The Leelanau School is a strength-based experiential boarding high school for intelligent boys and girls who simply learn differently, especially those with dyslexia, ADD, ADHD, and similar learning differences.
In his book, “Superparenting for ADD”, Dr. Ned Hallowell wrote “I believe that I have found the perfect program for any high school child with ADHD, dyslexia, dysgraphia, or dscalculia. It is the Leelanau School near Traverse City. I got the chance to visit the school and was blown away by how good the teachers are, the experiential-based, integrated curriculum, the strength-based learning strategies component and the residential life program are. The place is beautiful, right on the banks of the Crystal River and Lake Michigan. I believe you could not find a better place.”
Dr. Hallowell now offers summer programs in conjunction with Leelanau. Each July he spends two weeks on Leelanau’s campus presenting workshops to families of students with ADD and ADHD. Dr. Hallowell meets with parents while their children are meeting with Leelanau Director of Education, Rob Himburg.
The Leelanau School believes that learning is a lifelong endeavor. Leelanau students develop self-awareness, creativity, discipline, curiosity and empathy to use their intelligence well. Our school community values the whole person and seeks to know each student individually in order to help them become self-directed independent learners whether in a classroom, in the dorm, traveling abroad or around a campfire in the wilderness. When students are allowed to learn and show their knowledge using their strengths, they become engaged in the process of learning, leading to improved motivation, resilience and productivity. Students are then more willing to consider the aspects of learning that are most challenging and set goals to develop the skills and strategies to improve. Simply, they gain the independence and freedom they desire by demonstrating competence and mastery of their learning.
The Leelanau School’s strengths lie in our dedicated faculty and small, supportive boarding school environment that allow for the flexibility to focus on the individual student. Each January, our students engage in “Winter Term”, a five-week immersion in strength-based curriculum. Students travel to Guatemala for language immersion and community service through the “Safe Passage” organization, they go sailing in the British Virgin Islands to study marine biology, the Improv class heads to Chicago for a week of Second City shows and theater. Others choose activities closer to home such as Outdoor Winter Survival, Boat Building, Culinary Arts and Food Appreciation, and Songwriting and Film Making. Leelanau is committed to developing the entire student by fostering self-confidence, developing personal strengths and abilities, addressing challenges, creating a sense of empathy and understanding for others, and providing for a strong sense of family and community.
The Leelanau School endeavors to instill a love of learning, sense of stewardship for the natural environment, and a willingness to explore new ideas and experiences by full utilization of the 24-hour boarding school curriculum. At Leelanau, students develop life-long skills in concert with our mission statement. Through the academic and residence life programs, students develop the value of knowledge and the knowledge of values to build the skills to succeed at Leelanau and beyond.
The Learning Resource Center (LRC) is a curricular program designed to guide students toward becoming independent self-directed learners. Students entering the program begin by determining their learning styles—strengths and challenges—and their present level of academic functioning across all subject areas. This process of identification is achieved through the compilation of formal diagnostic information, faculty observation, self-reporting and informal diagnostics such as, Multiple Intelligences and Learning Styles surveys. The purpose of identifying and building awareness of each student’s academic profile is two-fold. Primarily, it is for the student to gain a deep level of awareness about their personal strengths, challenges and learning styles. The second purpose is for the academic and LRC faculty to create a learning environment that allows students to access important information (content), process it (learning) and then demonstrate that they have learned (assessment).
The Leelanau School’s goal for the international student is to encourage and support learning the requisite English language skills necessary to do well on the TOEFL while achieving academically. We find a very successful approach is to completely surround international students with the English language. Their academic and ESL classes are taught in English, and all school-related activities are conducted in English.
