From the Director of Admissions
Welcome! And thank you for taking the time to visit The Spire School’s website. We are here to answer your questions and help determine if Spire could be a good fit and offer the appropriate support for you (if you are a student looking at schools), or your child (if you are a parent researching options for your son or daughter). As a parent who has traveled down an unexpected path with my own child, I have great empathy for you and all of your family. It is a journey and not a race, and we hope that perhaps Spire could be a positive and constructive part.
The admissions process for Spire affords us the opportunity to learn about prospective students from several perspectives. It also allows time for families to tour, ask questions, speak to current parents if they so desire, and for students to spend some time in the classroom so that everyone in the family is able to learn as much about Spire as possible.
For Spire as well as for our applicants, whether you are coming via a public school district, or you’ve found us on your own, it’s all about the fit and setting each student up for success.
We look forward to meeting you!
Best,
Dede
Dede LeComte
Director of Admissions
Admissions Process
-
WHERE DO YOUR STUDENTS COME FROM?Most of our families reside in either Fairfield (CT) or Westchester (NY) counties. The students may be coming from home and their local private or public school, a wilderness program, recent hospitalization or a therapeutic boarding school.
-
DO YOU OFFER SCHOOL TOURS?Absolutely. We enjoy meeting with parents and learning about their children, as well as answering questions they may have about Spire. Our admissions process includes not only meeting with parents when they come to tour, but also meeting the student and spending some time with him/her during an informal interview.
-
HOW LONG DOES THE ADMISSIONS PROCESS TAKE?Families are usually notified within a week once the completed application has been received and the student has had an interview and has also had the opportunity to spend some time in our classrooms, meeting some of our teachers and students while shadowing classes.
-
ARE THERE DEADLINES?No, there are no deadlines. The Spire School operates on a rolling admissions basis, so that students may apply at any time during the year. Should space not be available, accepted students will be placed on a waiting list.
-
WHAT TYPE OF STUDENTS FIND SUCCESS AT SPIRE?Spire students are bright, college bound students who have gotten “side-tracked”. They are intellectually capable students who are at risk for significant academic underachievement due to difficulty in regulating emotions because of limited coping skills and/or a stressful life event (divorce, loss, trauma, adoption). They are girls and boys ages 11 to 18, grades 6-12. Parents oftentimes describe them as kind, sensitive, capable kids who struggle to meet the demands of everyday life.
-
DOES YOUR SCHOOL CALENDAR MATCH THE PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICT OR IS IT MORE LIKE A PRIVATE SCHOOL CALENDAR?As we are a State Approved Special Education Program (APSEP), our calendar is more similar to a local public school district. A copy can be accessed here: https://www.spireschool.org/academic-calendar
-
DO YOU OPERATE THROUGHOUT THE YEAR (I.E., A 12 MONTH PROGRAM)?"Spire’s school year begins in the early fall, usually late August/early September, and runs until the middle of June. We also have an Extended School Year (ESY) program in July.
-
WHAT IS THE STRUCTURE OF YOUR DAY?Our normal school day runs from 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM Monday through Thursday and 8:00 AM to 12:15 PM on Fridays. Class periods are 45-minutes in length and the class sequence repeats on a five-day cycle (e.g., every Monday schedule is the same, but will differ from Tuesday or subsequent days that week).
-
DO YOU PROVIDE TRANSPORTATION?We do not. Students who are placed at Spire by their public school district are typically provided transportation by their district as a part of their placement. Students who are privately placed at Spire provide their own transportation; this may include forming a car pool with other Spire families or taking the train to Stamford, as Spire does provide a morning and afternoon shuttle bus to the Stamford train station.
-
WHERE ARE YOU LOCATED?We moved to a new, larger campus for the 2020-21 school year! We are now located at 201 High Ridge Road, Stamford, CT 06905. For more information please call (203) 661-1609 and select option 4 for our day schools and then option 2 for The Spire School, or email us at admissions@spireschool.org
Spire enrolls students on a rolling admissions basis. Students are welcome to apply to Spire anytime during the school year, be it for enrollment during the academic school year (September -June) or for our InSPIREd Summer Program (July).
If you have questions about the process, or would like to learn more, please complete the "Get In Touch" form below or contact our Director of Admissions Dede LeComte.
The Spire Journey
Transition is often a difficult time for adolescents because of the uncertainty of change. At The Spire School, we understand this and welcome the opportunity to embark upon a positive and constructive journey with our students. When a student is joining our community, our welcoming faculty and staff are committed to helping him/her settle in and begin to develop the confidence and competency needed to cope with life’s challenges.
Spire is committed to supporting students throughout the duration of their time with us. As students near the successful conclusion of their program, the student’s team works to facilitate a smooth transition from Spire.
