as important as reading. Research,2011,Casey Foundation. And no one is doing the LD student a favour in the far future, when it is time to apply to post-secondary and access to special services at the school. As I was told, special services fully expect to see lower grades in language arts and English, and an A would set off the alarm bells, to request the school file, and investigate starting from the primary grades. Obtaining As in English is not the focus, but rather the progress made in correcting the weaknesses in language. It is a slower progress, in a typical public school but with the use of the correct reading, writing and numeracy interventions, the progress is a steady upward trend. over the years. A pox for the schools that would rather give out phony grades, as well as schools who do not provide the correct remediation and intervention for their students. I You chose to raise the VIP Academy issue as an example of a school at polar extremes from a mediocre private school. I'm simply pointing out that you're not entirely neutral on the matter. At the VIP website you are, or were, the "Dean". Generally a Dean is a major voice in managing whatever he's the Dean of, right? In any event you're up to your elbows offering a very elite, very expensive alternative to the public system you claim to be so committed to; at least to those who can pay the freight. The issue