Seeking Support

An increasing number of Milton students are visiting the Academic Skills Center and encouraging their classmates to do the same.

Story by Andrea Dawson
Photos by John Gillooly

Semester exams were looming. Armed with their study materials, students stretched out on plush chairs, filled three quiet study rooms, and gathered around tables with built-in whiteboards. Contrary to appearances, they were not in the library. They were nestled in the Academic Skills Center (ASC), Milton’s welcoming hub of learning support.

Before the 2023–24 school year, the ASC (known by students as the Skills Center) was tucked in the basement of the old library. But its new location and look—a light-filled space on the second floor of Wigglesworth Hall, smack in the middle of campus—is both a symbolic reflection and a practical response to its increasing use among students.

When she became director of academic support in 2020, mere months into the pandemic, Lainey Sloman recalls, students were reluctant to visit. That changed dramatically in the past school year. “Nearly one of every three Upper Schoolers met with us,” she says. “I’m excited by that cultural shift, that students no longer feel stigmatized coming to us for help.”

That help comes in many forms. Sloman and the Upper School learning specialist, Kelsey Mumford, manage an impressive array of programs and resources in the ASC, from 1:1 academic support, workshops, and drop-in help to peer tutoring (an initiative known as TutorMilton), teacher training, and campus advocacy. What’s more, help is available to any Milton student.

While they work with those who have diagnosed learning differences, such as ADHD and dyslexia, and develop individual accommodation plans for them, Sloman and Mumford support plenty of other students, too. Often just a handful of visits can get them back on track.

“Over half the students we meet with do not have a documented learning profile or receive any formal accommodations,” Sloman explains. “Our work, which complements the classroom support teachers already provide, is in service to the goals and needs of individual students.”

Some benefit from essay-writing tips and test prep, for example, while others get a primer on executive functioning skills, such as time- and task-management and procrastination-busting strategies. Sloman and Mumford frequently share paper planners and digital planning tools.

Central to the ASC’s work is a close partnership with Milton’s counselors, advisors, and classroom teachers, who often refer students and help identify what types of support will be most beneficial. (Several Milton faculty staff the center during its popular drop-in hours.) The goal: Helping students uncover what they need to learn best, and coaching them to use those strategies on their own. “We’re always nudging them towards independence,” Sloman says. “And that independence often comes from greater confidence utilizing the resources on campus.”

Supporting students new to Milton—freshmen, yes, but also transfer students in any Upper School grade—is another priority area. Sloman and Mumford meet with them during orientation and throughout the first several weeks of school. A series of fall workshops they host cover all the basics: Locating the printers on campus, using Google Calendar to set up teacher meetings, composing effective emails, and building healthy homework habits, for example.

Including upperclassmen in their workshops is essential, Sloman notes. “For new students, the ASC is as much a social-emotional support as an academic one. Destigmatizing asking for help is a significant part of our efforts with them, and it’s compelling to hear from fellow students who have been in their shoes.”

Molly Sheehan ’25 is a prime example. “My cross-country teammates and other friends and classmates know I use the Skills Center, so I get a lot of questions,” she says. “Being able to tell them about it and how essential a resource it has been for me has been gratifying.”

Together, she and Oliver Sin ’25 serve as two of the coheads of the Advocates for Diverse Abilities affinity group, which partners with the ASC on campus advocacy efforts. Every spring, they proudly take eighth-graders through the space. “It’s really nice to be able to connect with younger students and offer them some advice,” Sin says. “We let them know it’s OK to have learning struggles; the ASC is here to help.”

This kind of student outreach—combined with the improved visibility and accessibility of the ASC on campus—has increased not only its demand, but its impact on students.

It’s really nice to be able to connect with younger students and offer them some advice. We let them know it’s OK to have learning struggles; the ASC is here to help.

Sloman estimates that just four years ago, when she arrived on campus, 30 percent of students referred themselves. Today, thanks to the buzz, that number is closer to 60 percent. Stretched thin keeping pace, she and Mumford are nevertheless proud of their efforts.

“A big part of a Milton education is self-reflection and learning how to use your voice for what you need and what you see others around you needing,” she says. “If the ASC can help students in that way, we’ve been successful.”

Andrea Dawson is a freelance writer for K–12 schools, institutions of higher education, and adjacent organizations.