Clayton Academy is among the first schools – and the first Missouri school – to be selected as a School of Distinction by the All Kinds of Minds® Institute. The not-for-profit Institute based in Durham, North Carolina, awards this prestigious distinction to schools around the world having embraced the organization’s vision of every student finding success in school and life through the practice of “teaching to how minds are wired to learn.”

A K-8 private school, Clayton Academy’s mission is to research, design, and implement the best academic program possible for the comprehensive education of students that require a smaller, nurturing, learning environment. The Academy began embracing the All Kinds of Minds® philosophy in 2001. In class sizes of ten or less, teachers apply the latest neurological research on how kids learn to truly tailor classroom and school curricula to meet each student’s individual needs and learning style.

“Every child wants to be successful in school, but for those that learn differently, trying to succeed in a traditional educational system often is incredibly frustrating if not impossible,” said Barbara E. Geno, Ed.D., executive director of Clayton Academy. “As a result, there is often a rush to put labels on and misdiagnose children who have enormous potential for learning if taught in a way they can process and understand.”

Nobody agrees with this more than Natalie Schaefer, mother of Tommy Schaefer, who graduated from Clayton Academy in 2003. Tommy came to the Academy in seventh grade with low self-esteem after struggling academically and experiencing social problems due in part to his large physical stature.

“It wasn’t until I met Barbara that I actually heard an educator say that they understood the barriers to learning that Tommy had been facing and could help him overcome them.  Barbara was so positive about my child that I immediately put my trust in her,” said Schaefer. “Teachers at Clayton Academy learned how to work with Tommy’s short attention span. They didn’t try to confine him to his desk and allowed him to move around when appropriate. Most of all, they helped us learn what works for Tommy and helped him develop strategies he could use to bridge his learning differences and thrive in a traditional classroom.”

After graduating from the Academy, Tommy was accepted to and graduated from De Smet Jesuit High School. He is currently a senior at The University of Dayton double majoring in finance and accounting.

“At Clayton Academy, I learned what worked for me and what didn’t,” Tommy said. “I also gained the confidence to know that I could succeed … I just might take a different path than others do to get to the same goal.”

To earn the All Kinds of Minds® School of Distinction recognition, Clayton Academy had to demonstrate a relentless focus on student success through application of the latest scientific research on learning and its variations.  To date, only 29 schools worldwide have earned this distinction.

“Clayton Academy is demonstrating how education can be transformed so all students are on a path to success in school and life,” said Mary-Dean Barringer, CEO of All Kinds of Minds®. “Effective schools teach students in ways compatible with how their minds are wired to learn. This results in a strong academic foundation while nurturing the innovative and creative minds required by the 21st century.”