"Since 1926, The Gow School has empowered students with language‑based learning differences to discover their strengths, build lasting confidence, and lead lives as remarkable as they are. Serving grades 5–12 and post‑graduate students, Gow offers a research‑backed, highly personalized, college‑preparatory boarding school experience. With expert faculty and small classes, students are known and supported—and 100% of graduates earn college acceptances worldwide."
The Gow School is designed specifically for students with dyslexia and other language-based learning differences. When learning isn’t working, students need instruction built for how they learn best. For 100 years, Gow has delivered research-backed, structured teaching across all subjects, grounded in The Gow Method of Reconstructive Language—a multisensory approach to reading and language.
What sets Gow apart is how this expertise is lived every day. Small classes, highly trained teachers, and a consistent instructional approach ensure students get the right support at the right time. Our close-knit day and boarding community reinforces learning beyond the classroom, building confidence, independence, and self-advocacy.
Families often come to Gow seeking an academic reset. Students leave with proven skills, renewed self-esteem, and the confidence to move forward into higher education and beyond.
At The Gow School, every decision is guided by what our students need to feel understood, supported, and capable. Because our students have language‑based learning differences, we intentionally prioritize personalized instruction and strong relationships over size, standardization, or a long list of fixed programs.
This means Gow is a deliberately small school, and our academic and extracurricular offerings evolve based on the needs and interests of the students we serve. While we may not offer the breadth of options found at larger schools, we invest deeply in expert faculty, small classes, and a curriculum designed to build confidence and independence.
For families, this tradeoff creates something powerful: a school where your child is truly known, where learning differences are understood, and where support is consistent and meaningful. The result is growth not just academically, but in self‑belief—and that foundation makes all the difference.
The Gow School was founded in 1926 by Peter Gow, Jr., becoming the first school in the United States dedicated to educating students with dyslexia. After more than 20 years teaching at independent schools, Gow grew concerned that many bright students were struggling academically—especially with print-based language. He believed their challenges stemmed not from lack of ability, but from instruction that did not match how they learned best. Gow theorized that small class sizes and intensive, systematic instruction were key to student success.
Shortly after opening the school, Gow met Dr. Samuel T. Orton, the pioneering neurologist whose research supported a phonetic approach to educating students with what were then called “specific language disabilities.” Through years of teaching and experimentation, Gow developed the Reconstructive Language (RL) program, a structured, multisensory approach similar to the Orton-Gillingham method. RL remains a cornerstone of Gow’s curriculum today.
The Gow School's mission is to educate and empower students who have been diagnosed with language-based learning differences, including dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia. Many of our students also have ADD, ADHD, executive function disorder, auditory processing disorder, or language processing disorder. Gow students are bright, capable learners with average to above-average cognitive abilities who thrive in an environment designed with language-based learning differences in mind.
Students who are most successful at The Gow School are able to work independently, engage in small classes without behavioral disruption, form positive, respectful relationships with peers and teachers, and follow a boarding school schedule with limited guidance. The Gow School cannot support students who have behavioral challenges, intellectual disabilities, emotional disturbances, or profound mental health challenges.
The Gow School is not a good fit for families seeking a therapeutic or clinical environment for their student who is facing mental health challenges, behavioral challenges, or emotional disturbances. We offer weekly counseling sessions with a licensed mental health practitioner; however, Gow is not able to offer intensive therapeutic services to students.
The Gow School might not be a good fit for families or students who prefer a larger student body. Gow is intentionally small so that our faculty can provide the personalized educational and extracurricular experiences we value.
Finally, the Gow community values kindness, empathy, and self-discovery. Our school is not a good fit for families or students seeking a homogenous social or cultural community. Our students are encouraged to be themselves, find and pursue their unique interests, and build a post-graduate life as remarkable as they are.
Families choose Gow for our 100 years of expertise educating students with language-based learning differences—the longest-running school of its kind. At the heart of our curriculum is The Gow Method of Reconstructive Language (RL), a reading remediation program developed by founder Peter Gow, Jr. in collaboration with neurologist Dr. Samuel T. Orton, whose work later informed the Orton-Gillingham approach.
Unique to The Gow School, RL is a proven, research-backed, multisensory program designed specifically for middle- and high-school students in small group settings. While similar schools rely on external programs such as Orton-Gillingham, Wilson, or Lindamood-Bell, Gow teaches a method created expressly for our students—refined through decades of practice and results.
The Gow School is known for its college‑preparatory curriculum and boarding school environment designed specifically for students with language‑based learning differences. In a caring, structured, and supportive setting, students experience meaningful academic and social growth. They explore STEM, the arts, robotics, literature, and more, while strengthening study skills, focus, and self‑advocacy.
Alongside our proprietary reading curriculum, intentional boarding program, and expert faculty, Gow is renowned for its 100% college acceptance rate—an outcome many families once thought beyond reach. Graduates leave with tools that help all their abilities shine, including pattern recognition, spatial reasoning, and resilience. Gow alumni go on to do extraordinary things—as artists, architects, doctors, entrepreneurs, and even Olympic athletes—demonstrating the power of original thinking.
Our geographical location. Before enrolling people are worried about the distance but once they start travelling to Gow they realize how easy it is get to Buffalo.
Families often credit Gow to not only changing the way their child learns and acts but often times the family dynamics change in a good way. With Gow taking the pressure off of the families for homework, school, and much more, moms and dads can go back to being parents and less stressed about their child in school.
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