Student Support

Services provided by the Director of Health & Wellness include:

• individual short-term counseling for students
• partnership with parents to support students 
• referrals for services in the community
• mental health skills and resilience training for all students through the Advisory curriculum and Foundations class
• professional development for faculty
• parent discussion groups

Whitfield issues laptops to all students.  During the school day, the technology team operates a tech support desk with open access for students, faculty and staff. Here, the team addresses both hardware and software questions, as well as any problems related to technology use including Warrior Web (our intranet).

Students who need additional academic support should contact The Kerner Family Director of Teaching and Learning to discuss the challenges they are facing and determine the best intervention.  Intervention options include, but are not limited to, peer tutoring as well as 1-on-1 tutoring with subject specific tutors employed by Whitfield.  This support is often arranged weekly and occurs on campus before/during/after the school day.

Whitfield provides a comprehensive college counseling program for students and families.  This program follows a formal curriculum that is delivered during the school day beginning in ninth grade.  The curriculum develops a wide range of skills and competencies in students, in addition to leading them to the college in which they will be the most successful.

Whitfield’s academic support system operates on three interconnected levels—each grounded in collaboration among teachers, learning specialists, students, and families.

Level 1: Solid Instruction and Early Intervention
Every student begins here. Across classrooms, teachers use differentiated instruction, small-group reteaching, and targeted support to help students master material and build confidence. When a student needs an extra boost, learning specialists may join classes for “push-in” support or work behind the scenes to develop tailored strategies in partnership with teachers.

Level 2: Accommodations and Learning Profiles
For students with a documented learning difference and a recent evaluation, learning specialists create individualized Learning Profiles outlining strengths, challenges, and specific classroom accommodations. These profiles guide teachers in implementing personalized strategies and ensure equitable access to Whitfield’s rigorous curriculum.

Level 3: The Evergreen Program
When students need more intensive, individualized support, the Evergreen Program provides structured, one-on-one coaching and progress monitoring. With a focus on executive functioning, personalized learning strategies, and consistent communication with families, Evergreen helps students develop lifelong habits of organization and self-advocacy.

Support at Whitfield looks different depending on the division. In Middle School, learning specialists often work directly in classrooms, offering adult-guided assistance that builds skills and confidence. By Upper School, students take the lead—initiating check-ins, managing their own study halls, and strengthening their independence as learners.
 
Across all levels, communication between faculty, learning specialists, and families is constant and intentional. Academic support at Whitfield is never isolated; it is woven into the very fabric of how we teach and learn.

Beyond the classroom, students have access to Whitfield’s in-house tutoring program, staffed by specialists across subject areas. Families may also coordinate with approved third-party tutors, ensuring continuity and collaboration within the Whitfield framework.
 
Ultimately, our approach reflects Whitfield’s core mission: helping every student build the confidence, resilience, and self-knowledge to navigate challenges—both inside and outside the classroom.

If a Whitfield student has completed an outside evaluation that meets the criteria stated in the Handbook, they will meet with the Kerner Family Director of Teaching and Learning to develop a learning profile.  Learning profiles outline the students strengths, areas of support and capture appropriate educational accommodations listed below.  This working document is shared with parents, teachers, advisors and interventionists.

The following accommodations are considered to be appropriate and accessible at Whitfield:

• up to 50% extended time on quizzes, tests, and exams
• reduced-distraction testing environment
• preferential seating
• access to a four-function calculator
• access to a computer for written assessment
• other accommodations are allowed in cases when the core requirements of the course are not compromised and when existing resources are available.

Student learning profiles are periodically reviewed and modified. Over time, identification and ownership of the need for accommodations should be student driven. Developing self-advocacy skills as well as the ability to differentiate for oneself is the goal upon graduation.

In order to receive accommodations, a comprehensive evaluation must have been completed by a qualified professional within the last three years.

The student’s evaluation report must include the following:

• the specific disability or disorder which has been diagnosed (DSM, ICD code) 
• a recommendation for specific accommodations, with an explanation of why the disability requires each accommodation requested 
• relevant educational, developmental and medical history • thorough documentation of the techniques or methods of evaluation 
• Psychoeducational or Neuropsychological test results and subtest scores and percentiles (full, not brief form; cluster, not broad scores), applicable behavior rating scales, and teacher input/rating scales 
• •the professional credentials of the evaluator (license, certification, area of specialization i.e. PhD, PsyD, EdD, LSSP) 

Students receiving accommodations at Whitfield may be eligible for accommodations for the SAT and ACT tests used for college admission. Upper school families are notified each year regarding the process for requesting accommodations for these standardized tests. For a student to be considered for these accommodations, Whitfield must certify that we have current signed documents on file which include the information listed above. The decision to grant accommodations for these exams is made independently by College Board (for PSAT, SAT, and AP tests) and ACT (for the ACT test). Whitfield School is not involved in the review process when determining which, if any, accommodations will be granted for these standardized tests. The Director of College Counseling, and Assistant Director of College Counseling, help families submit their applications for accommodations.

The ultimate goal at The Whitfield School is to build a collaborative partnership with students and families. That relationship provides the platform for maximizing the student learning experience and providing students with the skills to be successful in future academic settings. To that end, reasonable and appropriate accommodations can be consistently provided when proper evidence and documentation is ascertained.

While Whitfield School makes reasonable efforts to support students who are admitted, the school may determine over time that a student’s needs would be better served in a different academic setting.