REVIEW OF MindWare Academy BY parent, Robin Goodall-Copestake

(5) Student Experience

MindWare is a haven for our daughter, and I am not exaggerating when I say that it changed her life. She was in the public system until the end of grade 2, unable to read and struggling with focus. We were also starting to see some "mean girl" behaviours that were not being addressed because there were too many other challenges in the classroom. That summer, we had her reassessed, and she was diagnosed with a reading disability and ADHD. We knew she was not getting the support she needed at her public school, and we also had her in reading tutoring 2 evenings a week. This is when we decided to look for an alternative and found MindWare. It has been a saving grace. Within a month, we saw a more confident kid who was pushing herself rather than just trying to disappear. The focused support she got from the IR program, Orton-Gillingham-based concepts and practice, Structured Word Inquiry, has turned her into both a reader and a writer. They also really support children to develop and practice executive functioning skills, and I am confident that these will support our daughter for the rest of her life. Beyond skills development, what really makes MindWare's approach stand out for me as a parent is the Journey Jam and Peace Circle programs. Peace Circle is a weekly age-appropriate discussion on topics like Self and Co-Regulation, Following Directions, Using our Filters, The power of positive thinking, and so many more core skills to become a contributing, empathetic, self-aware person. Journey Jam is a school-wide weekly project that gets the students working together on things like an egg drop challenge or creating their own board games. These two programs are critical in helping build a safe space to help our daughter become the best version of herself. As a parent, I can see the skills, maturity and confidence these programs have helped her to build when I watch her participate in competitive extracurriculars, navigate friendships and approach tough challenges. MindWare is a tiny and selective school, and I am thrilled that we have a place there that is supporting our daughter to thrive.

Why MindWare Academy?

As I noted above, our daughter has several learning disabilities. We wanted a school that fostered building skills to learn to work and succeed with these challenges in the real world while still being empathetic and responsive to her needs. Rather than one that allowed them to be an excuse.

Expectations vs. Reality

It completely met my expectations based on the school visit and my conversations with the administration. Whenever we have concerns, they are very responsive.

Your Advice

MindWare was the perfect school in our case; if it sounds like yours, definitely check it out. If you're thinking about it, the administration is wonderful about letting you, as a prospective parent, understand and see the school in action!

(4) School Leadership

The team is very small and highly responsive and collaborative, which I love. I do wish there were some type of parent board that also supported school governance. That being said every time there has been a concern or question from me or my partner the school has been very responsive and collaborative in finding solutions. I also really appreciate how proactive and accessible they are when issues to occur. Our teacher always emails us when something stressful may come home so that we are ready to support our daughter.

(4.5) Teaching

We have had an excellent experience with our daughter's main teacher. We have been lucky enough that this teacher has been moving up grades, so our daughter has had her for the last 3 years. We actually requested this because of the well-documented research behind the advantage of having the same teacher for multiple years. In our case, this teacher is incredible because of the balanced approach she takes. She has appropriate expectations for the students while keeping the class fun and kind. We have found this a perfect balance for our daughter, who likes to be challenged but also needs lots of love. I think there are benefits to the children being with other teachers for the IR program, and I am happy with the instruction she receives there. I only docked one from my rating because there is one teacher for IR that, based on my daughter's reports, is a bit harsher in her classroom management than I would like, but this is my preference.

(4) Academics

In terms of academics, this is not a school where children are engaging with state-of-the-art STEM tech or going on elaborate field trips. This is not what we prioritized. It does focus on supporting students who are engaged citizens, who have strong learning skills and who love to learn. They also have a strong grounding in age-appropriate core academics like reading and math fluency. As parents, these core learning skills to create a good citizen of the world and a lifelong learner are what truly make the difference at MindWare in our daughters' development. Initially, we were uncertain about MindWare's grading practice. They grade according to the student's potential and abilities. I think this works very well for some children with more profound challenges than our daughter. They also note this practice at the end of every report card. In our daughter's case, the decision to attend MindWare was not about her ability to meet the Ontario Curricular standards. We asked that she be graded against those standards and that the last page that described their typical marking practice be removed in her case. This flexibility was great for our family.

(3.5) Extracurriculars

As notes the Journey Jam and Peace circle are integrated right into the curriculum. Outside of that, there are limited extracurriculars, I believe, because of the size of the school. As a parent, I am fine to make this trade-off, but I do wish that as my daughter gets older, she had the opportunity to have more access to things like competition with other schools and field trips.

(5) Students

The school feels like a place where the children really know one another and want to support each other. There are only 40 children, so they interact across grades, which has been lovely for our daughter to learn about different types of friendships. The school also uses the time in Peace Circle to help the students develop friendship skills, which I think helps to deepen the kindness and support of the student body. The teachers have a nice balance of helping the students use their skills to manage conflict and stepping in when an adult voice is needed to mediate. The school being only 40 children means that there are only every 6-8 children our daughters' age, so we have worked to cultivate friendships outside of school as well. It has been nice to see how the friendship skills she learns at MindWare help her navigate these situations, too.

(4.5) School Life

Our daughter loves MindWare. She comes home excited to tell us about what she has done both academically and socially. Another difference we have really loved is getting her work home thoroughly marked by her teacher, including comments on where she is thriving and where she needs to improve. This is a big difference from our experience in the public system, as we feel very aware of her work and progress. In terms of outside of school, the children can attend the Boys and Girls Club across the street for aftercare. Boys and Girls Club staff pick up the children and walk them over. This has been wonderful for our daughter because it allows her to access the programming and get to know another group of children.

(2) Community

As noted above, there is no significant parent community. The school is very communicative with parents, and several parents have done volunteer presentations on things like chickens and beekeeping. I do wish parents were given one another's contact information and that there was a space for us to connect. My family does not have the capacity to be part of a school council, but we did participate in parent council-led activities at our public school, and we miss these at MindWare. I will note that, given this is a review, I have not provided this feedback to the school, so I am not certain if this is something they have considered or would consider adding. As a parent, it was not a key requirement when we were selecting the school.

(4.5) School Location

The school is in the lower level of a church with its own entrance. The classrooms are welcoming and decorated to engage the students. There is a small library, a kitchen, and a large gathering room that the whole school can access. For recreation, they walk to a nearby city park with a playground and sledding and skating in the winter. I really enjoy that the space is a bit more humble because I think the balance is important for our family, given the privilege of attending a private school. I also enjoy that they are learning to exercise using what will be available to them for the rest of their lives.

(5) Admissions

Our admissions process was fairly easy and seamless. We applied over the summer, submitted our daughter's psychoeducational assessment and report cards and had an interview with the principal. We agreed that our daughter would do a few shadow days the first week of school to ensure it was a fit. During one of those days, we went in for another visit, interview and tour. For our family, this process allowed us to get to know the school and feel confident that it was a fit.