hands on activities in a beautiful setting. Inclusive programs create an opportunity for all students to develop an appreciation of diversity, compassion, and acceptance that a typically working body is not a guarantee in life and can change at any time. With a strong core curriculum and safe learning environment children are given the chance to be both academically and emotionally gifted.
“Inclusion is about living full lives – about learning to live together. Inclusion makes the world our classroom for a full life. Inclusion treasures diversity and builds community. Inclusion is about our ‘abilities’ – our gifts and how to share them. Inclusion is NOT just a ‘disability’ issue” (Asante, Shafika).
How does this program benefit a child with Asperger’s, Autism Spectrum Disorder or sensory issues?
Children on the spectrum benefit from our natural setting, outdoor time, and anxiety free environment. All children have an individualized education and social skills goals, so noone feels that a perceived weakness is addressed, we are all learning to grow our abilities. We have a highly structured day, but take time for transitions, ease in and out of activities and utilize hands on activities that naturally incorporate fine and gross motor skills. We know that children on the spectrum see the world differently and art allows us to understand where they are, how the world looks and feels, and to connect as guides to explain the world in a way that makes sense to them. Children remain in cohorts over the years, so they have an opportunity to make long term connections and friendships.
Why do you call your approach “organic”?
We call our method an “organic” approach to inclusion because we provide what children need without separating or making children stand out because of their differences. For example our day includes hiking on sandy beaches, watering a garden or greenhouse plants with heavy water jugs, to create a sensory diet that children all benefit from, and that create a regulatory schedule for the body and mind. This is enormously important for autistic children. We include fine motor and gross motor skills in art based activities in which each child is given a role so they can work on their own goals, while being part of the group. The most important part of this is that children remain working together.
|