Special Education Offerings
The importance of the implementation of a Special Education program has been an ongoing priority at our school. Much time, effort and energy has been spent throughout the years, making certain that our students on IEPs, as well as students with learning differences who are in need of classroom accommodations, are being supported at St. Francis.
Interventionist and SpEd facilitator from the S.E.A.L. Foundation
We do currently have both a part time interventionist, as well as a part time SpEd facilitator on staff to make certain that the needs of our SpEd student population are being met. We are able to:
- Support individually designed education plans
- Provide reading support
- Provide support through teachers trained in the Orton Gillingham approach
- Provide in-classroom support through teacher assistants
- Offer both teacher and peer tutoring
- Provide classroom inclusion support
Hired by Acushnet Public Schools, through the use of our IDEA funding, our interventionist is on site three times a week, providing direct services to students on IEPs.
Through our involvement with the S.E.A.L. Foundation, we have been able to hire a SpEd facilitator/consultant, who while only onsite one day per week, has been an invaluable resource to our students, staff and administration.
Student Support Team
Our Student Support Team has been foundational in identifying struggling students and making recommendations for either improving classroom performance, or recommending further evaluation.
If and when a teacher observes that any of his/her students are experiencing difficulty in the classroom setting (academically, socially or behaviorally), he/she refers that student to the Student Support Team. The team meets weekly depending on need, and will work very closely with the classroom teacher to develop proper accommodations for the student who is demonstrating difficulty. Early intervention is key to student success.
The Student Support Team works collaboratively with our part-time SpEd Facilitator to recommend the best interventions/ accommodations for our students. In the event that a student must go outside of our school boundaries to receive assistance from the public school, every effort will be made to communicate progress and involvement with the school districts that serve our students.