Mission Statement
Jemicy School educates talented and bright students with dyslexia or other related language-based learning differences by addressing both their intellectual strengths and their learning needs. The school utilizes creative, multisensory, and research-based programs and techniques to develop reading, writing, spelling, math, and organization skills; promote a love of learning; and prepare students for the intellectual and social challenges of college and life.
History
In 1972, Jemicy founders Joyce Bilgrave and David Malin created a camp to serve the needs of children experiencing difficulty in the traditional classroom due to dyslexia and other language-based learning differences. Although primarily established to provide daily tutoring in reading, using the Orton-Gillingham approach, students rode horseback and enjoyed wood shop, archery, tennis, and swimming. The students loved camp and, after eight intensive weeks of tutoring, were able to “hit the ground running” at the start of school. Parents of campers, experiencing their children’s success, encouraged its founders to open a school. The School at Jemicy Farm, as it was initially called, opened its doors on September 12, 1973 with 51 students and 16 faculty members. Renamed “Jemicy” in 1975 after a move to its current location on Celadon Road, the school merged with Valley Academy in 2003, creating the first school in the Baltimore area to accommodate 1st through 12th grade students with language-based learning differences.
Jemicy Today
Although, the relaxed, camp-like feeling remains – students still build forts in the woods, faculty bring certified therapy dogs to campus, and multisensory and experiential learning opportunities abound –Jemicy evolved to become a preeminent leader in the realm of schools addressing language-based learning differences. Highly trained, creative teachers; research based programs and techniques; individualized curriculum; advanced technology; and well-equipped classrooms characterize the school today. Fiscally sound, Jemicy now enrolls nearly 380 students (grades 1-12) on two campuses in Owings Mills, MD.
In 2016, Jemicy became the first school in the nation to be accredited by the International Dyslexia Association (IDA). As the school celebrates its 45th year of empowering bright students who learn differently, it embraces both the excitement and challenges facing schools in the 21st century. While students are guided through the process of obtaining, analyzing, and applying the information now so instantly available, Jemicy continuously updates its curriculum and employs emerging technologies in order to expand the platform from which to acquire knowledge, and in doing so, it prepares its students for success in life and careers of the future. Jemicy takes great pride in the lives it has changed over more than four decades and is excited about the many more it will impact in the future.
