Westover's Teaching and Learning Center for Academic Engagement
Westover’s approach to teaching and learning nurtures confident, curious, and empowered students. Through the new Teaching and Learning Center for Academic Engagement (TLCAE), programs within it – like Oxford Tutorial – and the School’s partnership with Challenge Success, Westover cultivates a learning environment where every student is known, supported, and inspired to grow.
Below, we explore how these initiatives shape student experiences on campus and beyond with Director of the TLCAE Michele Mongeau.
Bringing Personalized Learning to Life
The TLCAE’s mission centers on designing personalized learning experiences that meet students where they are. This philosophy is woven into daily life through intentional, student-centered practices.
“Our work begins with helping students understand themselves as learners,” said Michele. “What excites them, what feels challenging, and what strategies allow them to show their best thinking.”
The TLCAE’s support programs offer multiple pathways for students to build confidence and academic independence:
- One-on-one coaching gives students personalized guidance tailored to their strengths, goals, and areas of challenge. Together with faculty, they develop strategies for organization, time management, study skills, and self-advocacy.
- Drop-in sessions provide flexible support where students can ask questions, clarify concepts, or break down assignments—often turning moments of uncertainty into opportunities for growth.
- Structured study times create consistent, supportive routines where students can apply their strategies with adults nearby for guidance.
"Across all of these programs, the emphasis is on helping students understand how they learn best and giving them a toolkit they can rely on long after they leave the TLCAE.” – Michele Mongeau
With support from the TLCAE, Westover teachers design instruction with flexibility and differentiation in mind, offering varied entry points and multiple ways to demonstrate understanding. Campus study spaces—from evening study halls to the TLCAE itself—extend this approach, providing structured environments where students can practice executive functioning skills, apply strategies, and advocate for what they need to thrive.
“Personalized learning at Westover is not a program,” Michele continued. “It is a philosophy that inspires daily practice to empower every student to grow, stretch, and flourish on their own terms.”
On any given weekday, you can find students settling into the TLCAE’s tables with notebooks open, comparing strategies with a teacher, or talking through an assignment with a friend. It is a glimpse of education in action, real learning happening alongside community, small breakthroughs, and the confidence that comes from knowing someone is in your corner. In the evenings, this same spirit comes alive again during study hall, when teachers on duty offer extra support after hours, meeting students where they are and helping them take the next step forward. These snapshots of daily life embody what personalized learning looks like at Westover: supportive, relational, and rooted in genuine care.
“Personalized learning at Westover is not a program,” Michele continued. “It is a philosophy that inspires daily practice to empower every student to grow, stretch, and flourish on their own terms.”
On any given weekday, you can find students settling into the TLCAE’s tables with notebooks open, comparing strategies with a teacher, or talking through an assignment with a friend. It is a glimpse of education in action, real learning happening alongside community, small breakthroughs, and the confidence that comes from knowing someone is in your corner. In the evenings, this same spirit comes alive again during study hall, when teachers on duty offer extra support after hours, meeting students where they are and helping them take the next step forward. These snapshots of daily life embody what personalized learning looks like at Westover: supportive, relational, and rooted in genuine care.
Deepening Curiosity Through the Oxford Tutorial Program
Westover’s Oxford Tutorial Program strengthens students’ academic curiosity by offering highly individualized learning. Through one-on-one or small-group tutorials, this structure invites students to ask bolder questions, take intellectual risks, and engage deeply with material.
“Tutorials…help [students] understand themselves as learners – their strengths, their patterns of thinking, and the strategies that help them succeed.”
With immediate, personalized feedback, students learn to communicate their ideas clearly, revise their thinking in real time, and gain confidence from being genuinely seen and supported.
“As these habits solidify, they naturally transfer beyond the classroom,” Michele shared. “Empowering students to advocate for themselves, pursue independent interests, and enter future academic spaces with a strong sense of agency and curiosity. This is what success looks like for a Westover student, and how our approach helps them achieve it.”
How Challenge Success Has Shaped Daily Life at Westover
Westover’s partnership with Challenge Success, a non-profit affiliated with the Stanford University Graduate School of Education, has inspired meaningful shifts in both daily routines and the overall learning culture through research-based practices.
One of the most visible changes is the School’s daily schedule, which prioritizes connection, consistency, and purposeful academic engagement. With predictable routines and built-in moments to access teachers for extra help or enrichment, students can focus more fully on taking greater ownership of their learning at Westover.
A hallmark of this schedule is Community Time, regular blocks reserved for advisory meetings, assembly, Lumina, club programming, and student leadership. These protected spaces strengthen relationships, ensure every student has trusted adults supporting them, and encourage deeper involvement in student life and the campus’ culture.
“Altogether, these shifts have created a culture where students can feel more connected and better able to engage meaningfully with their studies, which positively impacts their academic confidence and their overall well-being,” Michele shared.
The Challenge Success partnership has also encouraged faculty to reflect on and refine their teaching practices. Many teachers are incorporating more differentiated and culturally responsive strategies, inviting students to take greater ownership of their learning.
Classrooms now feature more frequent formative feedback, intentional reflection opportunities, and an emphasis on depth over breadth. These shifts strengthen engagement and create learning environments where students feel seen, supported, and empowered to succeed.
The work of the TLCAE, the Oxford Tutorial Program, and Challenge Success all point toward a shared goal: a school where every student feels supported, challenged, and empowered. By investing in personalized learning and nurturing strong relationships, Westover continues to build a community where students can grow with purpose and confidence, today and in the future.
This Giving Tuesday, you can empower every learner and help shape the future of learning at Westover. Your support powers these academic resources, innovative teaching tools, and one-on-one guidance that helps Westover students grow in confidence, curiosity, and belonging. Early giving is open now! Make your gift here.The work of the TLCAE, the Oxford Tutorial Program, and Challenge Success all point toward a shared goal: a school where every student feels supported, challenged, and empowered. By investing in personalized learning and nurturing strong relationships, Westover continues to build a community where students can grow with purpose and confidence, today and in the future.
Be Boldly You
Westover School admits students of any race, color, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, national and ethnic origin, or disability to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the School. As a gender-diverse girls school, Westover welcomes applicants and students who are assigned female at birth and/or identify as girls. The School does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, national and ethnic origin, disability, or any other status protected by applicable law in the administration of its educational policies, admissions and financial aid policies, and athletic or other school-administered programs.