Liberty Middle School

The Learning Clinic

The Center runs a Learning Clinic for fifth and sixth graders who are struggling with literacy.  Students receive intensive remediation and are tutored one-on-one or in small group by Bank Street College graduate students specializing in reading who are supervised by College faculty.

Early difficulties in children's literacy development are major predictors of student failure and delinquency.  The Center's Learning Clinic serves 30 struggling fifth and sixth graders, teaching them the skills and strategies that will help them develop solid reading and writing skills.  Skilled intervention at this point reduces the chances of students falling further behind each year, losing interest and motivation, and becoming truants or completely dropping out of school-- much like some of our older students. Our goal is to provide the students a learning environment where they can experience success as learners and increase their ability and motivation to do well in school. We aim to bring all students to grade level by the end of the two years.

Students are referred to the Clinic by their families or schools based on poor performance on the citywide fourth grade English Language Arts exam.  The majority are from P.S. 165, a public elementary school not far from Bank Street's campus.  Some students are English Language Learners and several have diagnosed learning disabilities. Throughout the year, workshops are offered to the guardians of Learning Clinic children to help them better understand how different neurodevelopmental strengths and weaknesses manifest.  An important part of our work with families is to teach them to advocate on behalf of their children.   Staff also meets with classroom teachers on a regular basis in order to share information they have gathered on student's learning issues and to discuss strategies that have proven successful.

Seventh and Eighth Grade Program

Beginning in the seventh grade, the Clinic students will join the regular LPP program and other seventh graders for the rest of their school careers. The seventh and eighth grade program is multifaceted. Students can participate in after school enrichment (reading, math, and writing), recreational classes, art workshops, sports clinics, and gender-based counseling groups. They also attend "Saturday Academy/Weekend College", which consists of small-group writing workshops that emphasize both written skills and creative expression.  Programs like these play a critical role in helping young people see themselves as capable learners who can pursue academics through high school and beyond.

In the summer after seventh grade, students begin an eighteen-month Adventure Based Counseling program which uses expeditionary learning and community service experiences to strengthen peer group supports, develop leadership skills, and help students develop a better understanding of their own locus of control. During the first summer, students explore New York City. They have built boats and rowed on the Harlem River, learned about environmental science, and found their way around an orienteering course with maps and a compass. During the next school year, they participate in three wilderness retreats (one with parents) and develop team building skills through outdoor leadership exercises, such as a high ropes challenge course. During the second summer (after their eighth grade year) ten students participate in a five-week Wilderness Adventure preparation program, which culminates in a seven-day backpacking excursion in the Catskills, where students are responsible for every element, from way finding to cooking to setting up and breaking down camp.