Good Neighbor Podcast: Delco

Kim McDermott: Advancing Stratford Friends Mission To Teach Young Neurodiverse Learners

• Bob Blaisse

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Kim McDermott: Advancing Stratford Friends Mission To Teach Young Neurodiverse Learners

In this episode of the Good Neighbor Podcast, Host Bob Blaisse interviews Kim McDermott, Director of Advancement at Stratford Friends School in Newtown Square, PA, who shares how Stratford Friends has become one of the leading alternative primary school programs for neurodiverse learners—autistic students, students with ADHD, auditory processing challenges and language delays— to build confidence and thrive across academics and life. Listen and learn how the advantages of a six-to-one classroom, where integrated speech, OT and behavioral support are incorporated within the teaching rhythm to benefit young learners who otherwise would struggle to advance academically while developing age-appropriate life skills, can make all the difference for students and parents in need of education alternatives. 

You'll hear Kim walk us through what makes Stratford Friends different: intentionally small classes, full-time therapies located on campus and a teaching and learning culture with the mission that turns IEPs into actionable plans rather than paperwork. You'll hear how students from 32 ZIP codes across the five-county Philadelphia Metro Region are being well-served by this school with a Quaker-rooted legacy that uses the most current teaching methods and therapies to help and educate neurodiverse learners.

This episode also pulls back the curtain on the sustainability and growth of Stratford Friends School. From EITC scholarships to foundation and government grants, community sponsors, including support of Stratford Friends from the Eagles Autism Foundation, Stratford Friends, is a thriving and growing mission. Kim explains how admissions for students begin with a conversation instead of a checklist, why the right fit matters more than formality and how incoming primary students now have the opportunity to progress through grade levels, including an upper school 10th grade, with near-term plans for 11th and 12th grades. These programs are for students who have not fully gained the skills needed to transition back to their home school districts in high school years, as the best option for their secondary education.

If you’re a parent, educator or neighbor curious about effective neurodiversity-affirming education, this is a candid look at what truly moves the needle: alignment between teachers and therapists, predictable supports and respect for how each brain learns best.
 
Stratford Friends School
2 Bishop Hollow Rd,
Newtown Square, PA 19073
StratfordFreinds.org
610-355-9580

--- About The Show--- Good Neighbor Podcast is a spotlight on local businesses in and around Delaware County, PA (“Delco” ) and Beyond... The executive producer and host, Bob Blaisse, is a community sponsorship advocate, business branding specialist, and publisher of several hometown magazines, including: Newtown Square Friends & Neighbors, Marple Friends & Neighbors and Newtown Edgmont Friends & Neighbors, mailed monthly to more than 12,000 homes in Western Delaware County, PA, and also available for reading online.