Frequently
Asked
"...children
needed a place where therapy and teaching, learning and success converged."
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| "The
goal is to enable these children to become life-long, flexible
learners, with the ability to spontaneously initiate interaction
and respond reciprocally, as well as being capable of genuine
self-expression and warm, caring relationships." |
A: In January of 2000, Dr. Barbara Kalmanson brought together four families who had talked to her individually about the need for a new school for children with developmentally-based learning challenges. In less than a year this determined group formed a non-profit organization, acquired a spacious property in Marin City, hired faculty and opened the doors of a day school named Oak Hill. The families’ goal was not only to serve their own children, but also to help other families whose children needed a place where therapy and teaching, learning and success converged.
Q: What is the school’s mission?
A:Oak Hill’s Mission Statement:
Oak Hill School models innovative educational practices, harnessing the power of relationships to inspire social, emotional and intellectual growth in children with autism and other developmental differences.
Q: How many children go to Oak Hill?
A: Oak Hill began with four children in October 2000. As of 2008 there are twenty- one students. The school plans to grow over the next several years and currently is investigating site expansion.
Q: What ages are the children?
A: The children range in age from 6 to 19 in a K-12th grade day program.
Q: What kinds of children go to Oak Hill?
A: The children who come to Oak Hill have developmental difficulties affecting multiple learning systems, such as the motor system, the visual system or the auditory-verbal system. Many are on the autism spectrum. These children have difficulties relating, communicating and processing sensory input which makes for a struggle in the traditional school setting. Two–thirds of the students are placed by local public school districts, one-third are placed privately.
Q: What causes the difficulty in traditional schools?
A: These children have difficulty in traditional schools for many reasons.
Imagine a child who may be extra sensitive to sounds, unable to tolerate the wide variety of noises in a typical school environment, the bell ringing for class, the chatter of other children in the hallway. These sounds may be painful to him creating a frightening situation where he is not able to learn. When the faculty is trained to recognize and address the child’s special sensory issues, they can create a comfortable environment that is conducive to learning.
Picture a girl watching her classmates playing tag. Joining in a game or making friendships are a mystery to her, as are so many social activities, even ones involving her own family. This child can benefit from a school that focuses on connecting children to others, a place where the educational environment is centered on social skills. She can then develop her ability to initiate expression and to expand her capacity for warm and caring relationships.
Envision a child who has problems responding purely to verbal instruction. Because his brain is wired different from most children, he can’t keep pace in a typical classroom and fails. But, if materials and information are presented in a way that suits his learning style, he has an opportunity to thrive and grow.
Q: Why do we need schools like this?
A:Schools like Oak Hill are needed because the number of children diagnosed with autism is growing, and it is reaching epidemic proportions.
- One in every 150 children is diagnosed on the autism spectrum. (Centers for Disease Control)
- In the first nine months of 2007, over 2900 new cases of autism were diagnosed in California – more than the prior sixteen years combined. (CA Dept. of Developmental Services)
- The American Association of Pediatrics recommends that every child be screened for autism by age two.
The public schools are overwhelmed with this growing problem. They need schools, like Oak Hill, where they can refer students whose needs the public schools are not equipped to serve.
Q: What makes Oak Hill unique?
A: A combination of several factors makes Oak Hill a unique model:
- Individualized programs tailored to each child’s strengths and directed to each child’s style of learning.
- A curriculum built around project-based activities that are experiential, fun and meaningful for each child.
- Skilled and professional teachers and specialists.
- Intense and frequent collaboration among therapists and educators.
- A focus on family and engagement by parents.
- Therapy integrated in the classroom.
- Activities of daily living
Q: What does it mean to say that your approach is “relationship-based”?
A: The term expresses a basic belief that personal connections drive learning. Teachers and therapists at Oak Hill create a strong emotional bond with each child, a bond built upon the child’s interests and passions. Specialists use their close relationships with the children just as parents do to nurture their perceptions and motivation.
A: The school is certified by the California Department of Education as a ‘nonpublic school” to serve children with special needs. Nonpublic schools are private schools that are extensions of the public school’s special education programs, serving children when the public schools need help providing an appropriate education. To serve different kinds of children, we need different kinds of schools.
