Welcome from the Executive Director

Welcome to The Southport School!  Some of the most exciting moments in history were achieved through linking knowledge, science, and technology, and then taking a leap of faith – from traveling far from the safety of shore to the dawn of the Space Age. Those junctures created the capacity to discover ideas, blaze new trails, and, ultimately, further humanity. We find ourselves at the edge of a new frontier at this moment in our 40-year history, both as The Southport School community and in our specific field of expertise: dyslexia, related language-based learning differences, and ADHD.

Neuroscience, cognitive science, and education research have created substantial opportunities for growth in the field of learning disabilities. Students with learning and attention issues, often left unserved because of their ability to compensate with their relative areas of strength, now have a platform on which to stand, bolstered by clear findings in science, like MRI images, of the differences that exist in their brains. That cerebrodiversity, which can make traditional school classrooms and instruction challenging, provides opportunities for creative, dynamic, and perspective-shifting engagement when you design the right type of learning environment in which they can thrive.

While the science is exciting, diagnostic tools are not useful unless educators can translate knowledge into practice in a holistic learning environment critical for life-long success; this is the intersection, the exciting frontier at which our Southport School community finds ourselves. Given our extensive 39-year history of experience and evidence coupled with our engagement and partnership with leading researchers and LD/ADHD organizations, we have the unique opportunity to inform practice in engaging and thoughtful ways, to help leverage the significant potential that resides in our dynamic population of learners. 

Our small school, nestled in the quaint village of Southport, with 124 students in grades 2-8, 41 expert educators, and 67 devoted faculty and staff, has big things to teach the world. More importantly, our students have so much to show the world. We invite you to come see for yourself how removing limitations, applying research, science, and evidence, embracing a holistic approach to learning, and a strong belief in the potential that resides in all students, places us at the dawn of a new frontier.

Warm regards,