Description
These short courses help build new habits and skills that enable students to manage school, work and life better. This secular but inclusive course is offered in Naperville with in-person class meetings once/week for 1.5 hour and students put their new skills and knowledge to use in their daily lives between class meetings. By the end of the course, we hope to have a strong foundation of skills in place and practiced. Additionally, our College Prep Boot Camp for rising college freshman will help ensure that they understand how to hit the ground running in the fall to balance their time and obligations. Our instructor is a former project manager certified at the highest level since 2003 (PMP) turned high school teacher (Master’s in Teaching Secondary Ed) and private executive function coach that includes college students.
Executive Function, Study Skills & College Boot Camp
In-person class – see below for dates and times
Students should be minimum aged 12/6th grade for middle school level and 14/9th grade for high school level for best results in this course. If your child is younger, please contact us to discuss the best fit.
Students who want to take the College Prep Boot Camp should be recently graduated seniors going to any college program (2 or 4 year school)
For students attending college in the fall, this course will give students a running start to their year. Topics covered
- How to read and use a syllabus
- Time management and planning for college coursework (this content is repeated from the study skills course, but is presented in the context of the college environment)
- Keeping track of assignments in ways that are different than high school
- The purpose and how to create a study group
- Annotation (this content is repeated from the study skills course, but is short in class time and critical for students)
- How and when to use tutoring services and office hours
- Basic money budgeting
It’s possible we will cover additional topics as they arise, time-permitting.
Some topics take more than one class session and some topics are combined in the same class session.
Executive Function Skills is broken down into two levels of Time Management, Planning & Organization. The first level is required to do the second level. The first level is a 6-weekcourse that uses a significant amount of the Rush NeuroBehavioral leveled curriculum (RNBC) but includes some instructor created resources for topics that are not covered in the RNBC content. The second level course expands on the RNBC curriculum but includes instructor-created materials. The second level course assumes students are well-versed in the topics covered in the first level course.
In the Level I course, Students at both middle and high school levels will learn:
- Organization (including longer term storage and electronic document organization)
- Time management & systems
- Planning
- Time estimating
- Task analysis
Some topics take more than one class session and some topics are combined in the same class session.
Assuming students have learned and implemented/are skills in the topics in the Level I course, there is a 6-week Level 2 course that adds the following topics at both middle and high school levels will learn:
- More advanced Planning & Time Management skills (specifically larger project planning)
- Goal setting & tracking
- Decision-making & problem solving skills
Study Skills is broken into two courses each with a different theme. Each course is 6-weeks long and content does not overlap and do not build upon one another. The majority of content comes from the Rush NeuroBehavioral leveled curriculum (RNBC) but includes some instructor created resources and methods for topics that are not covered in the RNBC content.
In the “Homework Focus” course, the students at both middle and high school levels will learn:
- Engaged listening
- Analyzing and following directions
- Reading prep including how to preview a chapter
- Note taking
- Tracking issues/problems
In the “Testing Focus” course, the students at both middle and high school levels will learn:
- Active Reading Strategies
- Annotation
- Memory techniques
- Creating study plans
- Test preparation
- Test taking tips
Students meet in-person once/week to cover 1-3 new topics or skills. They then make a plan for implementing one of the new skills into their upcoming week. Time during the week is spent working on integrating that new skill or knowledge into their daily lives. Upon return to class, we open with reflecting on that process and potential fine-tuning.
Ice-breaker/team-building exercises and growth mindset activities are the heart of the first 2-3 weeks to build a cohesive team of students that can support one another through the year. As such, students should be mature enough to engage positively in a group setting where others may be sharing their struggles. Students that are disruptive, disrespectful or regularly disengaged will be asked to leave without a refund.
Required Course Materials
- Whatever supports students in taking notes
- Writing utensil(s)
- Small binder or pocket folder for handouts and notes
Additionally, students will need technical ability to access Canvas (our learning management system).
Executive Function Level 1 course
- Middle school: Starting Sunday, Jan. 25, 2025 from 4:30-6pm
- High school: Starting Sunday, Jan. 25, 2025 from 6:30-8pm
- No classes on Feb. 16
Executive Function Level 2 course
- Middle school: Starting Sunday, Apr. 5, 2025 from 4:30-6pm
- High school: Starting Sunday, Apr. 5, 2025 from 6:30-8pm
Study Skills Homework Focus course
- Middle school: Starting Monday, Jan. 26, 2026 from 4:30-6pm
- High school: Starting Monday, Jan. 26, 2026 from 6:30-8pm
- No classes on Feb. 17
Study Skills Testing Focus course
- Middle school: Starting Monday, Apr. 6, 2026 from 4:30-6pm
- High school: Starting Monday, Apr. 6, 2026 from 6:30-8pm
College Boot Camp
- Session 1: Starting Wednesday, Apr. 8, 2026 from 6:30-8pm for 6 weeks
- (additional dates are coming for sessions in May, June & July)
Students will often have approximately 30-60 minutes of work to do outside of class each week. The majority of time is spent in figuring out how and when to implement new skills.
Students who cannot find the value in the content and regularly disengage; or students who are disruptive or disrespectful will be removed from the course without a refund. Students in the course should expect to feel safe to share things that are sometimes difficult to acknowledge and we strive to create a safe, accepting and supportive place for that.
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