Charles Armstrong School
Encyclopedia
The Charles Armstrong School, located in Belmont, California
, is an independent, non-profit, co-educational
lower and middle day school specializing in teaching students with language-based learning differences, such as dyslexia
. CAS helps its students re-enter traditional public and private schools with the learning tools necessary to be language proficient. Tuition, grants and donations support CAS, which is the only school of its kind in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The school provides a full academic program, along with elective classes for middle school students, and extracurricular sports and drama activities.
Charles Armstrong School is certified by the California State Board of Education
and has received the highest rating from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges
.
, and consisted of three classrooms and a business office.
While the Charles Armstrong School formally began about 40 years ago, its roots may be traced to two occurrences some years before. In 1960, a group of concerned Bay Area
parents first gathered to discuss a puzzling phenomenon – the fact that their intelligent, motivated, and healthy children were unable to learn how to read. This group of parents began to meet in an attempt to find solutions to their children’s learning problems. They found that pediatricians were often helpful in diagnosing the condition, but were unable to suggest how the learning difficulties
might be overcome.
In an otherwise unrelated event, Charles D. Armstrong, physician and founder of the Menlo Medical Clinic died in 1962 at the age of 44. Eager to perpetuate the memory of a community leader whose brilliant career was suddenly cut short, friends and patients of Dr. Armstrong established The Charles Armstrong Memorial Foundation dedicated to “improving the well being of the community by applying today’s knowledge to today’s problems.”
The plight of children with dyslexia was brought to the attention of the Foundation by the group of concerned and active Bay Area parents. The directors of The Armstrong Foundation were impressed by the importance and prevalence of the problem, and formed a committee led by director Wilbur E. Mattison, Jr., M.D., a colleague of Dr. Armstrong’s at the Menlo Medical Clinic, to survey the needs of Bay Area children with specific language disability. The Armstrong Foundation sponsored several symposia inviting medical and educational experts from around the nation to examine the nature of dyslexia, how it could be recognized, and most revolutionary at the time – what could be done about it. One symposium in 1966 drew over one thousand parents, teachers, school administrators, physicians, and psychologists to listen to a panel discussion about this invisible disability and new teaching techniques that would enable the dyslexic learner to read.
It is thanks to Dr. Wilbur Mattison, The Armstrong Memorial Foundation, and the tireless group of dedicated parents that CAS was born. Dr. Mattison, who for many is a familiar face around the School, is Chairman of the CAS Board of Trustees, having served as its President for over 28 years. He has been instrumental in the school’s evolution from its beginnings in a small home in Menlo Park to its current location in Belmont and its reputation as a nationally recognized school for the dyslexic learner.
Initially the Charles Armstrong School’s academic program focused only on improving language skills, with the intent that after two or three years in the school, students would be equipped to re-enter a public or private school successfully. Later, the school added a full academic program and extracurricular activities.
The school moved several times before purchasing the former McDougal Elementary School
in Belmont
, California, moving there in 1984. At one time CAS included a high school, but later returned to offering only the elementary and middle school. CAS has schooled over 3,000 students during its history.
, by providing an appropriate educational experience which enables the students to acquire language skills, while instilling a joy of learning, enhancing self-worth
, and allowing each student the right to identify, understand and fulfill personal potential.
Belmont, California
Belmont is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States. It is in the San Francisco Bay Area, located half-way down the San Francisco Peninsula between San Mateo and San Carlos. It was originally part of the Rancho de las Pulgas, for which one of its main roads, the Alameda de las Pulgas,...
, is an independent, non-profit, co-educational
Coeducation
Mixed-sex education, also known as coeducation or co-education, is the integrated education of male and female persons in the same institution. It is the opposite of single-sex education...
lower and middle day school specializing in teaching students with language-based learning differences, such as dyslexia
Dyslexia
Dyslexia is a very broad term defining a learning disability that impairs a person's fluency or comprehension accuracy in being able to read, and which can manifest itself as a difficulty with phonological awareness, phonological decoding, orthographic coding, auditory short-term memory, or rapid...
. CAS helps its students re-enter traditional public and private schools with the learning tools necessary to be language proficient. Tuition, grants and donations support CAS, which is the only school of its kind in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The school provides a full academic program, along with elective classes for middle school students, and extracurricular sports and drama activities.
Charles Armstrong School is certified by the California State Board of Education
California State Board of Education
The California State Board of Education is the governing and policy-making body of the California Department of Education. The State Board of Education sets K-12 education policy in the areas of standards, instructional materials, assessment, and accountability...
and has received the highest rating from the Western Association of Schools and Colleges
Western Association of Schools and Colleges
The Western Association of Schools and Colleges is one of six official academic bodies responsible for the accreditation of public and private universities, colleges, secondary and elementary schools in the United States and foreign institutions of American origin. The Western Association of...
.
