Launching Fall 2026 for Grades 5 & 6
The Learning Center
Support for students with dyslexia and other language-based learning differences.
Introducing TLC at Prospect Sierra
The Learning Center (TLC) provides a highly individualized instructional program for students with language‑based learning differences. Children who qualify for TLC demonstrate difficulty in reading, spelling, mathematics, handwriting, organization of written language, or any combination of these areas. Students receive individualized instruction while also engaging fully in Prospect Sierra’s arts, athletics, outdoor education, and social-emotional learning.
The Learning Center will serve students in Grades 5 & 6 beginning Fall 2026, with plans to expand through both elementary and middle school in future years.
TLC is designed to serve students who:
- Have identified learning differences that make reading, writing, and math challenging
- Need small group learning environments to solidify foundational academic skills
- Have attentional and/or organizational challenges that impact their learning
- Can function well socially and emotionally in whole-class settings with age-level peers
- Would benefit from tailored curriculum while maintaining connection to grade-level curricular themes
TLC is not designed to meet the needs of students who:
- Have behavioral issues that impact their learning and ability to be in a large group setting
- Do not have a primary documented diagnosis of dyslexia or another language-based learning difference
A Tradition of Support
Prospect Sierra has long been a school that has felt our diverse community includes those who have identified learning differences. There is a need that we feel we are well-equipped to meet, both because of the values that guide our work daily as well as the ongoing belief that all of our students benefit greatly from being in a diverse community of learners. This program will strengthen our commitment to ensuring all students thrive, engaging in best practices to support a differentiated learning environment, and ensuring Prospect Sierra is a central part of the East Bay community’s ecosystem.
Tuition:
Families in The Learning Center pay Prospect Sierra’s middle school tuition plus a dedicated TLC program fee.
Middle School Tuition 2025-26: $40,810
TLC Program Fee: $15,000
Total: $55,810
Tuition for the 2026–27 school year will be set by the Board of Trustees in February 2026. Flexible Tuition is available to reduce the middle school tuition, but it does not apply to the TLC program fee, which is a fixed cost.
Applications for TLC will open in October 2025.
Discover TLC Together
Begin by hearing directly from Abby Guinn, Director of The Learning Center, and Nisa Frank, Head of School.
Parents, caregivers, and professionals are invited to complete our TLC Interest Form and, if you’d like, select an upcoming online information session (9–10 am, via Zoom):
Tuesday, October 21
Monday, November 17
Monday, December 15
Friday, January 16
The Learning Center FAQs
Dyslexia is a lifelong learning difference that affects reading, writing, and spelling. Expert opinions vary widely, and estimates of the rate of dyslexia in kids range from 5 to 17.5%. A problem with language processing, people with dyslexia may have difficulty sounding out written words, recognizing common words in text, reading accurately and smoothly, understanding what’s read, rhyming, solving word problems in math, learning a new language, and more.
With the right support, students with dyslexia can get better at reading. Many thriving adults with dyslexia say it helped them be more creative and resilient. At Prospect Sierra we want all students to thrive, including those with dyslexia and other language-based learning differences.
Enrollment offers for TLC will begin in January 2026, and the first group of 5th and 6th grade students will officially start at Prospect Sierra in August 2026.
Families apply through Prospect Sierra’s admissions portal on Finalsite. The TLC application opens in October 2025.
We encourage families to complete our Interest Form now to receive reminders and updates.
Yes, TLC is designed for students who have a diagnosed reading or other language-based learning difference. For those who have not yet had a formal evaluation, Prospect Sierra can provide some recommendations to guide families who are investigating their child’s learning profile.
Families should work with a licensed neuropsychologist or request an evaluation through their local public school district. Evaluations must be current – less than 3 years old.
Yes, TLC teachers will be trained in the Orton-Gillingham Approach.
The Orton-Gillingham Approach is a direct, explicit, multisensory, structured, sequential, diagnostic, and prescriptive way to teach literacy when reading, writing, and spelling does not come easily to individuals, such as those with dyslexia. The Orton-Gillingham Approach is focused on the learning needs of the individual student. Orton-Gillingham (OG) practitioners design lessons and materials to work with students at the level they present by pacing instruction and the introduction of new materials to their individual strengths and weaknesses. Students with dyslexia need to master the same basic knowledge about language and its relationship to our writing system as any who seek to become competent readers and writers. However, because of their dyslexia, they need help in sorting, recognizing, and organizing the raw materials of language for thinking and use. Language elements that non-dyslexic learners acquire easily must be taught directly and systematically.
TLC classes will mostly occur in grade level small groups of 3-5 students. Occasionally, a TLC class might pull all 8-10 students in the grade together for a TLC class. The ratio will be approximately 4:1.
TLC students are integrated into the larger Prospect Sierra program and student body. At the middle school level, all TLC students will be a part of the larger program’s advisory groups that meet daily in the morning and also several times a week for study hall together.
Every day, TLC students will join the larger group at their grade level to attend specialist classes such as PE, music, colab, art, drama, library, and life skills.
Additionally, all students will have recess, lunch, and weekly assemblies with all of the Prospect Sierra middle school students. TLC students will attend grade level trips and other special events.
TLC students will be in small classes with their TLC teachers for Humanities, Math, and Science. Instead of Spanish, they will receive additional instruction in reading, writing, and spelling within TLC.
TLC builds explicit reading, writing, and spelling instruction into the regular school day, reducing the need for additional after-school support. Because these foundational skills are addressed during class time, TLC students have more opportunities to join after-school activities with their peers—such as theater productions, athletics, art classes, robotics, and more.
Once admitted to TLC, students will stay as long as needed in order to thrive as readers, writers, and mathematicians. For some students, they will remain in TLC until graduating from Prospect Sierra in eighth grade. Other students might show significant gains after a few years in TLC and matriculate into the larger program.
Formal and informal evaluation of academic skills, executive function and organizational skills, and social emotional development will inform when a transition from TLC makes sense. This will be done in collaboration with families, students, TLC teachers, and administrators.
Yes, at this time The Learning Center is designed as a program within Prospect Sierra that holistically supports the academic needs of students. Only those enrolled at Prospect Sierra and in TLC would receive instruction from TLC teachers.
Yes. TLC tuition is higher because of the small 4:1 instructional ratio. Families pay Prospect Sierra’s standard tuition plus an additional $15,000.
For example, middle school tuition for the 2025–26 school year is $40,810; with TLC, the total is $55,810. Tuition for the 2026–27 school year will be set by the Board of Trustees in February 2026.
Flexible Tuition is available to reduce the middle school tuition, but it does not apply to the TLC program fee, which is a set cost.
Yes! Flexible Tuition is available to reduce the middle school tuition, but it does not apply to the TLC program fee, which is a set cost.
If you have questions, our Admissions Team is happy to walk you through the process. Contact us anytime at admissions@prospectsierra.org or 510-809-9008.
Families are encouraged to complete our Interest Form to stay connected, sign up for an information session, and schedule a tour. You can also reach our Admissions Office directly at 510-809-9008 or admissions@prospectsierra.org.