MAY 2021 • LONGISLANDPRESS.COM 51
SPOTLIGHT LONG ISLAND
TRANSFORMING EDUCATION FOR STUDENTS
WHO LEARN DIFFERENTLY
Landmark College was established
in November 1983 in Putney, Vt., by
Harvard-trained educator Charles
Drake, and opened its doors to its
first 77 students in the fall semester
of 1985.
Drake, who had severe dyslexia,
knew the struggles of kids with
learning disabilities and had
founded the Landmark School for
children with such disabilities in
Prides Crossing, Mass. in 1971. Based
on its success, he decided to start a
college for students with learning
differences and Landmark College
was born.
We recently interviewed Denise
Jaffe, director of online learning at
Landmark College, who grew up on
Long Island, first in Merrick and
then Great Neck. She discussed the
school’s mission, how technology
helped it during the COVID-19
pandemic and more.
What is the mission of Landmark
College? The mission of Landmark
College is to transform the way
students learn, the way educators
teach, and what the public thinks
about education, especially for
those with learning and attention
challenges.
What impact did the pandemic have
on Landmark College and what
challenges or opportunities did
it create for your school overall?
As with all schools, especially
liberal arts colleges, the pandemic
hit our residential enrollment first.
Our school never closed. However,
residential enrollment dropped as
students headed home in March
of 2020 to continue their courses
online. This was a new experience
for these students and our faculty.
What role does technology
have at Landmark College and
how is it helping to overcome
challenges your school faces
from the pandemic? As a result of
the pandemic, 100 percent of our
courses are now created in Canvas.
Whether these courses are taught
in a residential, online, hybrid, or
HyFlex model, they are available
in Canvas for students to access
content at any time from anyplace.
Office 365 tools are experiencing
a resurgence as we deepen our
knowledge of Teamsand OneNote
and develop activities for students
to work together, collaborating and
peer reviewing, regardless of their
locations.
How does Landmark College get
the word out about your school and
its programs? Social networks are a
large component of our advertising/
marketing outreach in addition to
print, broadcast, and digital media.
We also work closely with high
school counselors and educational
consultants in the Long Island, New
York area. We do a good amount of
advertising throughout New York in
newspapers such as this one.
What is the biggest technology
challenge that your school’s
students are facing now and why?
Tech savvy is an assumption about
these students. They may be tech
savvy on Instagram but they’re not
necessarily tech savvy at learning
online. Having them sit in one
place and read from a screen is a
huge detriment, especially for our
students, who may be Attention
deficit hyperactivity disorder
(ADHD). We ensure our courses
and learning model are mainly
experiential with not simply reading
a screen.
What other challenges are your
school facing and why? We’re
serving our students as best we
can, by offering several different
instructional models. We have
a 100 percent online model. We
have hybrid. We have HyFlex and
we have face-to-face residential.
Faculty have to consider each venue
as they build curriculum. Every
faculty member has an increased
workload. In addition to their faceto
face instruction, they’re recording
everything to offer an online
component.
Are there any students at your
school from Long Island? Yes,
we do have a lot of students from
Long Island, as well as educational
consultants.
Do you plan to increase your
initiatives to reach new potential
students in specific regions? We
are currently expanding our efforts
in the California Bay Area with a
regional Success Center. This Success
Center is a physical presence located
in San Mateo and will provide online
and in-person support to the Bay
Area.
What is your favorite part of
your job and why? Working
collaboratively with all members
of the college to build successful
learning opportunities for students
brings me a great deal of satisfaction
and pride.
Custom Computer Specialists is
proud to sponsor Spotlight LI. Since
1979, Custom has been dedicated to
providing Long Island’s schools, local
government agencies, healthcare
facilities and businesses with
advanced technology solutions and
support. To learn more about Custom
Computer, or to be considered for a
future Spotlight LI, please email info@
customtech.com.
LANDMARK COLLEGE
Success Begins Here.
Get Started Today!
(800) 598-8989
info@customonline.com
/customtech.com
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