The Hidden Curriculum: Teaching the Skills Schools Forget

Walk into any school and you’ll find students learning algebra, analyzing Shakespeare, and reviewing the causes of World War I. But what’s often missing from the curriculum are the skills students need to actually succeed at school—let alone life.

At Oak & Ivy, we call this the hidden curriculum: the unspoken, often invisible set of expectations around how to stay organized, manage your time, regulate your emotions, and ask for help.

These aren’t "soft skills." They’re survival skills.

And for many students—especially those who are neurodiverse—the hidden curriculum is the one that matters most.

What Schools Forget to Teach

Most students are expected to just “figure it out” when it comes to:

• Remembering deadlines

• Breaking assignments into manageable steps

• Managing overwhelm or test anxiety

• Communicating with teachers

• Juggling multiple tasks and environments

But research shows that executive functioning skills don’t fully mature until early adulthood, and develop unevenly in students with ADHD, autism, learning disabilities, or anxiety (Barkley, 2011; Dawson & Guare, 2018).

When these students struggle, they’re often labeled lazy, disorganized, or oppositional—not because they don’t care, but because they haven’t been taught the skills to succeed.

That’s where Oak & Ivy comes in.

How We Teach What’s Missing

Our coaching doesn’t focus on academic content. It focuses on the structures, strategies, and mindsets students need to manage that content—and everything else in their lives.

Here’s how we address the hidden curriculum through our four-part model:

• Root: We teach students how to get things done—how to plan their time, organize their materials, and stay on top of schoolwork. We give them systems, but we also help them build habits that last.

• Reflect: We help students tune into how they feel, what’s working, and what’s getting in their way. Emotional regulation, frustration tolerance, and social awareness aren’t just important—they’re non-negotiable for school and life success.

• Rise: We empower students to ask for what they need. That means learning to communicate with teachers, advocate for accommodations, and take ownership of their progress. It's about building voice and agency.

• Reach: We help students connect the dots between today’s to-do list and tomorrow’s goals. We guide them in setting meaningful goals and developing a vision for their future that fuels motivation and resilience.

Coaching the Whole Person

Too often, interventions focus on grades. But school success isn’t just about academics—it’s about being organized enough to find your homework, confident enough to ask a question, and regulated enough to try again after failing.

That’s what we teach.

We coach the whole person, because that’s what the world expects of them.

Ready to Learn What School Doesn’t Teach?

If you suspect your child is capable of more—but they just can’t seem to get there—chances are, it’s not a lack of intelligence. It’s a lack of support with the hidden curriculum.

Let us help uncover what’s missing—and build something better.