Elementary School Program

 The true meaning of the transition from preschool to elementary school is leaving behind a "small, warm setting" and moving into a "big setting with lots of demands". At school, the child faces very clear demands regarding his behavior: a set time for the beginning of classes, a rigid daily schedule of subjects, an obligation to turn in work. In order to successfully meet these requirements he must be able to concentrate, ignore interruptions in order to paying attention, and sit on a chair for a long period of time.

On a cognitive level, the child in the lower grades must acquire two main new skills: the first is the ability to pay attention to the sounds of the language and to match them with graphic symbols (letters). This skill is the basis of reading and writing. The second skill is that of math. Later on in the 3rd and 4th grades the main demand that is placed before the student is understanding written texts for the purpose of learning new content. The student must be fluent in complex language skills such as: a broad vocabulary and complicated grammar. These are the basis of reading and listening comprehension skills.

Students with learning disabilities begin their studies in school like all of their peers. The teacher's knowledge and sensitivity play an important role in the initial identification of the difficulties even before the student falls behind his classmates in his studies. The teachers are those who refer the student to an evaluation, to assess if in fact there is a learning disability, after the initial identification. In a later stage, the teachers are requested to translate the recommendations of the evaluation to day-to-day use in the classroom. In order to progress a student with a learning disability, the teacher is required to know how to develop a personal program for students in reading, writing, and math.  The teacher must also know how to reinforce positive learning and social behaviors, to react methodically and consistently, to implement various methods of instruction, and be able to plan and fit the learning program in relation to the general educational policies. The strengthening of the connection and the transfer of information between the teachers and the parents is also very important.

In light of this, Nitzan offers a focused, professional training course that gives teachers the tools to address the needs of elementary school students and trains the teacher to be an expert in the field of remedial instruction and support for students with learning disabilities and/or attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Middle School/High School Program

 In middle school and high school there are many changes in the studies, in the academic skills that are required from the students, in the atmosphere of the school, and in the personal and social development of the person. Each one of these factors is likely to influence the functioning of the adolescent with learning disabilities and/or ADHD.

On the academic level, the students need reading skills that allow them to read long texts quickly and writing skills in order to present on exams what they've learned. In addition, the content that is learned is more complicated and is more loaded with details and the students need the skills of abstraction and generalization, effective memory strategies, and organization habits. The level of difficulty and complication of the learning demands rises; there is a great diversification of fields of knowledge and use of previous knowledge as basis for the continued learning process.

School characteristics also change. The intimate setting of the lower grades is lost. The teachers expect the students to demonstrate independence and maturity in their studies, there are more subjects and together with this there are more teachers and the necessity to deal with different methods of instruction.

On the personal level, students with learning disabilities have accumulated during their years in school a feeling of frustration. In many cases, they are in a battle of survival and are in need of additional help with their studies in order to stand up their expectations and the expectations of their environment from them.

The purpose of Nitzan's middle school/high school program is to provide the teacher in these grade levels the tools appropriate to students of these ages and developmental stage so that the teacher can accept, teach, and progress the struggling student in the classroom setting, in groups and individually. The training of a teacher specializing in secondary schools includes learning strategies according to subject (math or literary subjects).

Full Details of these Programs in Hebrew