You should feel both successful and happy in high school.
Wouldn’t that be amazing?
At Winchendon, we get the fact that the majority of U.S. high school students don’t like high school. We also understand that many of the highest potential and creative students struggle to find success in many schools. This may be due to boredom, lack of confidence, executive functioning challenges, learning differences – or just teachers who “don’t get you”.
And, for those students who will benefit from more individualized support and skills development, TWS offers The Hatch Program for Learning Support. “Hatch” supports smart students with a range of diverse learning styles, challenges, and profiles.
We embrace the fact that for many of us, those “differences” can be transformed into our superpowers – which in turn can propel us to extraordinary success.
Skills Development – New skills and strategies are learned and practiced in the context of current projects, assignments, and assessments.
Significant Support – Each Hatch student benefits from continuous behind-the-scenes coordination, communication, and training that includes all of the members of each student’s team.
Effective Personalization – is achieved through understanding how to best engage each student, what remediation or accommodation that student may need, and if the student would benefit from curriculum modification.
The Hatch Program takes its name from our founder, Lloyd Harvey Hatch. Since our founding nearly 100 years ago, our commitment has been to be a school that provides greater personalization for each student – and which supports students with a range of diverse learning styles, challenges and profiles.
Hatch Program FAQs
Yes, especially on the MA campus, where there are the following offered:
- 3:1 – “Group Learning Skills” where 3-4 students will work 3-4x each week with their Learning Strategist – both in small groups and for an individual session.
- 2:1 – “Paired Learning Skills” in which 2 (the “pair” of students work with their Learning Strategist up to 4x weekly both individually and as a pair.
- 1:1 – “Individualized Learning Skills” – in 1:1, a student will work individually with their Learning Strategist 3-4x weekly.
- “Advanced Learning Skills” – a bridge program for new seniors or PG’s as well as students who have “graduated from” one of the other levels of Hatch support, which involves 1 individual meeting each week and one group meeting of ~8 students to provide ongoing support in navigating the more advanced courses and supporting the college application process.
- In addition, on the MA campus, there are options for small group guidance and support during evening study hall either 3x or 5x weekly.
On the NYC campus, the emphasis is on the Group Learning Skills Program as outlined above. If you are interested in a different level of support, please contact our Director of Enrollment Melissa Essman by clicking here.
No. A student in Hatch has frequent individual and small group meetings interspersed throughout the week between classes and other commitments. These become part of the regular schedule.
The Learning Strategist monitors each student’s progress towards goals while helping to establish priorities, practice independent study strategies, and overcome obstacles. The Strategist will focus on developing in each student the organizational, executive functioning, self-reflective, and collaborative skills – as well as the self-confidence – that are the cornerstones of learning success.
The Learning Strategist will also engage in some or all of the following for each student dependent on level and individual needs:
- Development and ongoing implementation of a personalized Individualized Learning Plan (ILP)
- Ongoing communication with each student’s teachers, advisor, and parents – both seeking feedback on performance and goals, and providing coaching and strategies as how to most effectively engage, support, and assess the student
- Class observations and/or debriefs with teachers
- Coordination of limited accommodations and adjustments within the context of TWS mainstream curriculum
- Assisting the student and family in accessing standardized testing accommodations if recommended.
Learning Strategists are specifically trained in methods and strategies that will help students develop better academic skills, habits, and confidence. The ongoing training and work of the Strategists are overseen by the Hatch Center team, which is constantly accessing and evaluating the most contemporary research and emerging best practices in the fields of executive functioning, learning differences, adolescent performance, and anxiety-related challenges.
Some of the specific skills and strategies that may be appropriate and are frequently utilized include the following:
- Reading and Writing Strategy Implementation and Support
- Visualization and verbalizing
- Metacognition
- Writing and note-taking strategies
- Mathematics – Fluency and Applications
- Problem solving and task comprehension
- Tool exploration and teaching
- How to use available tools (calculators/PS’s, tutoring, math center, spreadsheets, bots)
- Executive Functioning
- Task definition, initiation, and prioritization
- Assessing completion of tasks
- Building Confidence
- Planning and Organizing
- Self-Advocacy
- Mitigating performance and test anxiety
- Specifically around outcomes for classes and future planning
- Leveraging best-available tech and other compensatory tools in all of the above
Yes. At Winchendon, we intentionally have created a culture of personalization and support that is pervasive across the entire program, not “centered” in one office or building that students have to go to. All teachers are invested in supporting the Hatch participants in all their courses. Learning Strategists are in touch with teachers to understand how the students are doing and to provide suggestions as to how to best support each student. And ongoing training for the teachers is rooted in best practices and methods for supporting neurodiverse learners.
Due to the high level of support and small number of students each Learning Strategist supports, there is an additional cost associated with participation in the Hatch Program. On the MA campus the cost is determined by which level of support a student is receiving. Please contact the Director of The Hatch Program – MA Jessica Toffey by clicking here for additional information.
On the NYC campus, there is a specific, all-inclusive tuition for students enrolled in the Group Learning Strategies. Please contact Director of Enrollment Management Melissa Essman by clicking here.
Recent Hatch Alumni Have Gone on to Thrive
at These Top Colleges and Universities Among Many Others
Jessica Toffey Director, Hatch Program – MA
Contact Jessica at jessicatoffey@winchendon.org
Gladys Gross Director, Hatch Program – NYC
Contact Gladys at ggross@winchendon.org
