Strategy-based Instruction
Philosophy
The middle school learning support department uses a collaborative service-provision model with a goal of preparing our students for independent and self-directed learning in high school. We are committed to supporting children with varied learning styles in the mainstream regular education program offered at ACS.
Service Provision
'In the middle School, we assist students with diagnosed mild to moderate learning difficulties by providing additional support in academic subject areas and basic core skills (i.e., reading, writing, math). These students are supported within their academic core classes, through small group pullout classes, and/or through supported study hall opportunities.
Faculty and Parents work together to ensure that students
- Develop academic and communication skills at age appropriate levels, and beyond
- Have an understanding of their own individual learning styles
- Develop and utilize collection of strategies to facilitate their learning
- Become active, life-long learners
- Self-advocate and become responsible for their own learning
- Learn and utilize age-appropriate study skills, including material and time management, writing structures, note-taking, reading comprehension strategies, and test-taking strategies
Learning Support Faculty will
- Collaborate with classroom teachers, parents, and clinicians to ensure that students are provided appropriate accommodations and adaptations for achieving their maximum potential
- Aide teachers in understanding the specific learning needs of students and provide classroom strategies for meeting those needs
- Work with faculty and parents to identify students at risk for learning difficulties
- Play a pastoral role for learning support students
- Teach specific skills/strategies to address student’s individual needs
- Support student class work, homework, projects and test preparation
- Monitor students’ Individual Growth Plans
- Advocate for students with learning difficulties who attend ACS middle school
Homework Tips for parents
Admission & Referral
Admission into the middle school program is based upon results of educational-psychological testing that describes areas of learning need and recommended accommodations and/or modifications that should be implemented within a student’s academic program. New referrals into the learning support program consist of a Student Study Team (SST) process.
For students previously diagnosed with a learning difficulty, parents should provide all documentation and special education records upon application to ACS. This information must include a formal assessment report completed by an educational psychologist, in addition to any other related service documentation (e.g., speech-language, occupational therapy), an Individual Education Program (IEP), relevant anecdotal school records, and/or any relevant medical reports. If the student is accepted, this information is vital so that learning support staff, classroom teachers, and other school professionals can implement instructional strategies and programmatic differentiation according to the student’s individual needs.
Students with mild to moderate learning difficulties are accepted based on the provision of documentation listed above, in addition to documentation indicating that the students are able to follow a regular education program track provided minimal to moderate levels of learning support (e.g., ranging from study hall to pull-out services). Learning support specialists are consulted on admissions applications that involve students with diagnosed learning difficulties. Decisions are made on an individual basis, but the final decision is made with the school principal.
