Unlocking the Potential:

No universal key.

One unique approach.

P I L O T S C H O O L

At Pilot, we don’t focus on diagnostic labels and top-down judgments,

but instead identify and cultivate a child’s strengths. This approach serves

as an anchor for the hard work that is necessary to diminish or eliminate

learning weaknesses. Children who are struggling to learn are as normal

as any others, and if assistance and encouragement are provided for a few

years, they regain their self-esteem and willingness to tackle challenges.

Children naturally want to succeed, and when they learn how, nothing can

stop them. Energy and motivation push away passivity and doubt. Simply

learning how to find answers to questions reinforces independence and

perseverance, resulting in an exciting newfound confidence that overpowers

fear of failure. As a result, our teachers fully experience the joy of seeing

their students graduate and transition into new schools, ready and able to

apply the skills and attitude learned at Pilot.

D i r e c t o r ’ s L et t e r

Every child—and every school—has a story.

This is ours.

We are not an old school, with a century or more of tradition and

heritage. And we are not a new school, founded on the latest thing

in educational theories and technologies. We are an established school with

a proven educational model that has helped children with language-based

learning difculties learn how to learn—and how to love learning.In 1957, a class of two teachers and ve youngsters met in two Sunday

School classrooms in Greenville, Delaware. What started that year as an educational experiment—or “pilot program”—evolved into a teacher-designed facility and an individual student-centered philosophy that now has 50 faculty and staff members devoted to the success of approximately 160 students yearly, ages 5 through 14 years.

We meet children where they are—

and guide them to where they need to be.

M I S S I o n

The Pilot School’s mission is to uncover the unique educational challenges of

each student, and to give each child the specic developmental tools, guidance,

and attention needed to learn, achieve, and ultimately to feel comfortable and

be successful in the academic environment that is most appropriate.

The heart of our approach is the knowledge that every child is unique, with his or her own learning

strengths and challenges that must rst be understood and then addressed. While many schools

may talk about being child-centered, at Pilot, we actually structure our entire academic and allied

therapeutic programs around that truth.

• our student-to-teacher ratio of ve to one allows us to get to know each child’s capabilities

intimately: academically, emotionally, socially, and physically.

• We select educational materials that specically focus on and challenge a child’s strengths. By

recognizing and building on strengths, a child learns to feel positive about learning and builds

the condence and self-esteem necessary to tackle more challenging areas.

• Teachers, students, therapeutic and educational specialists, faculty, staff, and parents communicate

frequently about each child’s progress, achievements, strengths, and challenges. That web of

communication is key to our ability to routinely adapt each child’s program for an optimal t

for the child’s unique pace and changing skills and needs.

• Recognizing that learning thrives when it involves all the senses, we regularly engage students in

physical activity, music, art, and aquatics, as well as in individual and group classroom studies and

therapeutic experiences as needed.

• We group students into three divisions—Lower, Middle, and Upper—that are structured according

to age. This allows children to experience social and emotional development and activities that are

age- and peer- appropriate.

• Every child takes part in regular educational assessment, including yearly standardized testing when

ready. This ongoing evaluation is vital to understanding and addressing each child’s needs, so that

we can help the student make the most of Pilot’s learning opportunities. A psychological evaluation

is completed during a child’s nal year at Pilot to assist with choosing the best school environment

for the next phase of his or her academic career and to help with transition.

Allies beyond academics.

At Pilot, we recognize that there are many avenues to learning, not all of

which take place in a classroom. While classroom instruction in core

subjects is integral to our holistic approach to education, we understand that

learning is enhanced by movement, art and music, adaptive and assistive

therapies and technologies, and outdoor learning opportunities.

ThErApEuTic ArT

Art is a very personal form of expression, and children

ourish when they are free to create works that reect

their own talents and imaginations. Colors, shapes,

textures, composition, paper, canvas, paint, clay—each

is an avenue to learn, explore, create, showcase. our

students gain condence through therapeutic art where

they learn there is no right way and no wrong way—the

work reects their way and that’s the way it should be.

