Learner Profile
The Journey School learner is a bright student with social and emotional delays, otherwise known as twice-exceptional, or 2e. Many Journey students have been diagnosed with ADHD, Anxiety, Autism, or a learning disability. Some students have had traumatic experiences that interfere academically and socially.
Common Characteristics
Common strengths of twice-exceptional learners:
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Advanced vocabulary
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Highly creative
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Inquisitive
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Desire to understand why things work
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Consuming interest or talent, they are exceptionally knowledgeable about
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Quirky yet sophisticated sense of humor
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Express advanced ideas and opinions (sometimes well above their age/grade level)
Common challenges of twice-exceptional learners:
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Poor executive functioning skills
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Inconsistent academic performance
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Poor spelling skills
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Perfectionist
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Afraid of failure
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Sensitive to feedback
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Difficulty with written expression (due to feedback sensitivity or self-criticism)
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Difficulty recognizing social cues
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Low frustration threshold
Executive Functioning
The Journey School's integrative educational approach targets five Executive Functioning domains; working memory, flexibility, task Initiation, prioritization and planning, and organization. When our students' executive functioning skills improve, their sense of self-efficacy increases, leading to increased frustration tolerance, perseverance, and sense of success. Executive Functioning skills and social and emotional learning are inextricably linked, and teachers build EF skills practice into every lesson and project.
Social & Emotional Learning
The school integrates 5 core social and emotional skills (self-awareness, social awareness, self-management, relationship skills, and responsible decision making) to help students navigate school and life, while seeing their own value and building self-efficacy. Teachers are trained to integrate social and emotional learning into all aspects of instruction, providing learning experiences that are complex and meaningful, and allow the student to mine a deeper understanding of themselves as well as the academic curriculum.
Family Perspective
The family is the central component of the child's life. The family plays an active role on the school team by contributing their parental experience, promoting their goals for their child, and understanding the developmental process.
Our child development specialists are credentialed mental-health professionals, who help families and educators understand the internal experience of the child. Family consultants, with a clinical license, recognize the family's central role in the success of children. By working as a team with the parents and educators, the team empowers each child to integrate who they are with what they learn, cultivating independent thinkers who are self-motivated and exceed standards set for them.
The Journey School of Houston provides inclusive education to meet the needs of the whole child. Our personalized curriculum supports individual growth in order for each child to succeed and live with intention.
To serve the educational needs of exceptional students using an inclusive environment, built on the basic tenets of respect and compassion. Children develop adaptive social practice, problem-solving skills, and discover their learning potential in a setting that addresses the needs of each child.
Our deep understanding of child development with a working knowledge of how children learn is the foundation for student-teacher relationships that are emotionally connected with a curriculum that is specifically designed to enhance a child’s innate intelligence and creativity.