The HillSprings Learning Center is a non-profit, half-day school (with a student to teacher ratio of no more than 4 to 1) for K-8 students who have learning differences. The facility opened in the fall of 2004 with a core of three teachers had have been trained and certified to supplement the regular school curriculum with multisensory, intensive accelerated learning. The average time of enrollment at HillSprings is anticipated to be only two years.
Instruction in reading, written language and math is provided by HillSprings in the mornings. Thereafter, students return to their home-based school to participate in other classes or extracurricular activities and to maintain relationships with friends and teachers. Along with academic skill acquisition, emphasis is placed on teaching compensatory strategies through a study skills curriculum which is an integral part of each class.
The HillSprings Learning Center was founded by a group of concerned families, educators and health care professionals who were grappling with the problem of inaderquate resources for the many Pike Peak region’s children with learning differences who were not getting the support they needed in the regular school environment. One of those founders, Janis Sharkey, had found The Hill Center in Durham, North Carolina and had made the dramatic step of moving there to get her son the assistance he so desperately needed. Based on the success Janis’ son enjoyed at The Hill Center and the enthusiastic support of numerous volunteers and educators in the Colorado Springs area, the HillSprings Learning Center was established to bring The Hill Center model to the Pikes Peak region. (www.HillCenter.org)
Since the center began, several components have been added. Those include high school on-line course work, an after school reading program, and professional development workshops for teachers.
Dr. Mel Levine, America’s top learning expert, is on the Advisory Board of the Hill Center and endorses the HillSprings mission. Dr. Levine notes that:
“The Hill Center is a unique entity. It has offered the world a viable model for helping children who are struggling and failing in their quest for success in school. The quality of teaching is exemplary. They make use of the very latest techniques that help students acquire reading skills as well as competencies in other areas…. In short, The Hill Center is worth of strong support and replication.” as is being undertaken by HillSprings.