History
Charles Armstrong School (CAS) first opened its doors in 1968 to eighteen dyslexic children in the second, third and fourth grades. The school was housed in a renovated single dwelling home on University Drive in the downtown area of Menlo ParkMenlo Park, California
Menlo Park, California is a city at the eastern edge of San Mateo County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, in the United States. It is bordered by San Francisco Bay on the north and east; East Palo Alto, Palo Alto, and Stanford to the south; Atherton, North Fair Oaks, and Redwood City...
, and consisted of three classrooms and a business office.
While the Charles Armstrong School formally began about 40 years ago, its roots may be traced to two occurrences some years before. In 1960, a group of concerned Bay Area
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a populated region that surrounds the San Francisco and San Pablo estuaries in Northern California. The region encompasses metropolitan areas of San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, along with smaller urban and rural areas...
parents first gathered to discuss a puzzling phenomenon – the fact that their intelligent, motivated, and healthy children were unable to learn how to read. This group of parents began to meet in an attempt to find solutions to their children’s learning problems. They found that pediatricians were often helpful in diagnosing the condition, but were unable to suggest how the learning difficulties
Learning disability
Learning disability is a classification including several disorders in which a person has difficulty learning in a typical manner, usually caused by an unknown factor or factors...
might be overcome.
In an otherwise unrelated event, Charles D. Armstrong, physician and founder of the Menlo Medical Clinic died in 1962 at the age of 44. Eager to perpetuate the memory of a community leader whose brilliant career was suddenly cut short, friends and patients of Dr. Armstrong established The Charles Armstrong Memorial Foundation dedicated to “improving the well being of the community by applying today’s knowledge to today’s problems.”
The plight of children with dyslexia was brought to the attention of the Foundation by the group of concerned and active Bay Area parents. The directors of The Armstrong Foundation were impressed by the importance and prevalence of the problem, and formed a committee led by director Wilbur E. Mattison, Jr., M.D., a colleague of Dr. Armstrong’s at the Menlo Medical Clinic, to survey the needs of Bay Area children with specific language disability. The Armstrong Foundation sponsored several symposia inviting medical and educational experts from around the nation to examine the nature of dyslexia, how it could be recognized, and most revolutionary at the time – what could be done about it. One symposium in 1966 drew over one thousand parents, teachers, school administrators, physicians, and psychologists to listen to a panel discussion about this invisible disability and new teaching techniques that would enable the dyslexic learner to read.
It is thanks to Dr. Wilbur Mattison, The Armstrong Memorial Foundation, and the tireless group of dedicated parents that CAS was born. Dr. Mattison, who for many is a familiar face around the School, is Chairman of the CAS Board of Trustees, having served as its President for over 28 years. He has been instrumental in the school’s evolution from its beginnings in a small home in Menlo Park to its current location in Belmont and its reputation as a nationally recognized school for the dyslexic learner.
Initially the Charles Armstrong School’s academic program focused only on improving language skills, with the intent that after two or three years in the school, students would be equipped to re-enter a public or private school successfully. Later, the school added a full academic program and extracurricular activities.
The school moved several times before purchasing the former McDougal Elementary School
Primary education
A primary school is an institution in which children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as primary or elementary education. Primary school is the preferred term in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth Nations, and in most publications of the United Nations Educational,...
in Belmont
Belmont, California
Belmont is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States. It is in the San Francisco Bay Area, located half-way down the San Francisco Peninsula between San Mateo and San Carlos. It was originally part of the Rancho de las Pulgas, for which one of its main roads, the Alameda de las Pulgas,...
, California, moving there in 1984. At one time CAS included a high school, but later returned to offering only the elementary and middle school. CAS has schooled over 3,000 students during its history.
Mission
Charles Armstrong School serves students with language-based learning differences, such as dyslexiaDyslexia
Dyslexia is a very broad term defining a learning disability that impairs a person's fluency or comprehension accuracy in being able to read, and which can manifest itself as a difficulty with phonological awareness, phonological decoding, orthographic coding, auditory short-term memory, or rapid...
, by providing an appropriate educational experience which enables the students to acquire language skills, while instilling a joy of learning, enhancing self-worth
Self-esteem
Self-esteem is a term in psychology to reflect a person's overall evaluation or appraisal of his or her own worth. Self-esteem encompasses beliefs and emotions such as triumph, despair, pride and shame: some would distinguish how 'the self-concept is what we think about the self; self-esteem, the...
, and allowing each student the right to identify, understand and fulfill personal potential.
Philosophy
- All kids can learn.
- All kids learn differently.
- All kids must learn to use their minds well.
External links
- Charles Armstrong School website
- LD Resources: Sanford Shapiro looks at The Charles Armstrong School - 2006
- NCBIDA - Northern California Branch of the International Dyslexia Association
- Greatschools.net profile
- Independent School Directory profile
- Private School Review profile
- [\http://www.charlesarmstrong.org/images/pdf/AdditionalReferralsandLDResources.pdf]