Head of School Blog "Learning Support at Orchard
An essential part of being a progressive school is our commitment to continual growth and refinement of the art and practice of what we do. A case in point is the evolution of the Learning Support program at Orchard. In this blog, I want to spotlight the refinements that have occurred over the last several years and explain the thoughtful intentionality behind these subtle but important changes.
We currently have 13 faculty members who work under the aegis of Learning Support. This includes six trained learning specialists, a speech/language pathologist, two counselors, an elementary school math specialist and three math/science enrichment teachers.
There have been a few changes over the last several years that are worth noting:
Our last ISACS school evaluation recommended that we add more enrichment and math/science faculty to Learning Support in the elementary school as it was almost exclusively focused on language based learning issues. We have added positions in 2nd,3rd and 4th grades which are staffed by educators with strong math/science backgrounds. Our Elementary School Math Specialist still works to both support and enrich math instruction in the elementary school but in addition to pushing into various classes she also pulls out individuals and very small groups of children to give them targeted extra instruction in math.
- In order to respect and honor the special training and skills of the learning specialists in the building, we have moved toward a case load model. This means that instead of “assisting” in the back of someone else’s classroom, these teachers have a case load of about 12 students spanning two grades that they work with on a regular basis. The specialists can more purely remediate learningissues by being fully in charge of the time they work with students. This means they can design lessons, interventions, and strategies calling on their training in dyslexia, dysgraphia, executive functioning, dys-numeracy, Orton-Gillingham, Wilson Method, and assistive technology to directly support a child’s learning issue.
- It is expected this more targeted work will yield more specific written assessments that illuminate why a student is in the program, what diagnostic tools were used, teaching/learning strategies that have been effectively deployed and recommendations for other teachers, tutors and parents working with the child currently and in the future. Working on the specificity of these written narratives from Learning Support teachers was a goal last year and remains a focus.
- We are now using a broader and more revealing set of diagnostic tools to better understand students’ learning profiles. So, in addition to DIBELS, an assessment of oral reading and retelling fluency that acts as our universal screener, we are also using Aimsweb, and an assessment tool linked to the Bridges math series used at Orchard in the elementary school.
- We are tightening up the process for inclusion in the Learning Support program and how one graduates out.
- The Elementary School Learning Support teachers are still able to help lead reading groups.
- The recent schedule modification in the Middle School affords the opportunity for math and science teachers to teach together which greatly increases opportunities to differentiate.
- Ongoing professional development in assistive technology, math and reading strategies continues.
It should go without saying that differentiation and modifying our lessons and assessments to make certain that every student can successfully demonstrate what they understand and what they know is the responsibility of every single teacher in the building. We have always been proud of this program and applaud the refinements.
Truly,
Tom
