Our Summer Program is Complete!

CURRENT EVENTS | Oct. 23, 2019

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The Pilot Program hosted 7 students who came into DMA on Tuesdays, Wednesdays & Thursdays from 9AM-12PM. The students started their summer journey on June 27th and just finished up on August 1st.  

The First Day:  

The program began with both the students and the teachers signing a Social Contract that hung in front of the classroom where they started each day. In their signing of the contract, teachers and students agreed to 1) Be Kind, 2) Be Respectful, 3) Be Safe 4) Raise Your Hand 5) Walking Feet 6) Participate, and most importantly 7) Have Fun!

The idea behind the Social Contract comes from a lack of success that traditional schools have seen from creating rules of conduct for students. After the Social Contract was signed and the students understood the agreement, the students started their first exercises which focused on how to calm down in case they find themselves feeling anxious. 

After establishing the social contract and getting both the students and faculty on the same page the kids got to enjoy a visit and talk from a woman who had a long career in construction. This woman educated the students on the various hand signals that are used to communicate on the loud, machine-filled work sites. Students really enjoyed this and were highly engaged trying to recreate the signs themselves. The students were even more engaged when Lady Construction brought out her measuring equipment. She taught them about dimensions and showed them how to measure, giving them the tools to go around the entire school and measure the building’s dimensions.

Daily Routine:  

Each day, students went through a neurofeedback session that focused on strengthening the neural connections in their brains. We will have results and progress for you in a later blog post. 

Snack time was held mid-day around 10:30/11AM. Snack was always eaten in the same room and this room was designated purely for snack time, really drawing the line between snack time and learning time. This was not only a great way to break up the day and give students’ minds a break, but it also acted as a healthy space where students could exercise the development of their social skills.

Students wrote an exit slip at the end of every day to show their parents at home. Some students had great handwriting skills, but others who were not as proficient in writing were given a set of pictures on a piece of paper on which they circled pictures describing what they did that day. The exit slip has a couple of purposes: 1) They kept parents updated on what their child was doing and 2) it allowed for students to have a confirmation of what they had accomplished that day. This is tremendously helpful for students with ADD/ADHD who often forget their daily activities throughout the course of the day.

Roundup:

The summer pilot program was a great way to kickoff how DMA expects to change the way we educate students in the modern era. We are excited to bring you a more in-depth analysis of the results from our Pilot Program in the coming weeks. So stay tuned, and contact us for more information about our doors opening up this Fall of 2019!

God Bless!