Student Support Services
At Ethical Culture we want every child to achieve his or her potential. We value and advocate a team approach in making important decisions about children. Accordingly, Student Support Services is a vital resource for parents, classroom teachers, and children. Comprised of the guidance department, math department, and language and learning faculty, the group works together to meet students’ needs.
Learning Assessments
How, What, and Why
Teachers routinely assess their students, both formally and informally, to help them achieve their potential. In addition, learning specialists administer a number of formal assessments or screenings throughout the grades. The more information we have about a child’s functioning, the better equipped we are to attend to the child’s needs.
Kindergarten
- Kindergarten screening: The kindergarten teachers assess all students on letter recognition (capital and lower case), their ability to write using phonetic spelling, and their recognition of basic sight words.
- Language and Learning screening: Based on classroom assessment, the teacher may request L/L (language/learning) teachers to do a screening to look further at pre-reading and language skills.
First Grade
- Language and Learning screening: The L/L teachers re-screen those children they identified in kindergarten. They will screen other children if requested by the classroom teacher.
Second Grade
- Reading test: The Gates-McGinitie reading test is administered in the beginning of the year to all children. It is repeated at the end of the year for children receiving L/L help.
- If the child needs further assessment, the language and learning specialist is available to administer a variety of tests. She or the sychologist will make outside referrals when more comprehensive testing is warranted.
Third Grade - Fifth Grade
- Reading test: The Gates-McGinitie reading test is administered in the beginning of the year to all children. It is repeated at the end of the year for children receiving L/L help. The learning specialists may follow up the Gates with further diagnostic testing.
- All students in grades 3-5 are asked to write about a topic at the beginning of the year. The L/L specialist and classroom teacher evaluate these writing samples.
- In grades 3 and 4, students take a standardized writing test in the spring.
Screenings by the school’s math coordinator and consultations with a speech and language therapist and occupational therapist are available as needed. Either the school or the parents may request the screening.
Frequently Asked Questions:
- Learning Center and Student Support Services
- What are the procedures and protocols for student support?
- The school values and advocates a team approach in making important decisions about a child. We believe that effective communication within the school and between school and parents is critical to making decisions in the best interest of the child. At times, the school needs to recommend additional support for a child. This can vary from sharing strategies among staff to recommending outside help. The following outlines our procedures. During all aspects of this process we value the confidentiality of the family and child. During all aspects of this process we value the confidentiality of the family and child.
STEP 1: INITIAL CONCERN – ACADEMIC OR BEHAVIORAL Parents and teachers communicate about initial academic and/or behavioral concerns and beginthe process of gathering information. Eitherthe parents or the teacher may initiate the conversation. STEP 2: STUDENT SUPPORT TEAM MEETING
Teachers and specialists meet with the relevant guidance, learning specialists, and administrative staff to assess the child’s progress, developstrategies for support, and set short and longterm goals. STEP 3: RECOMMENDATIONS
Recommendations are communicated to parentsby classroom teachers and/or appropriateguidance, math, or learning specialists. Recommendationsmight include small group instructionwith a learning specialist, after schoolprograms, tutoring, formal evaluations, or referralsfor occupational therapy or speech andlanguage therapy. STEP 4: FOLLOW UP TO ASSESSSTUDENT PROGRESS
Teachers and parents will set up a schedule toassess student progress. Results of evaluations oroutside support will be shared with appropriateschool personnel.
- What can I do to help my child learn how to read?
- Reading develops along a continuum and is a lifelong process. The classroom teacher is the best source for determining where your child is along the continuum. She can recommend home activities to supplement work in the classroom. The reading specialist is also available to discuss your child’s progress in reading and to make recommendations. We recommend that parents read aloud to their children (no matter their ages) as often as possible.
- How can I choose appropriate books for my child to read?
- The classroom teacher, reading specialist, and school librarian serve as resources in the school for making recommendations to parents. They can give parents suggested lists of book on various levels. Parents should make certain that their child is reading books that are on his or her reading level. We suggest the “five finger rule.” If your child makes five or more mistakes on a page, the book is too difficult. The content should be age-appropriate and at a level your child can understand. Reading from easier books helps to encourage fluency.
- What if my child is having some difficulty learning? What does the school offer in the way of extra help?
- Teachers assess their students both formally and informally on an ongoing basis. In addition, learning specialists administer a number of formal screenings throughout the grades. When an assessment has been administered, the classroom teacher and the professional who performed the assessment share the results with the parents. Based on the results, classroom teachers can make accommodations for a child in the classroom. For students in grades 4–5, the school offers after school ‘homework help’ in math and language arts. If intervention is recommended as a result of the screenings, the learning specialist and/or psychologist and classroom teacher meet with the parents to discuss various options.
- What do I do if I feel my child has any kind of more serious learning problem?
- We think that early intervention is important. The first step is to speak with the classroom teacher, share your concern, and request a meeting with a learning specialist. You should also feel free to share your concern with the principal or assistant principal.
- Who do I talk to if I think my child needs a psycho-educational evaluation? How is this process initiated?
- Either the parents or the school may initiate the process. Either way, if you or your child’s teacher thinks that a psycho-educational evaluation may be helpful in better addressing your child’s behavioral or academic difficulties, the best place to start is with the school’s psychologist. She can discuss the merits and limitations of an evaluation and help you choose an evaluator. If your child has already been evaluated, she can coordinate a meeting with you, your child’s teacher, and, ideally, the evaluator to review the results and ecommendations.
- If the school has recommended an outside evaluation, how will that affect my child's future at the school?
- An evaluation gives us more information about how your child learns and processes information. In most cases, it gives teachers a broader range of strategies for teaching your child more effectively. An evaluation by itself never determines a child’s future at the school.
- Once my child has been evaluated, how should that information be shared with the school?
- The school makes every effort to be sensitive to privacy and confidentiality issues. In general, a child’s academic performance and emotional well-being are often interrelated. The more information we have about a child’s functioning, the better equipped we are to attend to the child’s needs. At a minimum, parents are asked to share with the guidance department those parts of an evaluation that are relevant to the child’s experience at school. The psychologist and/or guidance counselor will then share key strategies and recommendations with the teacher.
- Our family is having difficulties. Who do I talk to about how this might affect my child in school?
- When a child’s home life undergoes a major change or transition, the child may express his or her feelings in ways that can cause difficulty in school, behaviorally, socially, or academically. The guidance counselor and psychologist are available to talk with parents about matters such as divorce or death and how they can best support their children, depending on their individual needs and developmental stage. The guidance counselor and psychologist can also help parents determine the benefits of additional support such as psychotherapy and provide families with the name of a professional if necessary.
- Does the psychologist or social worker ever meet with individual children or groups of children?
- The psychologist and guidance counselor are both clinically trained professionals who are available to talk with children on a short-term basis. They may talk with an individual child who is feeling overwhelmed by academic or social demands. They may meet with groups of children who are trying to navigate the pressures of changing friendships and social expectations. Their overriding intent in these conversations is to help children find their own ways of solving problems. If a child needs support on a longer-term basis, the psychologist or guidance counselor will refer the family to an appropriate professional.
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