Growing Confidence & Capacity
Academic Coaching at Cushing Academy
Everyone Learns Differently
15% of Cushing students participate in Academic Coaching
“People’s brains aren’t all wired the same. If you’re seven feet tall in a world made for people six feet tall, you’re going to bump your head a lot. Cushing increases the size of the doorways so you bump your head less.”
Cary, Cushing Parent
For over 50 years, Academic Coaching at Cushing has provided students with support and guidance to embrace their unique styles of learning. We build a student’s confidence by expanding their capacity—their ability to absorb and apply strategies for successful learning.
Our academic coaches are experts in each student’s learning profile, giving them resources and encouragement to build study skills, bolster self-confidence, and manage academic anxiety. The program also supports students with executive functioning challenges, ADHD, dyslexia, and similar learning differences.
Academic Coaching is part of daily life at Cushing. A student’s teachers and academic coach work closely together, ensuring support is seamless. Students talk openly about Academic Coaching with their friends, encouraging one another as they work toward collective and individual success. Students in Academic Coaching participate fully in everything Cushing has to offer—they’re also our most talented athletes, artists, leaders, visionaries, and innovators.
Powered by Flexibility
“Cushing
was superior to other options from the start because of its flexibility. My daughter relied on Academic Coaching as she transitioned into Cushing, but by her junior year, she had the skills and confidence to move out of the program.”
Michelle, Cushing Parent
Three 45-minute sessions and one 60-minute session of Academic Coaching per week
A student meets with their dedicated academic coach four times a week, either one-onone or in small groups of up to four. Each semester, students, coaches, and parents can reevaluate the level of support. Students might move between individual and group sessions or graduate out of the program.
Our academic coaches are experts, advisors, and advocates who adapt to a student’s needs in the moment. Today, one student will work with their coach to manage anxiety before a big biology test. Another will have their coach guide them through multisensory techniques to memorize a poem. Yet another student uses their session to get started on calculus homework, with only occasional feedback and encouragement needed from their coach. Tomorrow, each of these teams might be up to something completely different. But every session is a step towards meeting the student’s individual goals and full potential.
96% of students work with the same coach throughout their time at Cushing
Powered by Trust
“The hallmark of what we do is relationship building— it’s getting students to see themselves as they are, to realize they can be good learners and play on their strengths.”
Mike DeFlaun, Academic Support Department Chair
A strong, mutually respectful relationship is at the core of Academic Coaching. Our coaches get to know students from multiple angles because they’re not just full-time faculty—they’re also athletic coaches, dorm parents, and club advisors. They know what makes each of their students light up, the right way to encourage them, or the best way to approach a difficult conversation. When they pass each other on campus, they stop to check in. At a big game or opening night, students know their coach is in the audience. At every moment, our coaches show their students that their success matters.
Personalized Coaching, Personalized Results
“It’s hard to overstate the value. My daughter got all of the tools she needs to stay organized, focused, and on top of her grades. Now, in college, she’s really knocking it out of the park.”
Kiernan, Cushing parent
67% of Academic Coaching participants take at least one honors or AP class by junior year
Throughout the year, coaches track both the measurable and the meaningful, sharing monthly reports with families that highlight academic gains and social-emotional growth. One student might learn strategies to write papers in half the time it used to take them. Another might have the confidence to sign up for an extra elective next year. A third might decide to apply to more selective colleges, knowing that they have the skills to succeed at top schools.
Although progress looks different for each student, the result is always transformative. Students gain the tools to realize their fullest potential. They expand their capacity for success, at Cushing and beyond. They’re more confident, capable, and ready for what comes next.
College Matriculation
Students in Academic Coaching go on to attend a wide variety of colleges and universities. Recent enrollments include:
American University
Bentley University
Boston University
Colorado College
Curry College
Elon University
Emerson College
Savannah College of Art
and Design
UC San Diego
University of Arizona
University of Miami
Villanova University
Wesleyan University
