PEAK - Elgin Academy - LD Private School Near Chicago

Two PEAK Students working at a table together.

PEAK helps students diagnosed with dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia access their full potential.

Language-based learning differences affect nearly 20 percent of students in the U.S. PEAK on the Hilltop at Elgin Academy is designed for bright students who struggle to access success.

Elgin Academy is the only EC-12 school in the region offering an approach that specifically remediates language-based learning differences.

Our premier approach offers:

Multisensory instruction using the Orton-Gillingham Approach

Cohort style with a student teacher ratio no larger than 5:1

Integrated time in other classes to interact with a broader group of students

Learn more about how PEAK is accessing the tremendous potential within students who have dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia.

Get Started!Inquire about PEAK today

Helping students gain back hope and their love of learning so they are positioned to succeed in their education and their future.

PEAK on the Hilltop Overview

PEAK provides an immersive experience that ‘unlocks’ language for students diagnosed with dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia.Language-based learning differences affect nearly 20 percent of students in the U.S. PEAK on the Hilltop at Elgin Academy is designed for bright students who struggle to access success.

PEAK helps students gain back hope and their love of learning so they are positioned to succeed in their education and their future.

A typical day for PEAK students includes:

Individualized, intensive multi-sensory core academic instruction using the Orton-Gillingham Approach
Cohort style with a student teacher ratio no larger than 5:1
Non-core classes and co-curricular activities with peers

Embedding PEAK into the whole-school environment at Elgin Academy provides students with a well-rounded experience.

PEAK faculty are credentialed specialists in all the core content areas, with a strongly weighted focus on using a multisensory instructional approach in the areas of language, literacy, and math. These dedicated instructors also apply social-emotional learning with intention to support students and partner with parents to achieve the best results for their students.

Portrait of a PEAK Student

PEAK students are diagnosed with dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia and typically have average to above average IQs.

Because these students are creative with innate intelligence, they are often able to compensate in the lower grades by leveraging context clues and their native intelligence by memorizing words. These skills often conceal the challenges they are experiencing.

As they progress through school and the subject matter gets more difficult, it becomes harder for them to compensate on their own. Often these differences will appear as if the student suddenly:

Hits a wall
Doesn’t want to go to school
Views school as a chore and something to be avoided
Develops discipline issues or a lack of attention

At PEAK, we help students connect their potential to their achievement.

We assist students, and parents, in addressing the specific needs associated with a language-based learning difference.

Elgin Academy's Premier Approach

EA is the only EC-12 school in the region offering an approach that specifically remediates language-based learning differences and provides:

Multisensory instruction in the Orton-Gillingham Approach of language acquisition with specially trained and credentialed teachers and specialists
Cohort style with a student teacher ratio averaging 5:1
School days that combine time in the cohorts and time integrated into other classes to interact with a broader group of students
Nearly all work is completed during class with limited homework used only to reinforce methods taught during the day

A teacher and 3 students learning using tablets at a table

PEAK is geared to accessing the tremendous potential within students who have dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia because they are:

• good problem solvers
• creative
• observant
• highly empathetic
• excellent big-picture thinkers
• good at making connections
• strong at narrative reasoning
• three-dimensional thinkers

What is Dyslexia?

Dyslexia affects up to 1 in 5 people, but the experience of dyslexia isn't always the same. This difficulty in processing language exists along a spectrum -- one that doesn't necessarily fit with labels like "normal" and "defective." In this Ted Talk, Kelli Sandman-Hurley urges us to think again about dyslexic brain function and to celebrate the neurodiversity of the human brain.

TED-Ed by Kelli Sandman-Hurley

Orton-Gillingham Approach

The Orton-Gillingham Approach of language acquisition.

The following is from the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators website:

Multisensory instruction in the Orton-Gillingham Approach reflects time-tested knowledge and practice, developed and validated over 70 years.
This approach is proven to be effective with students who have language-based learning differences.
It is personalized, diagnostic, prescriptive, structured, and sequential.
The emphasis on step-by-step skill development ensures both early success and lasting results.
This multisensory approach uses all learning pathways: seeing, hearing, feeling, and awareness of motion, brought together by the thinking brain.

Learn more at www.ortonacademy.org

The Orton-Gillingham Approach is a direct, explicit, multisensory, structured, sequential, diagnostic, and prescriptive way to teach literacy when reading, writing, and spelling does not come easily to individuals, such as those with dyslexia.

THE ACADEMY OF ORTON-GILLINGHAM PRACTITIONERS AND EDUCATORS

Helping students gain back hope and their love of learning!

PEAK Parameters

PEAK students are diagnosed with dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia and typically have average to above average IQs.

PEAK is for students 3rd through 8th grade. Students begin at the start of the school year in August. Mid or partial year enrollment is not available.

The required documents for admission can be daunting, but don’t worry, we will walk you through the process. Admission is based on students’ cognitive ability as determined by a psychologist using a Full-Scale Intelligence Quotient measure as well as a comprehensive psychological educational evaluation completed by a licensed psychologist within the past two years of the application date. Preferred testing includes, but is not limited to, WISC-IV or WPPSI IV, and WIAT-4, GORT-5, or CTOPP-2. Please contact PEAK@elginacademy.org if you need a referral for an evaluation.

Our admissions staff is always available to assist prospective families and answer your questions. We want to get to know your family and share everything Elgin Academy has to offer your child.

Because PEAK is geared specifically to students diagnosed with language-based learning differences, we cannot support students with other diagnoses such as Tourette’s, Asperger’s, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Developmental Delay, Pervasive Developmental Disorder, Nonverbal Learning Disorders, as well as emotional or behavioral disorders.

Getting Started

We are accepting applications now and anticipate that our classes will fill quickly.

We encourage you to reach out to us and get the process started by submitting the form below.

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Amy Criswell

PEAK on the Hilltop Director

"Truly amazing things occur at Elgin Academy because we work to ensure that our students feel known and have a sense of belonging and purpose. At EA, students learn and discover in an active environment built on partnership, respect, compassion, challenge, and integrity. When students feel safe to express their ideas, make mistakes, ask questions, and be creative, meaningful learning takes place and it is magical"
- Amy Criswell

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