Torch - Spring 2015

“ “ The individualized needs of the student determine the makeup of the wrap-around team. It may include the Head of School, Vice Principal, School-Based Social Worker, the school’s Registered Nurse, one of Havergal’s two Learning Support Specialists, a Form Teacher or Teacher Advisor or Havergal will continue to enhance our educational program and be a forward-looking institution that places the student at the centre of everything we do.

Response to intervention is a model of support for students who are at-risk or who have identified academic or behavioural needs. There are three tiers of support. Tier 1 builds upon the idea that all students benefit from deliberate and differentiated strategies in a classroom setting to enhance their academic skill set. Classroom assessments allow teachers to individualize instruction to meet the specific needs of students. Students who continue to experience challenges despite support in tier 1 are moved into tier 2. Tier 2 provides some students with supplemental support, either in or out of a classroom setting, which is targeted at addressing or monitoring a specific challenge. When a student does not respond to tier 2 intervention, she is placed in tier 3. Tier 3 support is for the few students who need a more intense and individualized approach to their learning. Academic support for students in this third tier is guided by an Individualized Education Profile (IEP) and requires diagnosis and recommendation from a psychologist or clinical service provider, such as an occupational therapist. These examples of the language of support are useful for Havergal in and out of their original context. A wrap-around team model establishes roles and expectations for those in a support capacity within a school. A return to learn approach ensures that consideration is provided for all domains of needs when a student is facing a challenge. A tiered response to intervention approach ensures that students who require individualized interventions are identified and supported. This approach is as relevant

to students with mental health challenges as it is for academic skills deficits. Similarly, a return to learn plan provides an effective structure for any student who is recovering from any illness—physical or mental. By continuing to review research literature on effective multi-domain support both within and beyond the education sector and by incorporating these strategies, Havergal will continue to enhance its educational program and be a forward-looking institution that places the student at the centre of everything we do. Over the past five years of working within our strategic plan A Culture of Capability , Havergal has deepened its understanding of the Whole Girl—her strengths and her challenges. A significant strategic goal of the plan was investing the time and energy required to ensure that Havergal had the expertise to meet the needs of all its students. We have now hired the right people who, in collaboration with those who were already in place, have developed a sound practice of providing support appropriate to an educational institution. Our students are the beneficiaries of this combined expertise, receiving it in the right form and to the degree required to address their unique needs. The development of a fully-functioning student support program at Havergal has been a significant and rewarding undertaking. This can be summed up so beautifully by Mr. Walsh’s message to our teachers: “Students are complex individuals who have a variety of needs to be met. As an educational institution, our ability to assess and meet these needs can have a profound effect on their lives.”

another individual who plays a supportive role. Essential to the success of this team is keeping it small, knowing when outside expertise is required and having these resources in place, and—most importantly —adhering to the expectation of confidentiality related to the personal information inherent in this work. Return to learn is a phrase that has been used to describe a plan to support a student diagnosed with a concussion as she manages her recovery and academic expectations. The plan takes into account the various aspects of what it means to be a student, from timing the return to class to the amount of time the concussed individual should spend on homework. In this plan, a student increases her engagement in learning as her recovery progresses is measured by a physician. It reads like a prescription. One of the strengths of a Return to Learn plan is that it recognizes that challenges are experienced in the physical, cognitive and sensory domains, and it accounts for an incremental increase in engagement in each domain. It also acknowledges that although the inherent social and emotional implications of recovery may elude a defined plan, providing tailored support for these challenges is as important as the academic- related plan.

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