Eaton Arrowsmith School - Parent Testimonials

Testimonial from the parents of a grade 10 female student:

When I look back on early photos of our daughter, I now see a bewildered look on her face. I think the world must have been a confusing place for her to be, even when she was a preschooler.

She and her brother are the same age and I noticed early on that she had a difficult time remembering her alphabet. I stocked up on books like Freddy Fox Fries Fish on Fridays to help her with her letters. Two minutes after reading the story she couldn’t identify the letter “F”. She also was not able to tell time or identify a penny, nickel and dime. Simple math?...couldn’t do it. We were told she was just lazy or that she would grow out of it by her teachers. She could not follow simple instructions because she simply couldn’t remember them. The fact that her brother could do all of these things must have been difficult for her.

We knew something was definitely wrong and we didn’t want to wait possibly years for the public school psychologist to test her, so I had her privately tested at age 6.The results from this psychologist showed severe learning disabilities as well as a low IQ. We kept her back a year and sent her to a private school for children with learning disabilities [she almost didn’t get in because of the IQ score]. This school, with small class sizes, worked on the BC curriculum but compensated for learning difficulties and taught the Orton Gillingham method. The school was good for her self esteem in the early years…but she still couldn’t tell time, identify money or do simple math problems.  I had a troubling concern about what was going to happen to her once she finished grade 12. She’d still have a severe learning problem and a low IQ. I can’t even imagine what might have happened to her if she had remained in the public school.

I learned about Arrowsmith years ago, from family living in Toronto but the schools offering it in suburban Vancouver were too far away for a little girl. 

Four years after our daughter’s initial testing, I had her retested by Howard Eaton. The previous psychologist had averaged all her scores and that is how it was determined that her IQ was low. In fact her IQ was just fine but she did in fact have learning disabilities in several areas and some of them were quite severe. I’d spent four years thinking my lovely daughter wasn’t too bright.(lesson 1 –check out the psychologist carefully before beginning the process).She was delighted to be moved back up to her appropriate grade.

Three years after her psych test, I heard that Howard Eaton was opening Eaton Arrowsmith in Vancouver. We applied right away. The very extensive testing process gave all of us a clear insight to her specific learning difficulties for the first time, how she was going to tackle them and how we could support her. For the first time her felt empowered and motivated. She says sometimes the exercises she has to do are challenging and sometimes they are really boring, but at fourteen she is working diligently towards her goal to graduate from a “regular public school”. She keeps that goal in mind when the going gets tough.

I didn’t notice much for the first three or four months, and then she began to articulate her observations and feelings with wisdom and humour .She became more like a teenager should be…testing boundaries and questioning rules. (A bit tougher for her Dad and me …but more normal) She now reads voraciously and her comprehension and insight into what she has read amazes me. Her writing has flourished, and when I read some of her work I am astounded by her creativity and a maturity beyond her years. She loves Math now, even though it is an area she has the most trouble with. She particularly enjoys algebra and her times table is improving.

Years ago I would comfort her as she cried herself to sleep because she was so frustrated with learning and upset by comments that her classmates had made about her. Now she knows she will eventually get it and she actually enjoys meeting the challenge with hard work which she calls active engagement.

The caring atmosphere created by the administration and staff have assisted many students with their social skills. Problems are sorted out before they escalate, in a common sense way where learning takes place and discipline is appropriate. Students learn that they don’t have to friends with everyone, but they do have to be kind and civil to all. There is a zero tolerance for bullying and issues are sorted out in “all class” meetings.

My daughter’s future now looks bright. She’s going to be just fine in her senior years of high school and university  both socially and academically………..something I wouldn’t have believed possible three years ago.

Testimonial from the parents of a male grade 4 student:

When people ask my son how he is doing these days he replies "excellent!" This word describes how we feel about Eaton Arrowsmith School's program, teachers and staff.  Within the first weeks of attending we noticed that he loved his new school.  My son began setting personal goals for all aspects of his life...school, music, sports and personal.  After just one year in the program we have noticed improvement in his literacy.  His bike camp instructor commented that he volunteered to read stories to the other children at camp. On many occasions he corrects his sister's addition homework.  I love the look on his face this summer as I explain math facts and he replies "now I get it!" And he really does! 

Testimonial from the parents of a female High School aged student:

As parents of three teenagers who have attended a total of two mainstream and four special schools, we consider ourselves veterans in that universal effort all parents engage in --- supporting our kids to become happy, productive adults. Our youngest child has now spent two years at Eaton Arrowsmith School. Having entered the program at the vulnerable age of thirteen, with multiple learning issues and significant baggage as a result of having tried hard to plug her personal learning style into an intransigent system, our daughter is truly enjoying school for the first time in her life. She has not only strengthened her learning capacities through the cognitive exercises, and realized that she enjoys mathematics, but the support that the remarkable staff at Eaton Arrowsmith gives the 'whole student' has also strengthened our daughter's self esteem and her social capacity, as well as broadening her philosophy of life. She has learned that she CAN learn.

Testimonial from the parents of a male grade 3 student:

Our son is happy at school.  For many 10 year old children this is an obvious statement.  For us, it is profoundly important and something we thought might not ever happen. 