Music ThErApy

The beat goes on, as does the melody, the rhythm, the timing,

the lyrics, the harmony, the emotion. At Pilot, students enjoy

the excitement of creating music collaboratively and sharing it

with parents, staff, and other students.

our music program features traditional instruments and

today’s technology to foster learning capabilities that extend

beyond the notes on a page or the words of a song. Music

is an involving, participative activity that can also enhance

math skills, memory, speech and reading uency, language

development, focus, concentration, and the ability to work

individually and collectively.

rEAding LAb

Whether the words appear on a paper page or digital screen,

reading is still the doorway to information on just about every

subject under the sun.

For children who need a bit of extra help in reading, from

sounding out words to comprehension, Pilot’s reading specialists

work with students individually and in group settings to help

them acquire the skills and condence to make reading less

frightening and more fun.

AquATics, physicAL EducATion, And AdApTivE pE

Movement enhances learning.

It’s unnatural for children, who

are full of energy and a drive to

explore, to sit quietly behind a

desk hour after hour each day.

At Pilot, every child

participates in aquatics and

physical education. Some

children also take part in adaptive

physical education, which assists

students with body awareness,

balance, memory, motor skills,

word recognition, and more.

physicAL ThErApy And occupATionAL ThErApy

Some Pilot students have challenges with things like gross or ne

motor skills and/or sensory integration. Imagine how difcult

keeping up with classroom work would be if you had trouble

grasping a pencil or sitting balanced in your chair.

For our students who need extra help in these areas, we offer

onsite therapy with licensed physical and occupational therapists.

Therapy that is integrated with regular schoolday activities makes

these interventions less daunting for children and frees parents

from making outside trips to specialists.

spEEch-LAnguAgE pAThoLogy

The ability to communicate, to understand and be understood,

is critical to advancing in classroom learning as well as succeeding

in the world beyond school. our

speech-language pathologists work

with students in recognizing and

forming sounds, as well as listening

and speaking skills, to help children

interact and communicate with

clarity and condence.

LibrAry

our library serves as a sanctuary that surrounds children with

books and inspires the joy of reading. While Pilot includes

the latest digital technologies in classroom instruction and

therapeutic sessions, we believe that reading builds the

foundation for lifelong learning.

Making the connection.

Making the connection is the basis for all learning. The connection between reading and

writing. The connection between arithmetic and mathematics. The connection between

rote memorization and real knowledge.

There is also the connection between people—teachers, students, therapists, psychologist,

administrative staff, Director, and Division Heads. It is not linear, but a web of connections, at

all levels, at any time. At Pilot, we not only encourage connection—we foster it. It’s how we make

sure each student is getting exactly the individualized, exible program that he or she needs to

be able to meet challenges and move forward without undue stress.

Each day at a time. Each future full of promise.

There are certain words and phrases that have become part

of the Pilot vocabulary.

• The myth of normal™: if every individual is unique

—and at Pilot, we believe that to be true—then

indisputably there is no such thing as normal. All

people grow and change at their own rates, develop

competencies based on their own strengths and

interests, and interact with others based on their own

personalities and temperaments. Parents, teachers,

staff, and students themselves are encouraged to

embrace and celebrate the uniqueness of each child.

• Building on successes: focusing on strengths more

than weaknesses gives students the condence to keep

taking two steps forward even if they sometimes take

one step back.

• Self-advocacy: helping students to recognize their

needs—for time, for resources, for extra assistance—

and to freely ask for what they need with condence

and conviction.

• Regulating the engine: helping students nd the

sweet spot of energy where they can learn and

participate most effectively—how to “rev up” when

they may need more energy and how to calm down

when they need more focused attention.

We use various phrases to describe what we do and how we do it—to help children thrive within our unique academic environment.

The most important phrase you’ll hear is “Unlocking the Potential™.” At Pilot, we educate students who have the potential to succeed—in school and in life—with our very personalized, very targeted, and very supportive environment and educational approach.

Administrators, faculty members, and therapeutic professionals are more than experts in their subjects. They are trained and proficient in interacting with each child individually, to understand each student from an emotional, academic, and social perspective. This takes time—and significant amounts of it at that.

At Pilot, we believe this kind of focused time and attention, coupled with expert teaching and therapeutic interventions, helps us unlock the potential™ of our students—and helps the students open their own doors to their own futures.

100 Garden Of Eden Rd.Wilmington, DE 19803

302.478.1740

www.pilotschool.org