Storytellers: Patricia M. Roberts and Nancy G. Blair
Said Blair, “Parents come to us when their child is struggling in either reading, writing or math. We start on the path of finding the child’s strengths, talents and interests, and build on those, as well as help our students build confidence in themselves. Our teaching staff, who receive training every year, are dedicated to making a difference in the lives of our students.” One of the precepts of Judaism is, “Whoever Saves a Life Saves the World.” Said Roberts, “Our parents tell us that in different ways. Parents tell us you have saved my child’s life. … I can finally sleep at night because I know my child is in the right place. My child doesn’t fight me to go to school anymore. I can’t get my child to go to bed at night because he [or she] is under the covers reading a book and doesn’t want to put it away.”
Pat and Nancy met when their daughters were diagnosed with dyslexia in first grade. Their friendship, entrepreneurial mindset, and dedication to finding evidence-based methods to best educate their own children has transformed the lives of families throughout the Philadelphia area with their 2006 founding of AIM Academy, a 1st-12th grade school for bright students with language-based learning differences. Pat and Nancy, who also oversee the AIM Institute for Learning & Research are now busy forging research and community partnerships to improve literacy and teacher education far beyond AIM’s Conshohocken campus.
AIM Academy is a coeducational, independent school located just outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, dedicated to providing extraordinary educational opportunities to children in grades 1-12 with language-based learning disabilities such as dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia. Our rigorous, academic elementary, middle and high school programs, taught by experienced and creative faculty, incorporate evidence-based interventions in an arts-based learning environment that is college preparatory in scope and sequence. Our programs are designed to foster self-esteem and social responsibility both in the classroom and through our comprehensive athletics, extracurricular and summer camp programs. The AIM Institute for Learning & Research™ was created as a center for educational excellence and professional development disseminating to area educators the latest research, technology, and best practices in the fields of learning disabilities, dyslexia and literacy, including Wilson Language Training® and Orton-Gillingham.
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