August 2023 Update
We regret to inform you that The Cedar School has lost its funding and is now closed.
If you have questions about educational options, you are welcome to call the school cellphone at (203) 524-6462.
If you are a former family with a transcript request or a request for other documents, please email c.kaufman@thecedarschool.org, and your documents will be processed as quickly as possible.
THE CEDAR SCHOOL IS A CO-ED DAY SCHOOL SERVING HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS WITH LEARNING DIFFERENCES. THE CEDAR SCHOOL IS LOCATED IN GREENWICH, CT, AND IS CONVENIENT TO FAIRFIELD COUNTY, WESTCHESTER COUNTY AND THE NEW YORK AREA. CEDAR OFFERS A COLLEGE-PREP PROGRAM FOR BRIGHT STUDENTS WITH MILD-TO-MODERATE LANGUAGE-BASED LEARNING DIFFERENCES (LBLD), SUCH AS DYSLEXIA, AND CHALLENGES WITH DYSCALCULIA, DYSGRAPHIA, EXECUTIVE FUNCTIONING (EFD), AUDITORY PROCESSING (APD), & ADHD.
Our Mission
The Cedar School program is designed for high school students with language-based learning differences. Cedar focuses on individual student strengths and gifts, while supporting their learning needs with intensive, research-based, multisensory instruction. Cedar combines a rigorous college-prep curriculum with personalized and differentiated instructional attention through small class sizes and carefully designed individual learning plans.
About
The Cedar Difference
The Cedar School is about helping students with language-based learning differences build their strengths, understand their challenges and become independent learners and effective self-advocates. We focus daily on creativity, individuality, and differentiation. Students should look forward to school—it should be inspiring, interesting and deeply engaging. Every day.
The Arts and Experiential Learning
At The Cedar School, the curriculum includes art, music, extra-curricular activities and a wide range of experiential learning activities, including a two-week internship program annually for every student. With a goal of fostering creativity and imagination in our students, the arts are emphasized within each class and in daily arts electives. Monthly field trips and regular guest speakers will connect students to the world around them.
Our History
The Cedar School was co-founded by Clay Kaufman, founding head of school, and Ben Jenkins, with a grand opening in the fall of 2021.
Clay and Ben recognized the outstanding work of so many area K-8 private schools for students with learning differences, and the existence of excellent boarding school options for high school. High school is by its very nature challenging for students. Clay and Ben believe that students gain confidence and thrive when taught in a school environment that understands them and meets their needs.
The Cedar School is a local private high school option that offers students academic challenge while giving them a multisensory approach to learning, the skills they need for college and life, and the opportunity to build their areas of strength every day. For ease of founding, The Cedar School is created as a proprietary school (for-profit) that will be run like a non-profit, with student needs being the first priority. The school is also establishing a non-profit 501(c)(3) scholarship fund that will raise money for financial aid.
Why Cedar?
There are many ways to get a high school education. Some students with language-based learning differences can succeed in public school or mainstream private school. So why Cedar? Consider the difference between just getting by and truly thriving.
At The Cedar School, homework is limited to two hours per night. Period. Consider the normal workload at other schools, and how long your child might need to complete the homework.
At Cedar, students are taught by teachers who understand exactly the way they learn.
They spend every minute of every day learning in a multisensory way, from highly trained teachers.
No more tutors outside of school! Students can have the outside activities they love and get the sleep they need.
At The Cedar School, we support students in their areas of challenge, but we also prioritize time every day to grow their areas of strength, including an arts class every single day, and sometimes two a day.
All the tools and strategies students need are embedded within the school day. School just feels like school—no pullouts, no feeling different.
Students spend time learning the academic skills they need, not just memorizing content. Wouldn’t almost any child thrive at The Cedar School? We are here to support our students, and also to serve as a better model of a rich, dynamic high school education.
Resources
There are many excellent sources of information for families. Please explore some of the following suggested websites:
For Reading
"By leveraging the existing research in ways that inspire educators to refine their literacy instruction, The Reading League bridges the gap between research and classroom practice. This results in improved literacy outcomes for students."
Learning Ally provides audio versions of "all popular literature along with all the classics, textbooks and books for required reading. Additionally, we provide programming to help motivate students, a dashboard to monitor student progress and Professional Learning modules, including our Spotlight on Dyslexia Conference, to provide educators with all the support and training they need to be dynamic leaders in literacy."
ASDEC: The Atlantic Seaboard Dyslexia Education Center
"As a nationally accredited professional development center, ASDEC trains and certifies Academic Therapists and educates teachers, tutors, parents, and school leaders in effective methods to help individuals who are dyslexic or have other learning differences."
For Learning differences including dyslexia
Resources, expertise and connections about learning differences for students and families
Smart Kids With Learning Disabilities
"Our mission is to help children with learning and attention differences reach their full potential by inspiring, educating and empowering parents to help their children succeed."
For Attention
"Everybody can have difficulty sitting still, paying attention or controlling impulsive behavior once in a while. For some people, however, the problems are so pervasive and persistent that they interfere with every aspect of their life: home, academic, social and work. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder affecting 11 percent of school-age children."