The Gateway School

Overview:

After working in education for over 35 years, I have come to believe deeply that strong relationships are the foundation to teaching, leadership, and education. School is so much more than just a building. A school’s heart and soul is its teachers, and Gateway teachers are the shining examples of heart and soul. Teachers teach children long before they teach subject matter. There is a profound relationship between home and school; a family chooses to place their trust in a school and a school must earn that trust daily. To connect a family’s understanding of their child with a teacher’s knowledge and compassion of what that child needs to thrive is a privilege. It is a relationship that must be cherished and honored. The relationship between teacher and student is one which can transform lives for the better.

I believe that every child, every parent, every teacher has a story to tell. At Gateway, there is time to honor and share those stories. Every family, including mine, who has crossed the threshold on West 61st Street or will cross that threshold has traveled an educational journey with a shared map, looking for the right fit for their child, a child who is learning differently than his or her friends. When you enter our doors on West 61st Street, you see that you have indeed discovered a new beginning at Gateway. Here, we will teach your children, but there is more to it than that. At Gateway, we will love your children. We will love them exactly for who they are and who they can become.

Gateway is a school for students who struggle with language-based learning difficulties. Our mission has meaning. We say outright that at Gateway our students become skilled, strategic learners and confident self-advocates. We acknowledge that language, literacy, and critical-thinking skills are the foundations for success. We believe in a close relationship between school and parents. These are our tenets, and they matter, now more than ever.

This is a remarkably historic time. Know that we are here together. We hold fast to our community and to our program because we know it works. You find at Gateway what you cannot find elsewhere. Whether it is in our expanded facility, at your dining table, or a combination of both, this faculty and this program continues to transform lives.

During the initial search process, I was asked, “Why Gateway? Why now?” Our world has changed since I addressed that question, but my answer has not. Gateway delivers an experience and program that is unique and extraordinary: our mission is crystal clear, our program is thoughtful and intentional, our commitment to students is second to none, and our size allows for a very meaningful community. We are a proven entity in an uncertain time.

Gateway has a great story to tell. The only way to tell it, however, is to tell it together. There is, in short, much to look forward to. And I do. I look forward to this year, I look forward to getting to know you, I look forward to working closely with the faculty and the administration, and I look forward to getting to know your children. In short, I look forward.

As we say, success starts here. Welcome!

Warm regards,

Laurie Gruhn

Head of School