The Leelanau School

Reviews

• ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
  Our son suffers from ADHD and spent 9th and 10th grades at our local public high school. While this high school is consistently rated as one of the best high schools in the United States, it was not a good fit for our son. Even with an Individualized Education Program (IEP) in place, school was pretty much a disaster for him. The public school would give him "accommodations": extra time to take tests, the ability to turn homework in late, etc. But our son was still being taught in mainstream classrooms, with 30+ kids. He did not get the individualized attention he needed. As our son so eloquently put it one day, "What difference does it make if I get extra time to take tests if I don't know what I'm doing?" Enter the Leelanau School in Glen Arbor, Michigan. Or, as we now call it, "The best high school on the planet." Just before our son's junior year began, we went to visit the school. The Leelanau School is a private, non-profit, strength-based experiential boarding high school school for intelligent boys and girls who simply learn differently. They specialize in teaching kids with ADD, ADHD, dyslexia, and similar learning differences. Their strengths lie in their dedicated faculty and small, supportive boarding school environment. Their mission? "To support the discovery of individual potential through academic, physical, and personal development of students who learn differently." While driving home after our tour of the school that summer, our son said something very profound to me and my wife: "I think this school could change my life." And change his life it has. Our son has gone from feeling "lost" in school to feeling welcome. From getting poor grades to getting excellent grades. And from not wanting to go to school to absolutely loving it. In just a few months, he blossomed into an excellent student, made lifelong friendships with fellow students from around the world, and did things he never would've done in public school (e.g., performed in a play and performed music and sang in front of a crowd). He has done these things because he feels comfortable in his environment; an environment where all the students like and support each other and where teachers give the individualized attention students like our son need to learn. My wife and I honestly believe that if it wasn't for the Leelanau School, our son would not have received the high school education he deserved and was capable of I highly recommend the Leelanau School without reservation. It is an amazing place.
  By Dean Dauphinais, August 26, 2017
• ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
  I really don't have the words to describe how incredible The Leelanau School is. In the two years that our son has been attending we have seen him absolutely flourish, both academically and socially. His feelings of isolation have been melted away by the compassion of the faculty and staff and, perhaps more importantly, by the love and friendship of a student body which is not only encouraged but _expected_ to treat all of its members with kindness and respect. Academically he has been introduced to the kinds of concepts and ways of thinking that will prepare him not only for further education, but for a full life as a creative, productive, and engaged human being. In this process he has consistently been challenged, been pushed to improve himself and to understand his own potential, but never has he been asked to do something beyond his means, been put down for having difficulty, or been expected to attempt anything new without the support and encouragement of his teachers and classmates. My wife and I always say that if we had unlimited resources to create a school for our son, to handpick the teachers and administrators and to design our own curriculum, the result would end up being The Leelanau School. It has quite simply changed all of our lives.
  By Rich Milock, May 05, 2017

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