Vincent Smith School Welcomes New Director of Special Education

Vincent Smith School, a third through 12th grade private school dedicated to boys and girls with learning disabilities, recently appointed Layla Lindau as the new director of special education.

Layla Lindau (right), director of special education at Vincent Smith School, uses "feeling frogs" to work on social-emotional skill lessons with students. She says she still likes to be directly involved with students and help them when they seek out advice. "It must be the school psychologist in me!"

On Oct. 6, Vincent Smith School, an independent school that aims to serve the needs of students with learning disabilities, officially announced Layla Lindau as the new director of special education. Lindau, who has her M.A. in school psychology, began her position on Sept. 22 and acts as the primary liaison between parents and district representatives to ensure that both sides work together as a community to provide the students with the materials needed to learn and succeed.

“As a new member of Vincent Smith School, it is my goal to strengthen the foundation of success that already exists and increase our ability to work collaboratively as a team with families in surrounding districts so that we are working in the best interest of our students,” Lindau says.

Michelle Hughes, director of marketing and development, says parents should know that Lindau brings a very specific and unique skill set to the Vincent Smith School.

“In addition to being the director of special education, she’s also a school psychologist,” Hughes says. “Her insight affords a very high degree of collaboration between parents and teachers to promote a healthy environment that allows us to focus on the needs of the students.”

Lindau has worked for both public and private schools. She says she loves that the Vincent Smith School is a place where having a learning disability is embraced. Vincent Smith School serves students third through 12th grades with learning disabilities including ADD, ADHD, dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, nonverbal learning disabilities, auditory processing disorder, and expressive and receptive language disorders.