STUDENT SERVICES

Special educators and support staff have worked hard to develop and implement the three main goals of our programs serving students with special needs. Although these goals may appear simple, they encompass just about everything our educators and support staff do to help learners achieve high standards of growth and achievement. In an effort to help our communities better understand the outcomes of these goals, the following provides more specific information and definition of these goals:

1. Students will have equitable access to instruction and curriculum- The goal relates to where and how instruction is provided to learners with special needs. Our default in all cases is for learning to take place through a teacher, special educator or content specialists. In many cases, through the collaboration with our classroom teachers, all students do receive instruction from a classroom teacher.

2. Student achievement for growth will be measured and communicated clearly- As any educator or parent is aware, schools have a responsibility to measure growth and achievement of all students and report that growth to our communities. This also applies to our students with special needs.

3. Instruction will be delivered in the least restrictive classroom/school environment- Related to #1, this goal identifies the least restrictive setting for our students to best learn and emphasizes the importance of the grade-level classroom teacher’s role in teaching students with special needs.