Learning Accommodations

The following learning accommodations have been developed by the GA Counseling Department and approved by the Heads of School.

The Germantown Academy counseling team is currently working on all-school revisions for the 2022-23 school year and will update accordingly.

Due to the developmental needs of students at different ages, the following division-specific learning provisions may also be offered based on divisional support team recommendations:

Lower School

• Support services in reading and/or math in small groups delivered by GA teachers and/or Montgomery County Intermediate Unit teachers. These services are available to students without needing a psychoeducational evaluation.
• Students with psychoeducational evaluations with an educational diagnosis are eligible for accommodations that relate to their area of diagnosis. Learning plans are developed by the LS Psychologist and student support team and are communicated with families.

Middle School

Click HERE to review support for Middle School students.

Upper School

• Assistance with organizational and study skills
• Encouragement to use writing center and science center
• Encouragement to use peer tutors
• Participation in Academic Enrichment Program

In response to psychoeducational testing recommendations for diagnosed learning issues, all three divisions may offer the following GA-endorsed accommodations following the divisional psychologist's review of the testing report:

• 50% extra time on in-class tests/essays/quizzes/exams when possible. Students are required to make arrangements with teachers beforehand to use accommodations.
  (Note: this does not include standardized testing unless authorized by the College Board or ACT)
• Individual allowances for spelling difficulty for in-class writing
• Word processing/computer use for testing

The following includes, but is not limited to, examples of psychoeducational testing recommendations that are not accommodated at Germantown Academy:

• Changing the curriculum
• Sharing teacher lecture notes and outlines (unless provided to entire class)
• Providing excessive extra help sessions (excessive need for extra help could lead to a recommendation for tutoring)
• Audio/video recording classes
• Exemption from foreign language study in Middle School and Upper School

For students who qualify for in-school extra time and computer use accommodations based upon psychoeducational testing recommendations as described above, GA may assist with requests for accommodations on standardized tests (such as ACT and SAT). Please note that GA may not be able to provide onsite standardized testing over multiple days, even if recommended by an evaluator and approved by the ACT or College Board. We will do our best to secure proctors for testing over a maximum of 2 days, but there is no guarantee.

Note: All psychoeducational evaluations are housed in divisional psychologist's locked file cabinets.