Dear Harbor Families,

In my last two letters, I have explored two of our three articulated focus areas for Harbor - diversity, equity, and inclusion, and maker-centered learning. Today, I share with you an exciting partnership in support of our third goal of personalized learning.

Individualized learning. Differentiation. Personalized learning. These are words often used in the field of education these days, because we know that all students learn differently, and that our job as educators is to meet students where they are and bring them forward. Often, you will hear these words associated with small class sizes and the teaching of academics in small groups with focused instructional goals based on assessments. As you know, we do this very well at Harbor. More than that, our teachers personalize learning in the social/emotional and physical realms as well as the academic, and students are and feel truly known. It’s one of the things we do best and a core aspect of our identity as a school. 

To further bolster this strength at Harbor, we are embarking on an exciting partnership with the Treatment and Learning Center (TLC), a large center for services and early intervention in areas such as speech/language, occupational therapy, and tutoring. TLC will be working with Harbor to provide support to our teachers and families in the following ways:

• All families will be offered free screenings for speech/language and OT in late October. Stay tuned for sign-up information which will be available in the next couple of weeks.

• Throughout the year, TLC specialists will provide professional development for teachers - in whole faculty workshops, faculty meetings, and small group consultations - to build on and align our strategies for working with different types of learners.

• Three different experts in child development from TLC will be featured speakers in our second series of evening parenting workshops. Dates and topics will be shared soon.

• We will be providing time and space during the school day for a small and focused social skills group with a licensed therapist to take place at Harbor. Information and pricing will be shared with families through TLC.

I have heard story after story from current and former Harbor families about how their kids’ learning trajectory has been profoundly influenced by our teachers’ connection with the students and excellent ability to personalize learning. We look forward to building upon this strength with this expanded programming this year!

Warm regards,

Leah Musico

Head of School

The Harbor School