Ryken Program

The Ryken Studies Program at Our Lady of Good Counsel High School is a college preparatory program designed for highly motivated students with mild learning disabilities. The primary focus of this program is to assist students in their core courses through the use of varied teaching styles and strategies that focus on skill development in a small group setting.

Good Counsel High School established the Ryken Studies program based upon the Xaverian tradition of academic caring. In 1864 Theodore Ryken opened the first Xaverian Brothers school in the United States. This school, located in Louisville, Kentucky, served young immigrant students who wanted a quality Catholic education. The Xaverian Brothers believed these students deserved to be educated in the Catholic tradition regardless of the label that society had placed on them. This dedication to those with special needs has become a hallmark of the Xaverian Brothers for over 125 years.

The goals of the Ryken Studies Program are:

  • To prepare the student to be successful in college.
  • To teach the student to become an autonomous learner by developing and reinforcing compensation strategies for the student's learning disability.

Selection

Applications for the Ryken Program are accepted during the regular admissions season with the same deadlines as the general admissions program. The applications process includes the following:
  • Complete the Good Counsel High School application form and indicate, in the space provided, that you are applying for the Ryken Studies Program.
  • Send official transcripts for 7th and 8th grades.
  • Send the results of the applicants psycho-educational testing. Testing must have been obtained within the last year.
  • Interview with the Ryken Studies program Director and Counselor (further testing may be required)

Procedures

  • Students selected for this program must successfully complete our summer school program prior to ninth grade.
  • At the end of the summer, the Program Director/ Counselor, Summer School Principal and Teachers meet to determine student placement in the program.
  • Before the fall semester, the Director/Counselor prepares the individual PROFILES for each of the students. This profile includes a brief description of the student's learning disability, his/her strengths and weaknesses and the accommodations to which the student is entitled.
  • Before school begins, each teacher who teaches any Ryken Program student receives a folder with each student's profile as well as a series of strategies for working the student's profile as well as disabilities and learning styles.
  • During summer school, the director/counselor meets with each Ryken Program student to review the profile sheet.
  • Mid-way through each quarter, each in the Ryken Program will receive a progress report from each teacher.

    Admissions Information

For more information about the Ryken Studies Program, including information about the selection process, please contact Mrs. Loren Bass, Ryken Program Director and Counselor, at bass@gchs.com or at 240-283-3215.