All of our teachers are certified with special education credentials. The Clinical Director, Dr. Cheryl-lynn Rogers, is a clinical psychologist with extensive experience working with children and adults with developmental challenges. The Executive Director, Dr. Glenn Motola, joined Oak Hill in January 2008. He has directed social service programs that serve 40,000 clients annually and managed a staff of over 800 people.
Q: What kind of curriculum does the school have?
A: As a nonpublic school regulated by the California Department of Education, the school follows the state’s curricular standards. Oak Hill School delivers the curriculum by engaging the children interpersonally and drawing them into two-way communication and interactive problem-solving. Using these methods, teachers present math, science, social studies and language arts individually and in small-groups.
Oak Hill emphasizes Experiential Learning:
Children learn academic and life skills through social activities:
- Gardening
- Shopping to buy ingredients and materials
- Field trips
- Assemblies and celebrations of success
- Creating arts and crafts
Project-based learning teaches:
- Language
- Problem solving
- Life skills
- Planning
- Math and Science
- Responsibility
- Social Skills
Q: What kinds of successes has Oak Hill had?
A: Parent testimonials tell much about the success of Oak Hill:
Dennis A., Lake Placid, NY, father of former student, Max: "By the time our son was 11, his self-esteem at school was falling off the cliff. With multi-system challenges, he needed “developmental” education more than a mainstream curriculum. |
Mary P., Corte Madera, mother of Leah: “After Leah had been at Oak Hill for six months, I took her back to her specialist in Washington, DC. He could not believe the change in her: ‘We’ve been tapping with a tiny hammer out here by ourselves all these years,’ he said, ‘and Oak Hill took a sledgehammer and knocked down her walls.’” |
Anne A., Belvedere, mother of Alex: “Before our son began at Oak Hill we thought we were going to have to put him in an institution. He couldn’t learn in any ordinary special education class. He was so frustrated that he was disrupting our home life. After two years, he is a completely different child. This school has kept our family together.” |
Anne Marie M., San Francisco, mother of former student, Mike: “To an outsider, it may have seemed that my son was doing okay in a mainstream classroom. He was quiet and cooperative. The truth, however, was that life and most of the academics were passing him by. He has a difficult time processing the different sounds in spoken language and was not able to keep up with most of what was going on in your typical, fast-paced verbal environment. |
Q: How do you explain this success?
A: There are several keys to Oak Hill School’s success. First, the belief that interpersonal connection fuels learning underlies all that we do. Second, the program integrates the therapeutic and educational program within the classroom. Third, Oak Hill School has extraordinarily gifted teachers and therapists whose continuous collaboration enables them to treat every aspect of the child’s education. A fourth key to the school’s success is the belief that creative arts play a central role in getting through to the children at Oak Hill. Music, drama and visual arts are often the best way to reach these children, some of whose verbal capacity is quite limited.
A final element of success is the after-school enrichment program, which creates the ideal setting for full-inclusion or mainstreaming. Oak Hill has partnered with local schools in activities that integrate typically developing children in the program to provide friendship and peer modeling. The program is activity based, involving the children in field trips such as hikes, kayaking excursions, rock climbing and bowling. Unlike most other after-school programs, Oak Hill’s program is designed for children with special needs to succeed, rather than asking them to fit into the fast-paced and highly verbal activities of their typically developing peers.
Q: What is the future direction of the school?
A:Oak Hill’s plans for the future are best expressed in its Vision Statement:
Oak Hill envisions its future as a leading center of education, applied research, professional training, and support for families and children affected by autism and other developmental differences.
The vision over the next several years is to:
- Expand the campus to accommodate more children.
- Serve as a training center and learning lab for teachers, specialists and aides from schools and treatment centers in the community, California and the US.
- Develop innovative tools to monitor progress and develop tailored evidence based programming for each child.
- Create a best practices model that is accessible to other schools and service providers.
- Look for opportunities to partner nationally and internationally
Q: How can I support Oak Hill?
A: There are several ways you can support Oak Hill:
- Contributions: One third of the operating expenses at Oak Hill are funded by outside contributions. Contributions are tax deductible. Oak Hill school is a 501 9c) (3) nonprofit organization. For additional information, contact the Oak Hill development office at (415) 331-7607.
- Fundraising Events: Support our ongoing fundraising events. Check our Events page on the web or call the Development office.
- Volunteer: Join our team of volunteers at fundraising events or during our fundraising campaigns. Students can volunteer in our After School Program as peer models.
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