He spent 3 years at a local school, struggling greatly to learn in a traditional teaching environment and coming to the belief that he was not like the other children.  Grade 2 was particularly difficult as he watched his friends forge ahead, while he could not make sense of anything going on around him.  Needless to say, his self-esteem took a terrible tumble and he was such an unhappy boy. In Grade 3 we enrolled him in a school for children with learning disabilities.  Here, he began to learn some coping and compensation strategies and improved in reading, writing and arithmetic. However, we realized that the school was not addressing all his learning needs and there were still large gaps between what was being provided to him and what he needed.  Also, he still was not happy at school and his self esteem didn’t really improve over the year.

During our son’s Grade 3 year, we heard about the Arrowsmith program and Eaton Arrowsmith School.  We sensed from our first encounters with the school administration and staff that this might be the school and the program for our son.  We had a feeling of greater possibilities for him, particularly that a wider spectrum of his learning needs would be addressed and that he perhaps wouldn’t need to go through life having to always compensate for his particular learning style. We enrolled our son at Eaton Arrowsmith starting in fall 2006 and we must say that Nathan has blossomed in ways that perhaps, deep inside of us as parents, we had begun to despair of ever being possible.  We can see many results of the strengthening of his cognitive capacities after a first year with the Arrowsmith program.  Now, at home, our son picks up books and reads them on his own.  He reads newspapers.  He can write much more without becoming tired.  We can read his writing.  His stories have more sophisticated plot and character development.  He does math in his head.  His vocabulary is steadily growing.  Some of his behavior traits that medical professionals classify as symptoms of ADD or ADHD have become less obvious.  Also, perhaps most importantly, our son’s self esteem has improved so much. He loves his school.   He wakes up each morning eager to go to school, even to the extent of periodically emailing his teachers to send him the spelling list for the week, and wanting to go to the 3 week school camp offered in summer 2007.  Each day we drop him off, the principal and several teachers are at the door, greeting the children by name.  He has made some good friends.   All students at the school are honored and celebrated for the unique individuals that they are.
 
There is still a ways to go for our son, but we really feel he’s on a road that is right for him.  We intend to keep our son in the Arrowsmith program for the recommended number of years, and we know he wouldn’t want it any other way.

Testimonial from the parents of a male grade 8 student:

My son, has always struggled in school.  When he was young, he couldn’t sit still and would often be sent out into the hall because his teacher didn’t have the time or energy to deal with him.  The school decided that his “attention” problems were the source of his academic problems, and it was suggested that he be assessed for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).  At this point we have told that he should be on Ritalin (or some similar medication).  I had trouble with this diagnosis as it didn’t quite fit with what I knew of my son.  At that point we pulled him out of public school tried home schooling and having him attend a small independent school.  In both of these situations, he would often be frustrated and upset when doing his work – he wouldn’t understand the task or just couldn’t complete it.  This lack of ability to complete his school work mystified both his teachers and me.  My son is a very articulate person and able to express himself verbally with ease, however when it came to writing things down he struggled incredibly.  In addition, his reading skills were very poor.  He was told by some teachers that he was lazy, and just needed to focus more on his work.  I remember towards the end of each term, I would have to keep him home for a few days just to let him relax and to decrease his stress level. 

By Christmas 2004, it became evident to me that school was not working and I resolved to do something to help my son.  I decided that my first step was to talk to a professional – the professional I chose was Howard Eaton.  Prior to talking to Howard, I had been trying to figure this out by myself, but it was becoming apparent that I needed some help if I was to find the right learning environment for my son.  Howard told me of a new school he was starting in September 2005 based on a school that is running in Toronto.  I was very wary of the theory behind the success of this school but felt that I was pretty much out of options and, that it was not my life, it was my son’s, so I decided that he should help us make the decision to attend Eaton Arrowsmith.  I also knew that the type of work was very, very hard for kids and, if my son was going to get the most out of this school, he should be the one who decides whether he should attend or not.  He attended an information session with me and felt like it was something that he would like to try.  We could not afford the school, so we took out a loan to pay for the enrolment.   

Having our son attend Eaton Arrowsmith (EA) was one of the best decisions we have made for him. There are some things in a child’s life that you look back on and say “yes, that definitely got them on the right track” – and EA was one of those experiences for us.  So much of a child’s sense of self comes out of their experience at school – whether they were popular, criticized, supported or ridiculed.  EA gave my son everything he needed to be successful – academically they understood him and could support him in his areas of frustration and struggle, socially they supported him and encouraged him and his classmates to work together and support each other.  EA seems to attract the most amazing teachers – all of my son’s teachers were so caring and considerate of his needs that he couldn’t help but feel supported by them.  Indeed, when I ask him what he will miss the most about EA he says his teachers.

Our experience with EA has been nothing but wonderful.  Prior to going to EA, my son had never had a successful year at school.  My son attended EA for grades 7 and 8.  Both of these years were very successful for him.  He went into EA thinking he was stupid and a problem student.  He leaves knowing that he is smart and an all round great guy.  My son went into EA with some serious problems with his reading and writing skills.  This past year he was one of the best students in English!  What a wonderful surprise for all of us!  My son graduated from the program in June 2007 and I still get teary just thinking about that day. 

I will be forever grateful to the teachers and staff at EA for creating a place where my son could be understood and supported to be all he can be.  EA definitely helped my son with his academic skills, but beyond that the school gave him so much more that we had originally banked on.  Thank-you, thank-you – from the bottom of my heart.

EAS Parent, PhD.