Sappo School in Commack to Expand Class Offerings and In-House Programs

Sappo School, a kindergarten to 12th-grade college preparatory private school, will add to its course offerings and in-house programs in September.

Sappo School, a kindergarten to 12th-grade college preparatory private school in Commack, is “expanding to include additional opportunities for all students,” says Michelle Bowers, admissions director. The school will add performing arts, music, and visual arts programs; Advance Placement courses; CrossFit conditioning workshops; and Project Lead the Way (a STEM learning program) for younger students to its curriculum offerings in September. It will also provide tablets for all students.

Private music lessons in various instruments, including piano, guitar, bass guitar, and ukulele, will be added to the music programming. A dance program, led by a former Rockette and Broadway alumnus, will also be offered, in which students will learn choreography and performance.

While Sappo School has been approved to offer AP courses, it is waiting until September to offer Earth Science, Art, and History courses to its students. The AP class offerings “will allow the students to experience college-level courses within the supportive environment of our school,” Bowers says.

High-school students at Sappo School currently have the opportunity to participate in Project Lead the Way, a nonprofit organization that provides STEM learning programs for kindergarten through 12th grades. In September, the school will extend PLTW to the lower grades. Program offerings include computer programming, coding, and app and game development, Bowers says.

Additionally, Sappo School will provide each student with his or her own tablet, which “will allow students to access and work on the curriculum electronically,” Bowers says. “We just want to make everything the best as we're expanding and grant students world-class opportunities.”

Sappo School, which is Regents-approved, follows a Tailored Learning approach to give each student individualized attention. It accepts international as well as general and special education students, and specializes in working with students who have anxiety, ADHD, dyslexia, and high-functioning autism. All of the private school’s new programming will be open to all students, as long as they are able to take on the course load, Bowers says.

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Main image: Sappo School’s Tailored Learning approach and emphasis on the arts foster success of students with disabilities and general education students.
Courtesy Sappo School