Supportive Learning Environment


“When you plant lettuce, if it does not grow well, you don’t blame the lettuce. You look into the reasons it is not doing well. It may need fertilizer, or more water, or less sun. You never blame the lettuce. Yet if we have problems with our friends or family, we blame the other person. But if we know how to take care of them, they will grow well, like lettuce.”
Thich Nhat Hanh, 1991

For some students a supportive learning environment is needed to succeed in school. Often, students have the knowledge and skills to meet curriculum demands, but their difficulties with attention, impulsivity, activity level, organizing and planning prevent them from performing consistently.

At Fort Lauderdale Prep School our small classes, nurturing and caring environment and individual approach to students provides the right environment for that success.

The key to a supportive classroom environment is a teacher who is willing to establish a caring relationship with each student, learn about a student’s individual needs and strengths, and provide the support and encouragement each student needs to be a successful learner. They also need teachers who are flexible and willing to try new ways to teach and assess. Along with flexibility, these students need teachers with high expectations who believe that all students are capable of learning and doing well.

There are a number of proactive strategies we use to create the correct physical environment of the classroom to reduce distractions and facilitate supervision.

  • Seat student near teacher’s desk or in the area of the class where the teacher spends most of the time.
  • Surround the student with other students who are good role models.
  • Avoid distracting stimuli. Try not to place the student near air conditioners, heaters, high traffic areas, doors, windows or pencil sharpeners.
  • Provide a stimuli-reduced study area accessible to all students. For example, set up an “office area” using a study carrel or a cardboard screen to provide students with a quiet place for uninterrupted work time.

All students, but especially students in need of a supportive nurturing learning environment to succeed benefit from clearly established classroom rules, behavioral expectations and routines.

To learn more, please call to schedule an appointment to meet with one of our learning coordinators.

At FLP we help students succeed!