Head of School

I’ve always been a big sports fan. As a Torontonian, I’m a fan of the Blue Jays, Leafs – all the local teams, really. I was thinking, the other day, about what differentiates a good athlete from a great one. The conclusion I reached is that the best athletes have great hands.

I see this in two ways. First, literally: no matter the sport, the best athletes have the best hands. This is often discussed in sports analysis. Whether swinging a bat, shooting a puck, throwing a ball, it’s about hand quickness, strength and, of course, intangibles – things that a gifted athlete simply possesses.

There’s also the other meaning of having great hands. Having people in your life who give you a great hand when you need it. Amazing athletes have equally amazing mentors.

I’ve been thinking about all of these things because I’m preparing to greet our teachers in a few days after the summer break. Every one of the teachers at The Academy is that great hand in the life of a student with a learning style difference of learning disability. Every day I see the difference they make in our students lives and can’t imagine a finer group of teachers for our students.

And no matter how great our hands are, we keep working at what we do. We always strive to improve, and, like an athlete, put the gifts we have to their best use.

We can’t wait to have our students back and for the year to begin!

Don Adams, Head of School

It’s no secret that we all need exercise. Exercise makes us stronger, does everything from help regulate our appetite to give us a sense of daily structure. Sometimes we think of exercise as that one thing that can drown out the noise in our lives and allow us to focus on our work.

It takes nothing more time-consuming than a google search on “ADHD and exercise” to show that this is not only a huge thread in popular exercise culture, but also the stuff of serious scholarly research. “Physical Exercise as a Reinforcer to Promote Calmness,” “How to Reach and Teach Children with ADHD,” “Sport Participation and Lessened Anxiety in Children with ADHD,” are all part of a growing body of research.

This research supports a simple thesis: kids with ADHD and other learning differences and disabilities greatly, often dramatically, benefit from physical exercise. There’s simply no grey area here – daily exercise can be the tie that binds together your child’s learning, it is the thing that facilities their attentiveness, participation, and ability to retain information. You can click to read more about personalized exercises, here.

We are the YMCA Academy. Our school lives in the Central YMCA. That means two things. First, that we couldn’t possibly be more central. Our school has Bay Street to the west, Yonge to the east, Grosvenor to the south, and Breadalbane to the north. Second, and most important, that our school has, arguably, the best fitness facilities of any school in Toronto. We have it all here and student use it as part of our curriculum – a curriculum of health, learning, and community. We also encourage people to use Indoor trampolines for kids, which is one of the best form of aerobic exercises.

As always, I extend to you my invitation. Come out for a visit. Have a cup of coffee. Want to test the facilities here for yourself? Great – I’ll give you a Day Pass when we meet and you can spend the rest of your day exercising at the Y!

School is a week away. Come see The Academy and decide for yourself is this is the right fit you’ve been looking for.

Don Adams, Head of School

You know the TV commercial — the one where the parents are buying back-to-school supplies for their kids at the big box retailer, dancing and singing along with the famed holiday tune.

But back-to-school isn’t close to the most wonderful time of year for the vast majority of parents of students with learning disabilities. Earlier this year, Ontarians learned that students who need an Individualized Education Plan are, literally, in a queue that can last up to three years. We know that students with LDs benefit greatly from a highly personalized classroom setting and that these simply don’t exist in the public system.

Yet we’re also committed to the ideal that students shouldn’t be excluded from alternative, niche schools that perfectly match their set of ABILITIES because they can’t afford to attend.

Our school, The Academy, is a community school in every sense of the word. First, we’re housed in the beautiful Central Y, occupying a sizeable block of real estate from Bay to the west, Yonge to the East, Breadalbane to the north, and Grosvenor to the south. It doesn’t get more central than that – we are surrounded by public transportation and excellent parking lots.

As we are affiliated with the YMCA, we also share their policy of inclusion. We will not turn away a mission-appropriate family for financial reasons. Our pledge to you is that we will find a way to make it work financially for your child to attend The Academy if this is the right school for them.

