Our Students
GLA’s belief is that each student’s intellectual, emotional and social development are interrelated. A student’s individual path to development is best nurtured in small classes with a focus on community, taught by encouraging adults who see the best in each student. Many students at Great Lakes have struggled socially, emotionally, or academically in traditional schools that considered them “at risk.” The “fixed” structure and expectations of these schools create stress and frustration for many students and allow opportunities for them to be targeted by peers.
GLA’s faculty believes the factors that created “at risk” labels in other schools are actually individual differences that can benefit the students. We hope that our students not only learn to cope with their differences, but also capitalize on them. At GLA, we are able to create an environment that helps students learn the things they must learn so they can advance in all significant areas: how to make friends, how to manage emotions, how to respect themselves and others, how to organize their time and maintain focus, the list goes on and on. By learning these skills alongside academic skills, our students gain confidence with every new success. Our students take both the life skills and academic skills with them as they move on to the collegiate world, careers, or even when they return to the traditional school environment.
By providing a program of learning that is designed to address each student’s individual needs, GLA offers its students every opportunity to achieve both academic and social success.
We have found success with students from many backgrounds, who come to us with many different diagnoses. In addition to learning differences, ASD (Level-1), and anxiety, our faculty and community environment can help students address concerns like:
- Executive Function deficits/organization skills
- Difficulty making and keeping friends
- Broad social skills deficits:
- Conversation skills
- Kindness
- Gratitude
- Respect
- Personal space
- Tolerance
- Personal Hygiene
- Selflessness
- Teamwork
- Situational Anxiety/Clinical Anxiety
- Managing Stress
- Academic/Study Skills
Great Lakes Academy is an excellent school choice for students with average to above-average intelligence, who have a learning difference or diagnosis which can make learning in the traditional large classroom challenging. GLA is also a great choice for students who need social/emotional guidance, coaching, and support when navigating the difficult terrain of growing up becomes too much in their traditional social environments.