"Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire."
William Butler Yeats
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Lorraine D. Foster Day School (LDFDS) is a psycho-educational day program for students who have met
with failure in previous school settings. It is the school's mission to empower students,
enabling them to function as competent, responsible individuals who possess the ability to enrich
their own lives and to contribute to the betterment of the world-at-large.
Lorraine D. Foster Day School's philosophy is distinguished by: an insistence on high standards for
personal conduct, a dogged belief in the value of hard work and high expectations as therapeutic and
civilizing agents, and a commitment to providing an environment for growth and learning that is
stimulating, caring, and safe.
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"How we choose to believe and speak and treat others, how we choose a civic role for ourselves, is the deepest purpose of education, and of the art of teaching"
A Bartlett Giamatti
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To enable students to function optimally, both in the classroom and in the community, LDFDS stresses
the development of constructive behaviors in the following areas:
Task performance
Attitude
Self-control
Responsibility
Respect
Interpersonal skills
Elements from many different theoretical constructs are integrated into the school's programming. We
feel strongly that a multidisciplinary approach - one which utilizes relevant educational,
psychotherapeutic, behavioral, environmental and group techniques - not only promotes a deeper and
healthier self-understanding but results in long-term improvements in
social, emotional and cognitive functioning.
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"Tell me and I'll forget; show me and I may not remember; involve me and I'll understand"
Native American Saying
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We feel that students learn best in small classes where a strong relationship can be developed
between student and teacher. The average classroom ratio, therefore, is 1 teacher to 8
students. Emphasis is placed upon the development of core academic skills and the acquisition of
true literacy. Lessons take into account each student's instructional level, developmental needs and
cognitive learning style, and the staff encourages active learning through the design of curricula
that focuses on individual strengths and interests. Science, social studies, the arts, and physical
education are also an integral part of the curriculum.
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"Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence."
Robert Frost
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LDFDS offers students the opportunity to address problems on an individual basis with a clinical
social worker, as well as to participate in weekly group meetings with their classmates and
teachers. Students who become unable to function within classroom guidelines are sent to Time-Out, a
program that is central to effective behavior management and conflict resolution at LDFDS. Students are encouraged to take a voluntary Time-Out as a pro-active measure to problem solving. Guided by
the Time-Out Advisor, students devise a classroom re-entry plan that promotes accountability for
their actions and teaches the value of making and adhering to commitments.
Excellence is emphasized throughout the LDFDS program, from academics and behavior to communication
skills and appearance. Although we have the ability to address a wide variety of behavioral and/or
learning problems, Lorraine D. Foster Day School is not geared to meeting the needs of the
chronically aggressive or violent student.
