The Westview Model

The central mission of Westview School is to provide students with a personalized educational experience, which integrates the best of a traditional school program with an atmosphere of individualized instruction, program flexibility and positive reinforcement.

Established in 1990 and located in West Los Angeles, Westview is a not-for-profit, private school offering a unique program for students diagnosed with learning differences, attention deficit disorders, and/or mild emotional difficulties. Westview is ethnically, culturally and socio-economically diverse.

Westview is certified by the California State Department of Education as a nonpublic school. Most Westview students are referred and funded by their local school districts when the public schools do not have an appropriate program to meet a student’s educational needs. However, the private-pay student population has grown significantly over the past several years as more parents recognize the importance of early intervention for their child’s longterm academic success. Nearly 25% of students are enrolled privately by their parents who pay cost of tuition.

A co-educational, college preparatory, WASC accredited school, Westview serves bright students who have struggled in traditional school settings. In addition to the basic course of study required of college-bound students, Westview provides students with specialized programs that address individual learning styles.

For example, students who are strong visual learners but have auditory processing deficits benefit from instruction using text-to-speech programs. They may also employ software on their laptop computers or hand-held word processors that allows them to take notes easily and develop their written language skills. Up-to-date educational tools are also used to develop decoding and comprehension skills in reading to support students in utilizing their academic strengths and assist them with remediation in deficit areas.

The Westview philosophy is that, with the right set of programs plus individualized attention, students will experience success in school! This multi-faceted approach to education also includes small classes led by credentialed teachers who are trained to deal with a variety of learning differences.

In addition, Westview has a fullrange of extra-curricular activities and enrichment programs, including CIF sports, art, music and drama. These activities are designed to insure that a Westview student has a wellrounded educational experience, learns the value of productive uses of leisure time, and has the opportunity to experience success during their school days in nonacademic areas where they excel despite their academic difficulties.

Westview students are provided with weekly counseling by licensed and experienced counselors who build relationships with them over the course of the school year. These sessions include assistance in school-related needs such as; helping students develop strategies to overcome procrastination, staying on task, building self-esteem, and guiding them as they create postgraduation plans including college, vocational study or job placement.

An important part of Westview’s counseling program is ongoing communication with parents. Many parents have struggled for years to provide their children with educational support and are delighted to have found a partner rather than an adversary in Westview. The Westview program incorporates strong academics, multi-modal learning experiences, personalized attention, small class size, weekly counseling, and enrichment programs. These elements are the keys to Westview’s success in turning around students’ lives. Westview helps rescue students who have previously experienced school failure and allows them to experience personal success. Ninety percent of Westview graduating seniors are college-bound, while others choose to embark directly on a career. One thing they all have in common when they leave Westview is that their lives have been changed for the better.