January 2023

Dear Winston Families, Colleagues and Friends,

Conducting, analyzing, and integrating research comprises a significant piece of the Winston Innovation Lab’s mission to improve our students’ learning experience and shape who they are as independent learners. Through these research efforts, we work to better understand and build on the body of knowledge that addresses the ways in which students with learning disorders thrive and achieve positive long term outcomes. Our most recent research initiative centered on the important question of how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted outcomes for our students. In contrast to national findings, which showed sharp declines in reading and math skills across the country during the pandemic, WIL’s research illustrates that WPS students continued to display clear progress in their development of academic skills, as evidenced by consistent growth on annually administered formal academic assessments. Further, and perhaps most notably, these positive outcomes for WPS students are statistically tied to the Qualities of a Sustainable and Independent Learner. Research comparing test scores from 2019 to 2021 showed that the specific QSIL skills of Resilience, Self-Advocacy, Self-Reflection and Problem Solving were significant predictors of improvements in math and reading scores–a finding that closely aligns with our foundational philosophy that these skills drive our students’ progress, independence, and long-term fulfillment.

In addition to incorporating this research-based understanding into our current program development, WIL also regards these findings as further evidence of the value and efficacy of QSIL skills-based remediation, an approach to social-emotional learning founded and developed based upon the Winston Innovation Lab’s extensive and ongoing Lives Over Time study and congruent research on the importance of social emotional skills as they relate to life satisfaction and success. As this full body of research further highlights our mission to explicitly and directly tie social-emotional learning into the fabric of the work that we do with our students, WIL’s Professional Learning Program for faculty of all experience levels continues to emphatically underscore the importance of explicitly integrating QSIL skill building into all areas of remediation, from building reading, writing, and math skills, to developing executive functioning skills and beyond. Through ongoing faculty support and collaboration, WIL continuously provides faculty with the tools and resources needed to strengthen our expertise in providing QSIL skills-based instruction, as well as analyzing and interpreting our students’ progress in developing and applying these skills in various contexts.

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Winston Preparatory School is a leading school for students with learning disabilities, including dyslexia, executive functioning difficulties (ADHD), and non-verbal learning disorders (NVLD).

WPS does not discriminate against applicants and students on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin. The Winston Preparatory School provides programs and services and equal opportunity in the administration of its educational and admissions policies, financial aid programs, employment, and the selection of its governing board without regard to gender, race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, disability status, or any status recognized by federal, state and local civil rights and non-discrimination laws.