ALA Inc. has extensive experience working with children who have diverse learning needs. We offer structured one-on-one teaching using Direct Instruction programs.

Models of intervention

Typically, students attend our clinic for two one-hour sessions per week. Two hours each week is not always enough time to remediate significant gaps or gaps in more than one skill area. Kids who struggle in all basic skills (reading, writing, comprehension, and mathematics) may not be getting their needs met within their current academic setting. Time-sensitive goals, such as switching schools, preparing for transition years, or recovering from illness can create a need for a more intensive model of intervention. In these instances, we can provide a half-day model of support. The student attends ALA for morning sessions focused on the remediation of basic skills, and returns to their school setting for content-rich instruction and to maintain relationships with their peer group.  
We will give you personalized advice based on your child’s cognitive profile, academic skills, and your family’s goals to determine the most appropriate model of intervention for your child. 

One-On-One Teaching

All of our academic programs are carefully selected based on a single criterion: success. Direct Instruction is backed by more than 50 years of research, showing its effectiveness in improving academic skill. The student/t must master each skill before moving forward, ensuring lesson retention and boosting self-confidence. 

Direct Instruction allows us to:

• Accurately identify skills gaps
• Adapt pacing to meet specific children's needs
• Provide immediate corrective feedback
• Conduct systematic assessments
• Monitor students' learning retention

To achieve your child's academic remediation goals, we recommend a minimum of two one-hour sessions per week.

Progress Monitoring

Parents receive regular interim progress reports prepared by your child's teacher. There is also an ongoing dialogue between the teachers, parents and our senior consultants. Additionally, our senior consultants are constantly monitoring progress through mastery tests and internal checks built into the programs.

After a year of instruction, or approximately 80 sessions, each student completes a follow-up assessment. Although we use similar assessment tools to the original assessment, the testing is different enough to prevent the "practice effect." This allows us to see the exact progress made, and to make changes to programming if necessary.

Programs

We primarily use Direct Instruction Programs published by SRA (McGraw Hill Ryerson). While not an exclusive list, the majority of our students work in one or more of the following programs:

• Reading Mastery
• Corrective Reading: Decoding
• Corrective Reading: Comprehension
• Spelling Mastery
• Reasoning & Writing
• Language for Learning
• Connecting Math Concepts