Eagle Hill School
school · Elementary school · Private school
242 Old Petersham Rd, 01037 HardwickEagle Hill School was established in 1975 on property acquired in 1903 by C. W. Post, the cereal magnate. The estate developed by Mr. Post was known as the Boulders. The main house was said to have the longest front porch in the history of domestic architecture. In 1905, C. W. Post's daughter, Marjorie Merriweather, married Edward Close and the young couple settled on the estate. Mr. and Mrs. Close, their two daughters, and a staff of thirteen occupied the Boulders until 1917 when the main house was severely damaged by fire. In 1921, the property was deeded to the Lanier family for use as Edgewood School. The National Reading Foundation of New York established Haithcox School on the property in 1956, and from 1962 to 1971, Daycroft School occupied the premises. Eagle Hill School was founded by Dr. James J. A. Cavanaugh in 1975 as a residential and day school for children with learning disabilities. The school is located on a fifteen-acre campus in the heart of Greenwich, Connecticut. The school opened with 17 children, which grew to 38 by the end of the first year of operation. The original faculty of 12 included teachers and administrators from Eagle Hill School in Hardwick, Massachusetts where the first of now three schools was started. Eagle Hill has grown steadily during its thirty-two year history with enrollment presently at 215 students and employing a full time faculty and staff of 90 members. The physical plant has evolved considerably as well. The two main buildings comprise the center of the campus and are the original main house and carriage house of the 1900 Merriweather Post estate. A gymnasium and science center, library and media facility, faculty housing and new classroom facilities have been added during the thirty-two year tenure. Eagle Hill School services children from Fairfield and Westchester counties as well as Manhattan in its day program and children from the Tri-State areas of Connecticut, New York and New Jersey in its five-day boarding program. The school is approved as a special education facility by the Connecticut State Department of Education and is accredited through the Connecticut Association of Independent Schools. Eagle Hill School is unique in helping the child with learning disabilities to develop academic skills and self-confidence. Our mission is to provide the learning disabled child with intensive, short-term, remedial instruction and then return the child to the educational mainstream as soon as possible. Children are referred to Eagle Hill by their school, clinicians, physicians and by other parents. Our students enter Eagle Hill with average or above average intelligence, many with specific talents, but because of their difficulties comprehending or expressing language, they share the experience of academic failure. By carefully evaluating each child's potential and determining the specific nature of his or her learning difficulty, an individual educational program is developed. No single remedial technique is followed exclusively at Eagle Hill School. Rather, each child's program draws from as many approaches as needs demand. Classes are ungraded; children learn and advance at their own pace. Each child has a daily language arts tutorial as the core of his/her instructional program. Eagle Hill's low student-teacher ratio allows for flexible programming to address individual needs in each area. Students also participate in a broad range of activities in addition to their academic courses. The athletic program, designed to enhance fitness, promote skill development, and encourage a life-long interest in sports, is an integral part of life at Eagle Hill. Student council and community service programs provide opportunities for leadership and service, enriching our strong sense of community. Electives, including art, drama, photography, computers, and others round out the offering. Every fall, teachers and advisors meet with administrators to assess each returning child's progress and to recommend candidates for post-Eagle Hill placement. Parents are consulted and a list of suggested schools is provided. During the child's last year, the supports, which have been created to counter the child's learning disability, are gradually removed in preparation for the return to the educational mainstream. When children leave Eagle Hill, they will have developed academic tools, self-confidence, and self-advocacy skills to deal more effectively in a world increasingly more dependent on language. Beyond that, they will have learned to make their own decisions, solve their own problems and win their own battles. From that experience, perhaps most importantly they will have developed a firm sense of self worth to carry them through life.
P.O. Box 116 242 Old Petersham Rd., 01037 Hardwick
school · Elementary school · Private school
242 Old Petersham Rd, 01037 Hardwickbiotechnology
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