No two students will learn material in exactly the same way. During Friends Academy's open house on Sunday, prospective students had a chance to see the school's commitment to helping every kind of learner through the Sally Borden Program.

Instituted in 2008, the Sally Borden Program is structured for children with dyslexia and other language based learning differences including ADHD and auditory processing problems.

“Oftentimes, the way that schools are teaching [children] how to read does not make sense to their reading brains; they need to have systematic, structured, multi-sensory programs in order to thrive,” said Sally Borden Program Director Katherine Gaudet.

The program is offered for students in grades 3 through 8. Small classes with no more than eight students are key so that students can get the specialized attention they need to overcome their academic difficulties.

However, it’s important to Friends educators that the students not feel isolated from or different than their peers, and so art, music, physical education, recess lunch and fieldtrips are all integrated within the grades.

“It’s kind of the best of both worlds,” Gaudet said. “They get highly targeted programs but then for art and music and P.E. they’re with all of the kids.”

“It’s a big selling point because everybody gets what they need,” Gaudet said of Friends Academy’s educational inclusivity. “There is a way in which we can accommodate all learners, differentiate for their needs, and meet them exactly where they are on their learning continuum.”

Students like Nils Holland, 14, and Levi Parker, 12, had nothing but good things to say about the program.

Holland, a student at Friends since fourth grade, said the Sally Borden experience has been very enjoyable.

“I went to a different school before and then I came here and this helped a lot more, made me improve a lot with reading and writing,” Holland said.

He’s now looking forward to high school with schools like Proctor Academy, Brewster Academy and Tilton Academy in the running

“…the Sally Borden program is the best thing that’s ever happened to me in school,” Parker said.

Parker’s entire outlook on learning changed drastically after enrolling in the Sally Borden Program. Before joining, school felt like an obstacle to him.

“When I started coming here in third grade…it was like a whole new door just opened up for me,” he said. “I am enjoying it so much, it is such a good program. They break down stuff. They don’t squeeze in a lot of information. They slowly drag it out so you can see what you have and you pull [the] information that you want to learn… I want to go to school now. Back then, I didn’t want to go at all.”

Parents Mark and Megan were very impressed with Friends and the Sally Borden Program in particular. Their daughter, a sixth grader, has a learning disability that’s made school a bit of a struggle.

“It’s great to know something like this exists, that’s for sure,” Mark said. “She’s definitely feeling some frustrations and to have something so close to our backyard is nice to know.”

Sally Borden was a pre-school and kindergarten teacher at Friends for 30 years. Borden believed that all children are learners and are highly capable. She felt that every effort should be made by educators to meet students where they are on the educational spectrum.

After she lost her battle with cancer in 2005, Friends Academy felt there was no better way to honor her than to name the program that embodied her teaching philosophy after her.