by Amanda Carter, Head of School This year, Noble Academy’s Spring Break falls in the last full week of April. In my nine years working in Independent Schools this is the latest the break has ever been. I have friends in other schools spending this week at Disney, somewhere in the Caribbean, or binge watching Netflix. I won’t lie to you, it’s painful to see their pictures on social media and know that our vacation from school is still almost four weeks away. The origins of the modern day Spring Break can be attributed to college swim teams traveling to Fort Lauderdale to do early training for ..read more

By Aimee Gandee, Director of Educational Outreach (published on Oct. 25, 2022) Schools are all abuzz with what appears to be the latest in teaching students how to read. Maybe you’ve heard of it? The Science of Reading. Those words seem to be immersed in conversations about education at every level, as well as in the classroom your child is currently learning in. The truth is, The Science of Reading has been around for quite some time. It isn’t a new program being implemented in your child’s classroom/school. It isn’t even a reading program. The SoR is the collective body of research that help ..read more

By Amanda Carter, Head of School What to expect at the beginning of a Noble Academy school year? It is a great question, as so many of our families are new or some are like me and struggle to remember from one year to the next. I feel like each year, with my own child, I have to relearn the cadence of the school year, reset the expectations at home, and re-remember the nuts and bolts of school. It also always sneaks up on me and I feel like I’m in a tornado in the two days leading up to the first day. But, that might just be me. At Noble Academy the new year can be so different for our famili ..read more

An Interview With Toni DeFiglia By Noble Academy Administrators As we enter Dyslexia, ADHD, and Learning Differences Awareness Month, Lower School Teachers Hannah Adelman and Toni DeFiglia spent an entire week this past summer focused on professional development in Multisensory Math (MSM). You may have heard about multisensory approaches to reading and writing. Well, the multisensory approach and the benefit of it to students with learning differences can be part of a math curriculum as well. The Multisensory Math Approach The Multisensory Math Approach is the brainchild of Marilyn Zecher, MA ..read more

At last - we have finally come to our High School. That short period of time when classes really start to count - that is to say - count towards a diploma. That little piece of paper that sets you on your next journey in life - and this piece of paper is crucial because it can determine which path you take. At Noble Academy, our High School course content, pace, and academic rigor follow standards set by the NC Standard Course of Study. Graduates earn at least a minimum of 22 credits for graduation that include all required coursework. We also offer a dual enrollment opportunity with GTCC for ..read more

Noble Academy, the only WilsonⓇ Accredited Partner in North Carolina, received the distinct honor of Best Practice Site from Wilson Language TrainingⓇ on Tuesday, January 2nd. A Best Practice Site status signifies that Noble Academy has earned the prestigious right to become a resource for potential partners, school districts, and other literacy organizations to observe model implementation of WilsonⓇ program(s) and learn from the amazing faculty at Noble Academy.  “This distinction indicates the excellence in literacy instruction that Noble Academy provides to students wi ..read more

Last week, I laid the foundation for how and why we arrived at our logo’s tagline - Building Great Futures. As we are now in our second full week of October and celebrating Dyslexia, ADHD, and Learning Differences Awareness Month, I want to talk about a few methods within our Lower School program that we introduce and focus on that help our young students start to frame their educational success. These tools, strategies, and a multi-sensory reading program, along with the professional development that our teachers are consistently working on, set a great foundation for our elementary students ..read more

By Amanda Carter, Noble Academy Head of School You have likely been hearing about the Science of Reading (SOR) more and more recently. The podcast Sold a Story brought the complex science behind reading and the popular curriculums used by many schools into the national discussion. The SOR is not just a catch phrase. It refers to decades of research that provide information needed in order to implement best classroom practices during reading and spelling instruction. Many schools are responding to the national attention on reading curriculums by reevaluating their current curriculum and teachi ..read more

As the nation enters Learning Disability Awareness Month, Noble Academy is excited to share that it is a founding school of a new education organization focused on collaborating and advocating for students with learning differences. The Association of LD Schools (ALDS) is a new non-profit, private school organization including over 50 founding schools across the country and in Canada that serve students with learning differences such as dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, and executive dysfunction. The organization is an opportunity for LD schools nationwide to have a formal opportunity to par ..read more

By Aimee Gandee, Director of Educational Outreach (published Jan. 26, 2021) “The student fell through the cracks.” “He was moved through the system without ever addressing the problem.” “She is in 8th grade now, but never really learned how to read.” As an educator of students with learning differences these are statements that I hear often. As a trainer of teachers on how to educate students with language based learning disabilities and dyslexia, it is frustrating, heartbreaking to hear, and also completely preventable. In its simplest form, early intervention is just that – intervening early ..read more