News
2011 Transitioning Students Reflect on What LKS Meant to Them:
- Spencer: “ My experience at Little Keswick School has been an opportunity for me to improve upon skills in which I was lacking before. ”
- Huntley: “ It meant that I can see things from a different angle. ”
- Ben: “ A place where I have grown. A place that has a very unique community; while all have very diverse needs and goals, we all share at least one common goal and it is to grow. ”
- Robert: “ It has allowed me to view the world in a way that shows how everyone is the same by morals, but different by choice. ”
- Ryan: “ It has helped me control my emotions when upset or when times are difficult. ”
- Austin: “ LKS has meant a great deal to me, as people here are willing to accept people for who they are and help them find their strong points and make them stronger. When you find a weak point, everyone jumps in and makes it just as strong as stronger points. This is why I believe LKS has been and always will be a valuable asset to me. ”
- Jon: “ LKS has meant a period of growth and hard work for a successful future. ”
- Josh: “ This school has impacted my life in a lot of ways! -Making me who I am today. This school has given me hope to succeed in life. ”
- Noah: “ It changed my life. It transformed me both physically and mentally. My whole attitude towards life has changed completely since getting here. The relationships I have built here are going to continue to grow. Some of the people I have built relationships with have been so crucial to getting me where I am now. Thank you LKS. ”
VAISEF Review
We are proud to announce that our recent five-year accreditation review by the Virginia Association of Independent Specialized Education Facilities (VAISEF — www.vaisef.org) has resulted in one of the best scores for Little Keswick School since its inception in 1963. Our overall evaluation, according to one of the members of the accreditation committee, was “higher than that of any other school he could ever remember.” In support of their evaluation, the site visit representatives offered a number of individual comments that we feel capture the essence of what we do and who we are.
- The staff is welcoming and open. You could see that they are a real community.
- Your attention to detail is commendable, and you should know that it is very rare that a facility meets all standards at 100% accuracy.
- You provide a high level of clinical treatment and care for students, and decisions are made in the best interests of these boys. This school helps students change to become better people and has the vision to make these dreams happen.
- The school represents a team of people tied together by the school's mission and supports its students in a collaborative process.
- One student stated that “the staff is always there for me.” This sums up what the school is all about.
“Having received this endorsement from an organization like VAISEF is a tribute to the school's quality in both academic and social instruction,” said Headmaster Marc Columbus, M.Ed. “It is a credit to the entire Little Keswick School staff. Their dedication to our program as a whole, and to the needs of each of our students is truly exceptional. This is a commitment not only to a set of educational principles, but to the culture in which they exist — one in which potential is recognized, growth is valued and success is celebrated.”
?Little Keswick Welcomes New Canine Staff Member
Little Keswick School is honored to announce the newest staff member to our school community, Barter, a facility assistance dog! After over a year of applications and interviews the school has been awarded the opportunity to receive a facility dog for the school through a nonprofit organization, Canine Companions for Independence (CCI). (www.cci.org) This organization enhances the lives of people by providing highly trained assistance dogs and ongoing support to ensure quality partnerships. The dogs spend six to nine months training with professional CCI instructors at one of five regional training centers.
Facility assistance dogs are different from typical family pets in that CCI dogs are specifically training to work with a wide variety of people. Numerous studies have demonstrated benefits of therapy dogs for our students in particular. We recognize the role a dog will have in helping students build healthy attachments, increased verbal interactions, develop leisure/recreation skills, boost self-esteem, decrease anxiety, reduce loneliness, and improve attention skill. All of these components directly complement the objectives of our Social Emotional Curriculum that focuses on students' Executive Functioning, Competence, Cooperation, and Social/Relationship skills.
Little Keswick School focuses on four main aspects of social and emotional development: executive functioning, competence, collaboration, and social/relationship skills. In an aim to enhance the development of executive functioning skills in our students, Little Keswick is pleased to announce that we have recently begun to incorporate Interactive Metronome into the Occupational Therapy portion of the school's comprehensive treatment.
Interactive Metronome (IM) is a computer based assessment and treatment program designed to improve neurological processing, specifically motor planning and sequencing. Interactive Metronome's addition marks our commitment to incorporate multiple therapeutic interventions in our Social Emotional Curriculum..
Studies have shown that IM interventions benefit students with a wide range of ages and diagnoses including students with ADD/ADHD, autistic spectrum disorders, nonverbal learning disabilities, learning disabilities, sensory processing disorders, motor disorders, acquired neurological disorders, and auditory and language processing.
Little Keswick School to Serve International Students
SEVIS Enrollment Approved
Little Keswick School is pleased to announce that the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) has reviewed and approved our petition for certification and enrollment in the Student Exchange and Visitor Information System (SEVIS). Little Keswick School has been serving boys with social/emotional challenges and learning disabilities for 45 years. Currently 34 students from 19 different states and Puerto Rico are enrolled. SEVIS certification will allow us to again draw from a more diverse pool of applicants, which facilitates our efforts to maintain optimal social balances in our student population. Our small therapeutic school provides warm and nurturing relationships, intensive clinical intervention, and individualized education to boys in a highly structured environment that ensures that they develop successfully.
Independent Educational Consultants
From Across the Nation
Visit Little Keswick School
Virginia in the fall is beautiful and what better time to show off Little Keswick School to a group of Educational Consultants from all over the country, Bermuda, and Canada? Many of the children that come to LKS find us through the referral of an Educational Consultant. It is important that we help these professionals learn more about the work we do. Some consultants have been long term supporters for over twenty years and have placed numerous boys with us. Their visit only served to strengthen those ties and reinforce the quality of the program that LKS provides. For forty-five years we have provided a unique niche for complex young men who need a highly structured, supportive yet nurturing setting where students accomplish academic gains and learn social and emotional skills so they may transition to a less restrictive setting. The way to really understand how we work, to best recognize a good fit for a child, and to take in the pastoral Virginia countryside is to tour Little Keswick. Please visit, meet our boys and staff, look in on classes, and observe the individual attention that is such a part of life here. Join us for a Community Meeting as there is no better way to see how the boys are immersed in the program, take ownership, and celebrate our culture. Seeing is believing!
Some of the comments that the Educational Consultants wrote on their evaluation forms about their visit to our program:
- “The student and staff ratio is amazing. The constant ‘rehearsal’ of expectations and directives to the boys contributes to their success. Mostly, I felt the amount of nurturing that goes on here and specialized attention.”
- “Wonderful! Warm, nurturing and caring — the quality continues!!”
Student Successes
Boys who transitioned from Little Keswick School in June 2010, continued their education at these schools:
- The Berkshire School, MA
- Bridges Academy, CA
- Eagle Hill School, MA
- Forman School, CT
- Marvelwood School, CT
- Sacramento Waldorf School, CA
- Prarie Grove Public School, AR
- Kimball Union Academy, NH
Our Newsletter:
Little Keswick School writes a quarterly newsletter that briefly
captures current events and activities going on around campus. All newsletters are in PDF format.
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View December 2008
View October 2008
—A Parent from Texas“From his experiences at Little Keswick, our son realized he could succeed. At LKS he emerged as a leader and a role model among the boys in his age group, and became comfortable in that place. He tried and succeeded in efforts he would never have done before, such as playing the guitar, cooking, and organizing his belongings. This was very gratifying to him and us.”
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