Delaware Area School Supporting Individual Learners

Supporting Students with Learning Differences, Dyslexia, & ADHD

If your child is bright but struggling in a traditional classroom, you’re not alone. Many students with dyslexia, ADHD, ASD, or executive function challenges need a different approach to succeed.

Centreville Layton School is a Delaware private Transitional K–12 school specializing in education for students with learning differences, including dyslexia and ADHD. Located in Wilmington, Centreville Layton serves families across Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and the surrounding region.

As a school for students who learn differently, we provide individualized instruction, small class sizes, and targeted support that helps students build confidence and reach their full potential.

Many of our students are bright, capable learners who struggled in traditional classrooms before finding success in an environment designed specifically for how they learn.

Signs Your Child May Need a Different School Environment

Every child learns differently, but when a student is consistently struggling in a traditional classroom despite strong effort, it may be a sign that they need a different kind of support.

You might notice your child:

  • Becomes frustrated or overwhelmed with schoolwork
  • Avoids reading, writing, or homework altogether
  • Has difficulty staying focused or organized
  • Struggles to follow multi-step directions
  • Takes much longer than expected to complete assignments
  • Experiences anxiety related to school or academic performance
  • Shows a gap between their intelligence and their academic results

For students with dyslexia, ADHD, ASD, or executive function challenges, traditional classrooms often move too quickly, rely heavily on lecture-based instruction, or lack the individualized support these learners need to thrive.

At Centreville Layton School, we understand that these challenges are not a reflection of a child’s ability—but rather a sign that they need a different approach to learning. With the right environment, instruction, and support, students can rebuild confidence, develop effective learning strategies, and rediscover a love of school. If these challenges sound familiar, the right school environment can make all the difference.

How Centreville Layton Supports Students Who Learn Differently

At Centreville Layton School, everything we do is designed with the understanding that students with learning differences need more than a traditional classroom can provide. Our program is intentionally built to support how each student learns best: academically, socially, and emotionally. This individualized approach allows students not only to keep up, but to truly thrive, often for the first time.

Individualized Instruction

No two students learn the same way. Our teachers tailor instruction to each student’s unique learning profile, providing the structure, pacing, and strategies they need to succeed. Lessons are designed to meet students where they are while helping them build the skills and confidence to move forward.

Small Class Sizes

With small class sizes, teachers are able to provide personalized attention and immediate support. Students are not overlooked or left behind; instead, they are actively engaged and supported throughout the learning process.

Specialized Support for Dyslexia, ADHD, and Executive Function

Our program integrates research-based strategies that support students with dyslexia, ADHD, ASD, and executive function challenges. From structured literacy approaches to explicit instruction in organization, time management, and study skills, students gain tools they can use both in and out of the classroom.

A Focus on Confidence and Growth

Many students come to Centreville Layton feeling discouraged or unsure of their abilities. We prioritize building confidence alongside academic skills, helping students recognize their strengths, advocate for themselves, and develop a more positive relationship with learning.

A Supportive, Understanding Community

Students benefit from a school environment where learning differences are understood and supported—not stigmatized. This sense of belonging allows students to take risks, participate more fully, and grow both academically and socially.

Understanding Learning Differences

Learning differences affect how students process, retain, and express information. These differences are not a reflection of intelligence—in fact, many students with learning differences are highly capable and creative thinkers.

Centreville Layton supports students with a range of learning differences, as well as diagnoses that can impact learning, including:

  • Dyslexia
  • ADHD
  • Executive function challenges
  • Language-based learning differences
  • Dysgraphia and dyscalculia
  • Autism spectrum profiles

Our approach focuses on understanding each student’s unique learning profile—including both strengths and challenges—and providing targeted, individualized support to help them succeed.

Why Traditional Schools Don’t Work for Every Learner

Traditional classrooms are designed to meet the needs of the majority of students—but they are not always equipped to support those who learn differently.

In many schools, instruction moves at a set pace, relies heavily on lecture and independent work, and offers limited flexibility in how material is taught or assessed. For students with dyslexia, ADHD, ASD, or executive function challenges, this environment can make learning unnecessarily difficult and frustrating.

These students are often bright, capable, and full of potential—but may struggle with reading fluency, written expression, focus, organization, or processing speed. Without the right support, they can begin to feel discouraged, fall behind academically, or lose confidence in their abilities.

Over time, this mismatch between how a student learns and how they are taught can lead to increased anxiety, school avoidance, and a belief that they are “not good at school”—when in reality, they simply need a different approach.

At Centreville Layton School, we recognize that success looks different for every learner. By providing individualized instruction, structured support, and an environment designed specifically for students with learning differences, we help students overcome challenges, build confidence, and experience success in ways that may not have been possible in a traditional setting.

A School Designed for How Students Learn Best

Centreville Layton School provides a highly individualized educational experience designed specifically for students with learning differences.

Key elements of our program include:

  • Small class sizes for personalized attention
  • Individualized learning plans
  • Explicit instruction in reading, writing, and executive functioning
  • Integrated support services throughout the school day, such as occupational therapy, and speech and language therapy
  • A supportive environment that builds confidence and independence

Students are not asked to fit into a system — the system is designed to support how they learn.

Discover What’s Possible for Your Child

At Centreville Layton School, students with learning differences gain the skills, confidence, and independence they need to thrive.

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Learn more about Centreville Layton School and the programs we offer to help support our students with diverse learning styles.

How Did CLS Change Your Life?

We interviewed parents, students, faculty, former teachers, and alumni to discover what CLS has meant to them over the years.

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The difference is clear

Our son learned the valuable skills of teamwork, patience and perseverance during his time at Centreville Layton as well as the academic strategies to move forward into a typical high school setting. Centreville Layton strikes a great balance of family-like warmth and discipline in a beautiful country setting.

Jan B.
Former Parent

This past year has been completely transformational for our daughter and her positive strides have been noticeable both at home and at school. She is growing into the best version of herself and her teachers at CLS have played a significant role in her progress.

Michelle L.
Middle School parent

This year, I’ve learned to understand that acceptance is greatly appreciated but difficult to find. Compared to where I came from, CLS houses some of the most accepting people that I’ve ever met. I am thankful for every little act of kindness shown towards me or even towards another student. They have not gone unnoticed.

SB
Student

We’re prepared for this because we’ve learned how to work hard, solve problems, be independent, happy, responsible and kind to all.

Student
Student

The support from my teachers taught me not just reading and writing, but to embrace who I am, to learn from my mistakes and grow because of them.

TL
Student