by Gary D. Lewis

The Wisconsin School of Adaptive Learning was started in 1986 by the Beauchaine family to help Learning Disabled students (with no definition) to succeed in a full-day school setting. The students were predominantly, if not all, children who could not succeed in their public schools. Phonics was the main emphasis in reading because most schools dismissed it in favor of a whole-word approach; math with directing teaching was also a major emphasis.

The wide range of learning problems quickly became apparent and the School realized that it must define itself as accepting primarily children with learning problems, but not those whose primary difficulties are emotional or behavioral. The School realized that there would always be shades of emotional and behavior issues that could be handled if they did not become the major focus. It has been hard to keep that balance but basically the School has been successful in teaching both academic and social skills in the small, structured learning environment.

The full-day program was designed to provide the entire curriculum that would be given in a public school but various methods would be adapted to individuals within the classes. The result has been good success in teaching 1) those needing a small structured environment, 2) those who have labeled disabilities such as dyslexia, dyscalcula, dysgraphia, ADD, ADHD, OCD, NLD, 3) those who have sensory defensive issues, time-space confusion, social perception difficulties, speech and language issues, 4) some who have Aspbergers (high functioning), those who have very low self esteem, and many who have organizational difficulties.

The focus has always been on individuals within groups and a low teacher-student ratio to enable it. Each student has had an IEP developed by a team of teachers, parents, and other physical/psychological professionals. All aspects are considered in an IEP with much emphasis given to teacher observations which are continually compared to what records and testing has indicated.

After using Longfellow School for one year, WAAL moved to a church for one semester and then purchased some former MATC modular units in the second semester of 1987 which were moved to land given to the School. There were many years of “making do” before the current facilities were leased. Shortly after that move, the name of the school was changed to be “less clinical.” The new name, Walbridge Academy, was based on a logo:  “Climbing over walls on the bridge to success.” Eventually the name Walbridge Academy was changed to the present:  Walbridge School.

The current philosophy after twenty years of trial and error, new discoveries, and day to day experience, remains basically the same as it was at the beginning:  Children are viewed as individuals within a group and methods are adapted to meet the needs of each individual. Autonomy of the School is assumed but there is receptivity to working with other schools as long as the right to choose appropriate and varying methods is maintained. There have been collaborative efforts with Wingra (which proved to be too unstructured for Walbridge students) and Eagle (which proved to be too fast paced to meet the needs of Walbridge students).

The School has striven to create a safe and comfortable environment for the students while “plugging holes” in learning as a full DPI curriculum is taught. The greatest joy of teachers and staff has been the frequent statement, “We have our child back again.” It is also amazing to hear about past students with advanced degrees, successful careers in medicine, psychology, nutrition, administration, mechanics and some who serve as consultants and teachers abroad. Former students visit frequently and many continue to write to the School about their careers and families.