A “typical” ATLAS student may have one or more of the following barriers that stand between them and academic success:
- Organizational struggles
- A pattern of negative schooling experiences that has caused our students to not believe in their own abilities
- A pattern of negative teacher/ student interactions that has caused our students to shut down in the larger classroom setting
- A lack of comfort around peers to ask questions in class and/or ask for help as needed
- Barriers within their home (Ex: unstructured homework time, sibling demands, Parental struggles etc.)
- Poor personal choices that have stood in the way of academic success
- ADHD/ADD
- Emotional barriers (Ex: depression, anxiety, school phobia, etc.)
- Learning style is more hands on (experiential) vs. lecture style
We do not believe that any student is just “lazy.” We have never met a ATLAS student that did not want to succeed in school; each simply needed a structured setting to rediscover their abilities!
ATLAS students have the following strengths:
- Desire to get along with their fellow ATLAS peers; to build relationships
- Desire to participate in creative ways of learning
- Ability to foster relationships with their ATLAS teachers
- Working collaboratively with their peers and teachers
- Ready to become more accountable for their work and learning
- Comfortable working and learning in a smaller space with a smaller population of student
- Courageous! Doing what they know is best for their learning, even if they encounter certain challenges
