KUA’s Learning Center provides structured academic support programs tailored to students with a wide variety of learning styles. Using a strength-based approach, our experienced Learning Center faculty guide students to develop individual strategies to become more effective learners equipped to tackle a deep and broad college preparatory curriculum. Students actively and collaboratively engage in their own learning, improving study habits, developing organizational skills, and building the confidence needed to conquer academic challenges at Kimball Union and beyond. Drawing on the rich educational resources in the Upper Valley and Dartmouth community, the Learning Center staff calls upon our extensive network of faculty and professional tutors to work with students individually and in small groups, helping every student succeed.

The following academic support services are available to students attending Kimball Union Academy:

• Office Hours with teachers

• Writing Center support on a drop-in basis

• Peer Tutoring

• Choices course (study skills and social skills class for ninth grade students)

• Supervised Evening Study Hall (for boarding students)

• KUA Educational Plan (individualized learning plan for students based on educational assessment documentation)

• A strong advising system
  

We recognize that all students learn differently, and in order to accommodate various learning styles, we offer three levels of support beyond the help that is available in the regular academic program. Some students are identified during the admission process as being in need of academic support services while others are referred by teachers, advisors, parents, or are self-referred. The goal of academic support services is to help students become independent and self-sufficient learners. As students become more independent, academic support is slowly reduced. Students remain in the academic support program until they are ready to perform independently, as determined by the faculty and academic administration.

  

Level One: Academic Subject Tutorial 

Kimball Union maintains a relationship with a limited number of adult tutors from outside the KUA teaching community who, schedule permitting, offer one-on-one assistance to students in specific academic subject areas. Scheduling is dependent on student and tutor availability and can be tailored in terms of hours per week of service and length of contract. 

The fee for Level One support (Academic Subject Tutorial) is $65 per hour and is billed through the student’s KUA escrow account.
 

Level Two: Structured Study Tutorial 

This tutorial provides individualized, small group (maximum of four students) support to students with a focus on improving study skills, organization, time management, general academic skills, and self-advocacy. The tutorial meets during a class period (three times per week). Structured Study Tutorial is a year-long course, but students can re-enroll in the class in subsequent years as needed. 

The fee for Level Two support (Structured Study Tutorial) is $3,000 per year.
   

Level Three: Comprehensive Tutorial 

For students whose learning style requires the support of a learning specialist, this program provides intensive and individualized academic support. In addition to attending Structured Study Tutorial (see above description), the student will meet with a learning specialist in a one-on-one setting for two hours each week. Our learning specialists work with students to identify specific academic goals and support students in achieving those goals through academic coaching, specific skills instruction, and regular communication with teachers and parents. Students’ work with learning specialists is highly individualized and incorporates a wide variety of interventions including general study skills, ADHD coaching, reading comprehension and written expression instruction, and math remediation. Facilitation of access to assistive technology and classroom-based accommodations are included in this service.
The fee for Level Three support (Comprehensive Tutorial) is $7,000 per year.
 

English Language Tutorial 

 

 The Center for the Advancement of Learning and the English Department collaborate to host the Kimball Union Writing Center. Writing tutors, who are volunteers from the junior and senior honors and Advanced Placement English classes, staff the Writing Center nearly every class period of the day. Students are welcome to visit the Writing Center for assistance with any aspect or phase of the writing process.

  

Students who have excelled in a particular course or academic field volunteer to serve as peer tutors for other students who desire additional support in that area of course work. A peer tutor meets with his or her student on a weekly basis; additional time can be scheduled on an as needed basis, depending on the availability of the tutor.

  

The Choices course is designed to support freshmen in the academic and social realms. It is required of all ninth grade students in the first trimester and is offered on a pass/fail basis. The objectives of the academic curriculum are to help students develop an understanding that learning is an active process, to better familiarize students with their own unique learning styles, and to identify and implement strategies that enhance their effectiveness as learners. Topics covered include: time/materials/space organization, learning styles, plagiarism/citation, note taking, active reading, active listening, writing, memory, and test preparation/taking. The social curriculum aims to provide students with information and strategies for making healthy decisions in all aspects of their lives at KUA. Topics addressed include: KUA history, digital citizenship, personal health, nutrition, coping with stress, peer pressure, self image, relationships, college planning, and leadership. Dependent on the topic of the class, ninth graders are either taught together in a presentation-style setting, or split into smaller groups, either co-ed or single gender, for further exploration through activities and discussion. The course is team-taught by faculty members in the Center for the Advancement of Learning and the Student Life Office.

 

The Center for the Advancement of Learning and the College Advising Office collaborate to provide opportunities for students to attend classes to prepare for standardized college entrance examinations. Given sufficient enrollment, a fall course will be offered for seniors and a spring course will be offered for members of the junior class.