Traci Epperson is Head of Academic Support and Counseling at Trinity School at Edgemere. Trinity is a private school that educates students with learning differences, each according to their specific needs, in a supportive and encouraging environment. Most students are supported by Oklahoma’s school choice programs, including the Lindsey Nicole Henry Scholarship, Equal Opportunity Scholarships and the Oklahoma Parental Choice Tax Credit.
Trinity School at Edgemere is a school that serves students with learning differences. Every student in the building has a diagnosed learning disability. We work with students from kindergarten through high school. And the thing that makes Trinity special is that we meet children where they are, we help them address their unique academic needs, and we provide an environment that helps them feel accepted and acknowledged for who they are.
So many of our students here at Trinity have multiple diagnosed learning differences. That might look like we have a student with dyslexia and an ADHD diagnosis, maybe some anxiety. Or we might have a student who has an autism diagnosis and also struggles with math. It kind of runs the full gamut.
I sit with families and hear them talk about the impact of going to a school like Trinity has on them. In 90 percent of our meetings, parents tell me their child now wants to get up and come to school, like they’ve never wanted to do that before.
These are kids that would be in the special education department in a public school. So, they’re getting an opportunity to have a very enriching experience. Kids at Trinity go out for the basketball team where maybe they wouldn’t have done that in a bigger school or in another private school. They are cheerleaders. They’re competing in art competitions. They’re getting an opportunity to shine because our school is smaller and caters just to that population. They build confidence and they’re able to take on challenges they wouldn’t get to otherwise. And I think that’s very different than it would be at maybe another private school or other public schools.
