Life After EA
How our kids, teens and adult students transition into the world.
What’s next for Full Time and Half Day students?
After completing their cognitive programs at EA, our younger students transition back to typical public or private schools, and adult students transition into college, university and/or career environments. Having strengthened their capacity for learning, they now have the ability to truly benefit from academic, work social experiences. Students in grade nine or younger transition back into the same grade as their peers. The first year after EA is typically spent assimilating back into a full academic program. Students now have the capacity to learn, but may have gaps in their academic knowledge, due to their previous cognitive weaknesses and the fact that they have not been exposed to certain concepts while at EA. We recommend connecting with a tutor that first year in order to help fill those gaps. By the second year back, most students are fully independent learners.
Students who return to regular public and private schools after grade nine must collect credits in order to graduate high school with their peers. Many of our students in this category work towards these credits with us in their final year of the program, connect with local distance education support facilities, repeat a grade at school or take a GED (Graduation Equivalency Diploma) in order to graduate. After this, the majority of our alumni go on to colleges and universities, or find employment in their chosen fields.
What’s next for Part Time / 4 Hours a Week students?
Many of our students who start with us on a 4 Hour a Week basis are so encouraged by the changes they see, and the ease this brings them in school, work and life, that they transition to more comprehensive Arrowsmith Programs with us, such as the Full Time, Half Day or 8 Hours a Week options.
Transition Process.
Eaton Arrowsmith has successfully transitioned more than 1,500 students from our programs to mainstream school systems, post-secondary institutions and the workforce over the last decade. See below to learn more about our transition process for kids & teens as well as adults.
Kids & Teens
Click images below to see how we measure a student’s progress throughout the program.
Initial Arrowsmith Cognitive Assessment
When Full Time and Half Day students first enroll at EA, they receive an Arrowsmith Programming Assessment. This assessment provides an overview of a student’s cognitive abilities, an outline of his/her individualized program, and an estimated program length.
Yearly Assessment
Every year, by December, principals/directors work with teachers and Arrowsmith Program coordinators to analyze each student’s progress in relation to his/her program goals (set out in the initial Arrowsmith Programming Assessment). Daily and monthly progress is also entered into an online system that is reviewed by program coordinators at the Arrowsmith Program’s head school in Toronto, Canada. The results of the yearly assessment – along with staff feedback regarding academic and social readiness – determine if a student is ready to transition back to a traditional school.
Notification of Program Completion
Parents are notified by December if their child is in the final semester of his/her program at EA. This gives families a whole term to prepare.
Getting Ready for Change
In the final months of a student’s time at EA, families should do the following:
Visit schools (pick a selection that matches the interests/needs of the student and go to their open houses to see what they offer and determine pros and cons).
Decide if the school in their catchment fits their needs.
Prepare emotionally for the transition. EA helps each student get ready to transition to a new, different environment. Preparation often includes transition classes and increased academics at EA or via neighbourhood resources.
For more advice on transitioning, click here to view EA’s Transition Process Framework.
Adults
Initial Arrowsmith Cognitive Assessment
When students first enroll in a Full Time or Half Day program at Eaton Arrowsmith Adults, they receive an Arrowsmith Programming Assessment. This assessment provides an overview of a student’s cognitive abilities, an outline of his/her individualized program, and an estimated program length.
Yearly Assessment
Every year, by December, principals/directors work with teachers and Arrowsmith Program coordinators to analyze each student’s progress in relation to his/her program goals (set out in the initial Arrowsmith Programming Assessment). Daily and monthly progress is also entered into an online system that is reviewed by program coordinators at the Arrowsmith Program’s head school in Toronto, Canada. The results of the yearly assessment – along with staff feedback regarding social and emotional readiness – determine if a student is ready to transition to college, university or the workplace.
Notification of Program Completion
Families and students are notified by December if the student is in the final semester of his/her program at Eaton Arrowsmith Adults. This gives families a whole term to prepare.
Staff members offer steps to help students become increasingly independent regardless of whether they are returning to the program or transitioning to the next phase of their lives – jobs, post-secondary education, etc.
Instructors meet with students again in February and during the summer to further review cognitive progress and offer career/school counseling advice.