Notre Dame's Thrive program for students with disabilities relocating to Hiram College
Hiram College will adopt Notre Dame College’s Thrive Learning Center, as agreed upon through a memorandum of understanding, the Portage County college announced in a Friday news release.
Hiram plans to serve as the new location for the program following the closure of Notre Dame at the end of the spring 2024 semester.
Thrive is a comprehensive, fee-based support program that provides educational opportunities and support services to students with documented learning disabilities, according to the news release. Typical documented disabilities and learning differences include ADHD, dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, autism spectrum disorders, learning disabilities/disorders, mental health diagnoses, health-related diagnoses, and disorders of executive functioning.
Thrive works to ensure students succeed in their coursework. Benefits include unlimited one-to-one professional tutoring, weekly check-in meetings, dedicated private tutoring spaces, assistive technology coaching, a proctored and accommodated testing center, teaching of self-advocacy techniques, major and career exploration, networking and job placement, and more.
All students now enrolled in the program at Notre Dame will have guaranteed acceptance into the program at Hiram following the stipulations outlined in the agreement signed between the two institutions in February.
“Hiram College has long prided itself on our robust student support and engaged faculty,” Jeffrey Swenson, interim vice president for academic affairs and dean of the college, said in a news release. “We are excited about how the Thrive Learning Center, with its excellent staff and learning support structures developed at Notre Dame College, will broaden what we can do for students. And we look forward to welcoming Thrive students to our campus; we can’t wait to see all they will contribute to the Hiram community.”
Denise Brown-Triolo, program director for the Thrive Learning Center at Notre Dame, will continue to lead the program at Hiram, making the transition to the college early this summer.
Brown-Triolo has more than 20 years of experience working in academic settings with students and individuals with learning differences and other disabilities, 18 of them as a school psychologist. Before her time at Notre Dame, Brown-Triolo served 10 years at Lawrence School as the director of student advocacy and support services and as a school psychologist.
“I am so happy to make this move to Hiram College and bring the services of the Thrive Learning Center to the Hill,” said Brown-Triolo. “Hiram College’s initiatives in neurodiversity and inclusion make it a perfect landing spot for the Thrive Learning Center. Thrive started as the Academic Support Center in 2005 with just four NDC students and has touched the lives of over 600 hundred students since then. I look forward to providing this opportunity to more students, so they can grow and succeed.”
To become part of Thrive, students must meet the same admission requirements as all other students seeking admission to the college. Students must also apply to the Thrive Learning Center and provide documentation of their diagnosis, including how their diagnosis affects their access to education and learning.
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Hiram College adopts Notre Dame program for students with disabilities
