Frequent Questions

Greengate School is a private, non-profit (501c3), charitable organization. We seek to assist students in managing their learning differences so they may cultivate their strengths. We are dedicated to creating a challenging curriculum in a responsive learning environment where students can build the social competence and academic skills required for future success.

Q. Are you accepting student applications?

Q. What advantages will Greengate offer that are different from home schooling?

Q. What are the requirements for my child to attend your school?

Q. What is a typical day like at Greengate?

Q. How long will my child need to attend Greengate School?

Q. I don't live in Huntsville, can my child attend your school?

Q. How much is tuition?

Q. What is the school’s policy towards religion and prayer?

Q. How will my child’s progress be monitored and reported?

Q. What is the role of computers at Greengate?

Yes, new students are accepted on an on-going basis, in the best interest of the student.  If your child needs to transfer mid-year or even mid-semester, this is something we are open to discussing.

Yes! Greengate is a private school, so it doesn't matter where you live.

Students at Greengate benefit from meeting and working with other talented and creative dyslexic children. They will also have the opportunity to hear guest speakers who have struggled with dyslexia and emerged successful in their careers and lives. Seeing that they are not alone in their disability and that others with the same problems are smart and successful will lead to more a positive self-image.

Our students benefit from the direct attention of teachers and tutors who have been trained in the Orton-Gillingham approach, a method created especially for teaching dyslexic students.  And thanks to the generosity of our donors, Greengate will also give them access to assistive technology that may not be available in the home environment.

Please See: Tuition

Your child must be formally tested and have a reading disability as their primary diagnosis (see our link to testing resources).

Greengate is a non-sectarian, independent school which welcomes and respects children of all religions and ethnic backgrounds.

• A typical day’s schedule is much like a school day in traditional schools except for the heavy emphasis on language skills. Students have a challenging and enriching curriculum which includes science, social studies, physical education and the arts.
• In addition, children have individual language tutoring each day.
• Science, math, and social studies rely less on textbooks and involve more hands-on, experimental and project-oriented work than traditional schools.
• The emphasis will be placed on concepts and ideas rather than on memorization.

• Each child has a plan reached through consultation with teachers, parents and students. The plan charts the child’s educational path and sets goals that will be monitored and reported in regular, quarterly reports to the parents.
• Each child receives specific language evaluations at the beginning and end of each school year to determine the child’s needs and progress.
• Assessment in subjects relies on methods such as oral reporting, audio recording of answers, group projects and collaborative reports, as well as written tests. It is our intention to give students the opportunity to show what they can do.

While it is difficult to predict how long a child will need to stay at Greengate, it usually takes anywhere from 2 to 4 years to remediate a dyslexic child’s reading difficulties, depending on the severity of his dyslexia and other factors.

Using computers can be an important tool for students with reading disabilities, as well as a valuable instructional support. We feel it is very important for dyslexic children to learn touch-typing and basic computing skills. However, real life experience and the child’s own senses remain the strongest path for language remediation and retraining.