Students Overcoming Academic Restrictions
Mission
In order to produce authentic Christian leaders who are successful, autonomous learners, the SOAR program exists to support students with learning differences, in conjunction with the regular classroom environment, by taking them from where they are in their Christian and educational experiences and moving them in the direction of reaching their God-given potential.
“Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us.” Ephesians 3:20
Programs
SOAR offers several areas of service:
Advanced Learning Program (ALP) 1st-5th grade
Mainstream Support Services Program (MSSP) K-12th grade
NILD Educational Therapy (National Institute for Learning Development) K-12th grade
Search and Teach K-1st grade
Language Therapy K-12th grade
Content Mastery 1st-5th grade
Learning Lab 6th-12th grade
Diagnostic Educational Testing/Assessment K-12th grade
Speech and Language Therapy K-12th grade
Advanced Learning Program (ALP)
ALP is a program designed to identify and challenge students who are capable of scholastic performance in the 95th percentile as measured by standardized testing and innate ability. These students typically represent high performance in the following:
General intellectual ability
Specific subject matter aptitude
Creative/critical thinking skills
Mainstream Support Services Program (MSSP)
The purpose of MSSP is to assist the student with learning strategies and provide strategic intervention through a variety of differentiated instruction, in coordination with the regular classroom teacher, to ensure academic success.
NILD Educational Therapy
NILD Educational Therapy is an affective intervention program designed to individually meet the learning needs of students with cognitive and perceptual deficits. Weaknesses are addressed through two 80-minute sessions per week that include interactive language, strategic thinking and mediated learning. The goals of Educational Therapy are to create a work ethic of perseverance and diligence, develop fluency in the academic skills of reading, writing, spelling, and mathematics, train reasoning skills for problem-solving, improve verbal and written expression, strengthen auditory and visual processing skills and establish attention skills. NILD Educational Therapy is a three year program for most students.
Search & Teach
SEARCH & TEACH is an early intervention program developed to identify the educational needs of young learners (K-1st grade) before they experience frustration in the classroom. The purpose of the program is to prevent defeat and its emotional consequences through early identification.
Language Therapy
The commonly accepted definition of dyslexia is “difficulty learning to read and spell despite adequate intelligence and instruction.” The purpose of Language Therapy is to remediate problems with reading, spelling, and writing due to dyslexia. The multi-sensory program is based on the research of Orton and Gillingham.
Content Mastery
The purpose of Content Mastery is to assist lower school students in learning the concepts of a specific subject area. Content Mastery supports instruction from the regular classroom teacher. Students attend a minimum of 90 minutes per week to address the specific needs stated on their IEP.
Learning Lab
The purpose of Learning Lab is to help students master the concepts of a specific subject area. This program supports instruction from the regular classroom teacher in a small group setting. This is a scheduled class that students attend daily. The focus of lab is to reinforce mastery of concepts through remediation and re-teaching in a given subject. The primary goal of Learning Lab is to assist students in becoming more self-confident as independent learners.
Diagnostic Testing/Assessment
The purpose of Diagnostic Testing/Assessment is to identify specific learning differences through a comprehensive battery of tests. The assessment results provide important insights into the student’s current skills in math, reading, and writing. These results will assist the student’s academic team in developing and writing an individual education plan tailored for the success of the student.
Speech and Language Therapy
The goal of speech therapy is to provide services for students with speech and language disorders. This is accomplished through Pathway Speech and Language. The director is Gail Lindley. The staff at Pathway Speech and Language is committed to helping children improve communication skills and achieve academic success. The practice has a family centered environment.