Academic and Counseling Support Services

Hackley’s Department of Support Services is comprised of two full-time psychologists, two full-time learning specialists, a health instructor and a school nurse. Our goal is to support the overall well-being of our students and to help individual students in various academic and counseling support roles.

Counseling Support
Our two school psychologists provide consultation, referrals and short-term counseling support to teachers, students and parents. The psychologists help students navigate the developmental challenges throughout the school years, from separating from parents in kindergarten, to group dynamics in Middle School, to managing the stresses of becoming more independent in Upper School. Psychologists at Hackley School are available to parents and students anytime, with an open-door policy to talk about concerns, including those about child/adolescent development, learning styles, social challenges or behavior issues.

Health and Character Education
The psychologists and health instructor reach students beyond the classroom through innovative programs that build awareness of character education, peer support, and over-all wellness, with programs ranging from Natural Helpers to ”Stress-Down” Day. The school nurse assures that students have a resource to help them cope with the onset of illness or injury.

Academic Support
Our psychologists and learning specialists provide academic support with the goal of assuring that each Hackley student can be a self-advocate with the skills to work and learn independently. The Hackley student is a fundamentally capable, motivated and independent learner, and one who may have a variety of strengths and weaknesses. While students cannot be expected to be equally capable in all academic areas, they are expected to use resources and strategies to learn how to compensate for weaknesses so that they can maintain an expected progression toward academic goals. A student with a weakness in a given area of study will have the resources available to develop strategies to support his or her efforts to meet Hackley’s academic expectations. Hackley does not compromise its overall expectations for individual students. We will accommodate individual student needs, but not to a point where the student is evaluated on a different basis than other students.

If your child requires more support than what we can provide at Hackley, chances are that the day-to-day demands of the academic program will be difficult. Hackley believes that children who come here should be able to thrive independently, and be able to acquire and use the necessary strategies to succeed.

The degree of academic support available will vary across divisions. In Lower School, for instance, a learning specialist is available to provide reinforcement of academic skills. Teachers may also consult with the learning specialist when a child needs more academic challenge. In Middle School, the learning specialist focuses on organization and study skills, and helps students meet specific academic challenges. In Upper School, the Director of Support Services works closely with teachers, students and their families to design and implement strategies that the student will use to address academic challenges, and recommend outside support where appropriate.