Social and emotional well-being
Gordon recognizes that every child learns and grows in unique ways. Our student support services team partners with teachers and families to ensure that students are supported academically, socially, and emotionally from Early Childhood through Middle School.
In Early Childhood, teachers and specialists guide students past developmental milestones and intervene to provide additional, timely support as needed. In the Lower School, learning specialists collaborate with classroom teachers to provide every learner with instruction that works for them, and the Pathways Program offers intensive early support for students in Kindergarten through fourth grade to help every child become a confident reader. In the Middle School, learning support focuses on building independence, executive function, and self-advocacy as students prepare for high school.
The school counselor cultivates social and emotional well-being across all divisions, and the school nurse promotes health and wellness throughout the community, while the long-running Ages and Stages series invites all caregivers, grade by grade, to compare notes on their child's developmental milestones and connect with one another in partnership with division directors.
Together, these programs reflect Gordon’s commitment to teaching the whole child, ensuring that every student feels known, supported, and empowered to thrive.
Early Childhood learning support
In Early Childhood, Gordon makes the most of each child’s first school experiences by monitoring their growth in a variety of key areas, such as language, attention, motor skills, and social and emotional learning. Teachers collaborate closely with the division director, the school counselor, and the Kindergarten learning specialist to observe students and discuss their progress. When necessary, Gordon partners with families and outside professionals to provide students with speech therapy, occupational therapy, or support in other areas where early intervention could help. The goal is to ensure every young learner feels understood, confident, and ready to thrive.
Lower School learning support
Lower School learning support focuses on helping every student develop strong academic and self-management skills. Grade-level teachers collaborate with the division director, dean, counselor, and learning specialists to design instruction that meets students where they are. When additional support is needed, the team may introduce short-term classroom interventions and targeted small-group lessons to ensure students continue to progress.
A cornerstone of Gordon’s Lower School support is the Pathways Program, an intensive program for early readers that helps Kindergarten through fourth grade students acquire foundational literacy skills. Pathways identifies students who demonstrate reading challenges through assessments such as DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) and uses the Orton-Gillingham approach—a structured, multisensory method for teaching reading and spelling—to provide individualized, small-group instruction, with frequent monitoring of students' progress and reinforcement activities students can do at home.
The Pathways Program uses a team approach that includes teachers, the Lower School literacy specialist, the Lower School Director, and families, allowing for clear communication among the adults and a consistent experience for children in different settings. Students meet daily with the literacy specialist, engage in literacy practice tailored to their individual needs, and receive personalized summer plans to help them sustain progress between school years. In addition to multisensory learning activities that use visual, auditory, and kinesthetic strategies, students use tools such as Lexia that offer individualized instruction. Students may also receive support in understanding and completing reading and writing assignments from homeroom classes. The goal of the Pathways Program is for every Gordon student to become a competent, confident, and joyful reader.
Middle School learning support
In Middle School, students develop independence and self-advocacy and executive function skills to prepare for high school and beyond. Learning specialists collaborate with teachers to provide students with individualized instruction and accommodations. Students with documented needs may participate in a learning support class that meets in the place of Spanish, while others will receive ongoing support during the daily WIN periods or advisory. The school counselor and advisors work together to nurture students' social and emotional growth, ensuring they are both supported and challenged as they build confidence in their learning.
Canine support
Denver, Gordon's therapy dog, provides daily on-campus support by easing anxiety, sitting with students who are tackling difficult tasks, and making hard conversations easier simply with his presence. Denver’s career began with eighteen months of training in Colorado and Tennessee before being matched with his owner, a rising Gordon third grader, in 2019. After two years as a diabetes alert dog, Denver expanded his services to all students and staff as an on-campus support animal. In his free time, Denver loves to play fetch and is always up for a good game of tug-of-war.
School counselor
Gordon’s school counselor provides social and emotional learning support across all divisions. Through classroom visits, small-group meetings, and individual check-ins, the counselor helps students strengthen self-awareness, coping strategies, and interpersonal skills. The counselor also collaborates with teachers and families to promote emotional well-being, manage transitions, and address challenges that may affect learning. This partnership model reflects Gordon’s whole-child philosophy and commitment to nurturing resilience and belonging.
School nurse
The school nurse supports the physical health and safety of the students while fostering habits that promote lifelong wellness. In addition to providing daily medical care, administering medication, and managing health plans, the nurse coordinates hearing and vision screenings, collaborates with families and teachers on student health, and promotes health education throughout the community. The nurse is an integral part of the student support team, ensuring that each child’s physical needs are addressed alongside their academic, social, and emotional development.
Ages and Stages
Ages and Stages meetings are informal discussions led by the school counselor and the division director. Organized by grade level, these conversations focus on the developmental stages common to each age and allow caregivers to connect with one another and deepen their partnership with the school. Gordon understands that growth unfolds at different rhythms for every child, and Ages and Stages honors the idea that developmental benchmarks are ranges, not rigid timelines. By embracing neurodiversity and individual differences, the program fosters a community where students can flourish in their own time.