Learning Services

Learning Services Team

Lower School Learning Specialist
(Grades K-3)
Lawana Sweetland
(415) 746-1185
sweetland@townschool.com

Lower School/Upper School Transitional Learning Specialist
(Grades 4-5)
Dan Leibowitz
(415) 746-1131
leibowitz@townschool.com

Director of Learning Services, Upper School Learning Specialist (Grades 6-8)
Pete Van Auken
(415) 746-1169
vanauken@townschool.com

Learning Services Department Overview

The Learning Services Department is an integral component of the Town School community. The department includes three learning specialists (two full-time and one part-time) who support the school's wide range of learners. To meet this goal, the learning specialists play several key roles, including the following:

• Attend weekly meetings with teachers and administrators to identify struggling students and design support plans that are targeted to the students' individual needs
  
• Meet with teachers one-on-one to discuss student progress and to make sure students are receiving appropriate classroom accommodations
  
• Provide direct support to students in the classroom, in small groups, and one-on-one
  
• Coordinate support teams that include students, faculty, parents/guardians, school administrators, and outside professionals if needed
  
• Provide resources and strategies for parents and teachers to assist them in supporting students of diverse learning styles
  
• Collaborate with the Director of Curriculum in order to provide professional development opportunities for teachers and to make the curriculum acccessbile to a diversity of learners

If a student needs intensive individual services such as comprehensive psycho-educational testing, counseling, or extensive one-on-one remediation, then parents/guardians are referred to outside professionals. The Town School learning specialists are part of an extensive network of Bay Area professionals and can assist in finding the professionals that best fit the child's needs.

For more information and for online resources, please visit our Learning Services Resource page.