There’s not much I can say here to top that. Our school provides everything that our students need. For students coming to The Academy from years at a school that simply didn’t fit, it IS the most wonderful time of the year.

It would be my pleasure to show you our school, our community. Please email me at Don.Adams@YMCAGTA.ORG then join me for some excellent coffee and conversation.

Don Adams, Head of School

One of the most satisfying things for a Head of School is to happen across research that validates and justifies what you are already doing.  It was with considerable interest that I read The Learning Partnership’s recent report “Resilience in Children and Youth: Promising Practices from Canada’s Outstanding Principals”. (http://www.thelearningpartnership.ca/page.aspx?pid=913)

For the researchers involved in the study, developing the capacity for resilience in our students – the capacity for children and youth to navigate to the resources they need – is a singularly important function of schools.

According to their research, “When we provide children and youth who are ‘at risk’ with supports that facilitate their growth, the research shows very clearly that eventually all the effort by teachers, educators, guidance counselors and special educators pays a dividend far into the future.” (Dr. Michael Ungar, Ph.D., Co-Director, Resilience Research Centre, Killam Professor of Social Work, School of Social Work, Dalhousie University)

A quick scan of the Criteria for a Resilience Promoting School reads like a description of The YMCA Academy.  The criteria are based on research by the Resilience Research Centre across many different cultures. “Both qualitative and quantitative studies have shown that facilitative environments that promote all seven of these aspects of children’s lives are likely to provide children who are disadvantaged with opportunities to experience resilience.”

Schools that promote resilience provide opportunities for students to experience:

Nurturing Relationships

• There are positive peer interactions in which every child has an opportunity to show others his or her talents.
• There is active participation of parents and other caregivers in children’s learning, with channels for communication open between the child’s home and school.
• Educators have opportunities to build strong relationships with students and provide mentorship to the most vulnerable.

Developing a Positive Identity

• There are activities at which every child can succeed.
• There are opportunities for children to show others their talents.
• There are opportunities for children to feel unique and valued.

Power and Control

• There are opportunities for students to influence their learning.
• Students’ voices are heard in the design of extra-curricular activities.
• Students are rewarded with success when they put in extra effort.

Social Justice

• Students, regardless of ethno-racial background, gender, sexual orientation or ability,
• are treated fairly while at school.
• Curriculum, when possible, reflects the cultural and contextual diversity of students.

Access to Resources

• Students feel safe at their school.
• Extra curricular activities are affordable.
• The school building is accessible.
• Children’s basic needs for food and clothing are met, when possible.

Sense of Belonging

• Children feel welcome at their school no matter what their background.
• Children are given opportunities to contribute to their school and the well-being of others.
•  Children’s families are welcome at the school.

Culture

• Children’s diverse cultures and traditions are celebrated at school.
• Children are able to share at school aspects of their lives that are important to them.
• Children have opportunities to tell stories about their past and the history of their families.

I think parents and guardians of our students will agree that we provide every opportunity to develop resilience in our students based on these descriptors.

If you have a child who is struggling in a traditional high school, you owe it to yourself to visit the Academy to learn more about our program.  More importantly, you owe it to your child.

Don Adams, Head of School

This year, we’re going to run a competition for students with learning style differences and learning disabilities from around the world. We’re going to ask them to design their ideal school.

Why?

First and selfishly, we think that over the past decade or so, we’ve built a superb small urban high school for students with learning style differences and learning disabilities. While we’re not looking for pats on the back, we’re always looking to improve and refine our school. Why not seek advice from our clients?

But, more importantly, we think that for a student who, because of learning issues, has experienced a lot more failure than success in school, this exercise can be therapeutic. By designing the school they wish they could attend, they can help make it possible for others to one day attend a school that looks like theirs.

How?

Well, we’re going to share the ideas, not keep them to ourselves. We’ll tell school design firms what the students in our contest came up with. We’ll circulate the results to school boards and principals and education ministries. We’ll help spread the word that a huge piece of meaningful school reform should come from the students themselves.

Stay tuned. More on this coming in the fall.

Don Adams, Head of School