PRESS RELEASE

April 6, 2006

Sally L. Smith, the “Dr. Spock of Learning Disabilities” according to the Washington Post, is coming to Philadelphia on April 11, 2006 to open a new school in Manayunk for children with learning disabilities.  Numerous institutions from the National Center for Learning Disabilities to the US Department of Education have praised and endorsed the teaching methodology of Sally L. Smith, Founder/Executive Director of The Lab School of Washington® and Baltimore Lab.  Nationally renowned Northeastern Illinois University Professor Emeritus Janet Lerner considers The Lab School to be “…one of the best for LD kids in the country.”

After successfully operating The Lab School of Washington for nearly forty years (92% of the graduates go on to college) and the Baltimore Lab for the past 5 years, Sally Smith will bring her model of success to the Academy In Manayunk.  Philadelphia will be the third city in the United States to have the Lab School program in place. The Academy In Manayunk (AIM) will operate in conjunction with The Lab School of Washington which attributes its success to rigorous academics blended with the arts and a multisensory learning approach. AIM will open in the fall of 2006 for children in grades 1-8.

Events during this very exciting day include the ceremonial Ribbon Cutting at 10:45AM at the Academy In Manayunk, 169 Conarroe Street, Philadelphia by Sally L. Smith and the unveiling of one of Philadelphia’s newest murals beautifully created by artist and Washington Lab School teacher Mark Jarvis.  The Board of Trustees of The Academy In Manayunk as well Lab School of Washington and Baltimore Lab representatives, Philadelphia area parents and members of the Professional Community will be participating in this momentous day for the Philadelphia region.   Expected are well over 150 guests.   Please join us.