The Wolf Academy at St. Andrew's

What is The Wolf Academy?

Serving Upper School students (grades 9 through 12)* with complex learning needs, The Wolf Academy at St. Andrew’s employs the highly effective Immersion Model© developed by the Wolf School, a premier K-8 special education private school in Rhode Island.

The Immersion Model© utilizes a team of professionals—special education teacher, speech language pathologist, and occupational therapist—to blend students’ individual speech, language, learning, social, and occupational goals into a robust, personalized academic program. In addition, Wolf Academy students also access the  dynamic curricular and extracurricular offerings, enrichments, and social opportunities of the St. Andrew’s School community.

We also offer the PEERS© program during Wolf Workshop. The Program for the Education and Enrichment of Relational Skills (PEERS®), created by UCLA, is a renowned, evidence-based social skills program. It has been clinically shown to enhance social skills and interactions for teens with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), intellectual disabilities, ADHD, anxiety, depression, and other social difficulties. Each lesson plan is well-structured, featuring clear rules, step-by-step instructions, corresponding homework, review plans, and activities designed to help teens comfortably apply what they’ve learned.

*The Wolf Academy at St. Andrew’s launched a 9th grade in fall of 2022 and has added an additional grade each year. We began offering boarding for Wolf Academy students in the fall of 2024, with the addition of welcoming a Residential Life Learning Support Coordinator to the program staff.

Key Components of The Wolf Academy

• Advisory: Wolf Academy students gather each morning with speech and language and occupational therapists to prepare for the day ahead, with an emphasis on planning, social pragmatics, time management, and self-regulation.
• Ongoing collaboration among all faculty is at the heart of instructional design.
• International Baccalaureate (IB) content classes: Students engage in the inquiry, action, and reflection process integral to every IB class. The Wolf Academy experience offers multiple IB pathways with a balance of challenge and support.
• Provision of integrated services including speech and language, occupational, executive functioning, and academic services.
• Fluid class offerings dependent on student strengths and needs: Standard St. Andrew’s content classes, co-taught content classes, and Wolf Academy content classes.
• Family partnership is integral to individualized program design.
• Advising check-ins with a learning specialist three times each day.
• Participation in extracurricular activities, athletic and arts programming.

Who Does the Wolf Academy Best Serve?

Wolf Academy students have good academic and intellectual potential, but have had difficulty progressing in a traditional classroom due to multiple learning differences, including language processing and production challenges, difficulties with sensory regulation, and ineffective social communication.

Interested in Learning More?

Contact Director of Learning Support Courtney Pierce at [email protected]. We look forward to hearing from you!