Academic Support at The Learning Center

The Learning Center began as a partnership of Francis Parker, formerly St. Francis School, and the Langsford Learning Acceleration Centers. It opened in 2012 on the Goshen Campus and expanded to the Downtown Campus in 2014. Beginning in 2021, The Learning Center became fully staffed and operated internally by Francis Parker employees.  

Holly Hillard serves as The Director of The Learning Center. Her role is to assess the needs of students with learning differences and ensure that their accommodations are provided in the classroom. Additionally, she collaborates with faculty, staff, students, and families to address the learning needs of any student who requires academic support within and beyond the classroom. 

The Learning Center Staff:

  • Holly Hillard, Director of The Learning Center
  • Ann Mundt, Academic Support Specialist, Goshen Campus
  • John Beechem, Academic Support Specialist, Goshen Campus
  • Calla Suffridge, Academic Support Specialist, Downtown Campus
  • Bob Cacchione, Math/Science Tutor, Downtown Campus

Accommodation Plan Services

Any student who has a diagnosed learning difference has a customized accommodation plan created for their specific learning needs. Plans include classroom accommodations, guidelines for standardized testing, and student progress goals.

2023-24 Academic Support Offerings

Speech and OT Therapy
Francis Parker partners with Functional Therapy to provide speech and occupational therapy services to students on campus. Functional Therapy will provide full evaluations to referred students at their clinic, and then therapy services during the school day, if needed. All services are billed and paid directly to Functional Therapy. Many insurance plans are accepted.

Speech and OT Therapy
Francis Parker partners with Functional Therapy to provide speech and occupational therapy services to students on campus. Functional Therapy will provide full evaluations to referred students at their clinic, and then therapy services during the school day, if needed. All services are billed and paid directly to Functional Therapy. Many insurance plans are accepted.

Reading Intervention
Kindergarten: As students begin learning to read, students who are referred to The Learning Center with early literacy difficulties will receive targeted, small group instruction from a TLC specialist, as needed, to support classroom instruction. This service is provided at no additional cost.

First and Second Grade: Students who are not meeting grade level benchmark goals will receive reading intervention twice/week through targeted small group instruction provided by The Learning Center director. This service is provided at no additional cost.

Reading Remediation
First and Second Grade: Students who are not showing sufficient progress through small group intervention will be referred for 1:1 remediation. These sessions will take place over six-week intervals with two 20-minute sessions occurring each week. After the end of six weeks, progress will be evaluated and next steps will be determined. This is a fee-based service.

Third and Fourth Grade: Students who require remediation of  early literacy skills from previous years will be referred for 1:1 remediation. These sessions will focus on improving skills to move students closer to grade level benchmarks. These sessions are scheduled on a quarterly basis and meet once/week for 45 minutes. Additional sessions can be added as needed. This is a fee-based service.

English Language Support
Students who are dual language learners can receive 1:1 or small group instruction in conversational and survival oral English fluency alongside basic written communication skills. The number and frequency of sessions will be determined based on the student’s individual needs. Please contact the TLC Director for rates.

Speech and OT Therapy
Francis Parker partners with Functional Therapy  to provide speech and occupational therapy services to students on campus. Functional Therapy will provide full evaluations to referred students at their clinic, and then therapy services during the school day, if needed. All services are billed and paid directly to Functional Therapy. Many insurance plans are accepted.

English Language Support
Students who are dual language learners can receive 1:1 or small group instruction in conversational and survival oral English fluency alongside basic written communication skills. The number and frequency of sessions will be determined based on the student’s individual needs. Please contact the TLC Director for rates.

1:1 and Small Group Academic Support
These are weekly sessions designed to help students with planning, time management, organization, task-initiation, goal-setting, and problem-solving for all school assignments with an emphasis on personal areas of academic challenge. Small groups are based on grade-level. These sessions are scheduled on a quarterly basis and meet once a week for 45 minutes. Additional sessions can be added as needed. This is a fee-based service.

Well-Organized Wyverns
This is our executive function coaching service. Students will work with their coach on skills including goal setting, time management, planning, and prioritization. Students will develop a personalized organizational system that works for their needs, build metacognition skills, and improve working memory. Sessions are approximately 15 minutes each. This is a fee-based service that is offered daily or twice a week. 

1:1 Math Tutoring
Individualized tutoring sessions are offered to help students succeed with current skills and concepts as well as re-teaching previous skills, as needed.  This is a fee-based service.

Stop for Success
Middle School students can elect to check-in with TLC academic support specialists every day at dismissal to ensure they are up to date on long term assignments and upcoming projects or assessments. This service is provided at no additional cost. 

Learning Lounge
Students in grades 4-8 can stay after school until 5:30 p.m. daily for supervised time to work on assignments and receive academic and organizational assistance. Students should bring any unfinished work and a book to read. This is a fee-based service.

1:1 Academic Support
These are weekly sessions designed to help students with planning, time management, organization, task-initiation, goal-setting, and problem-solving for all school assignments with an emphasis on personal areas of academic challenge. These sessions are scheduled on a quarterly basis and meet once/week for 45 minutes. Additional sessions can be added as needed. This is a fee-based service.

Well-Organized Wyverns
This is our executive function coaching service. Students will work with their coach on skills including goal setting, time management, planning, and prioritization. Students will develop a personalized organizational system that works for their needs, build metacognition skills, and improve working memory. Sessions are approximately 15 minutes each. This is a fee-based service that is offered twice a week. 

1:1 Math and Science Tutoring
Individualized tutoring sessions are offered to help students succeed with current skills and concepts as well as re-teaching previous skills, as needed. This is a fee-based service.

1:1 or Small Group World Language Tutoring
Individualized tutoring sessions for Spanish and Chinese are offered to help students succeed with current skills and concepts as well as re-teaching previous skills, as needed. This is a fee-based service.

Homework Hall
Academic and organizational assistance is provided on an as-needed basis to students from 3:30 until 5:00 p.m., Monday – Thursday. Students must register in advance in The Learning Center. Drop-in requests are not guaranteed. This is a fee-based service.

2023-24 THE LEARNING CENTER RATES