Supportive Services Program Overview

    Supportive Services staff supports all families on an as needed basis.  The team includes a special education teacher, an occupational therapist, a reading specialist, a social worker/school counselor, a speech pathologist, and a psychologist.  The team collaborates with classroom teachers to evaluate student needs and develop a plan of support.  The services offered may be short term or extend for the entire school year.  Concerns range from academic struggles, evaluation for gifted and talented, or behavioral or emotional challenges.  The Woodlands Child Study Team, made of support services staff and regular classroom teachers, helps to determine interventions in an attempt to meet student needs before a special education referral is necessary.

Special Education Teacher

    The goal of special education is to provide support that will lead to the best possible service for all children, helping them attain success at school.

• Support to students with special needs and to their classroom teachers
• Support within the classroom including academic assistance to special education students and regular education students
• Help for the teachers and parents of special education students in developing an Individual Education Plan (IEP) to address significant student needs through pull-out and/or in-class learning activities

Reading Specialist

         Reading Specialist support services at Woodlands School include:

•  Teaming with classroom teachers to support struggling readers
•  Supporting teachers in challenging advanced students
•  Instructing individual students or small groups of students who have more intensive reading needs
•  Assessing student reading 
•  Providing general support of literacy, K4 (Children's Place)-grade 8.

Any concerns about a child's reading progress should be shared with the child's homeroom teacher, in order to initiate an individual reading assessment and determine appropriate reading support.

Occupational Therapist

         Occupational therapy is a supportive/related service of special education that:

• Promotes the engagement of students in learning, playing and socializing within the educational setting
•  Evaluates student strengths and challenges that occur in the classroom
•  Provides therapy that reflects what is meaningful to the student to discover the best fit of student-environment-task
• Provides presentations to parents, teachers and other school staff

         Occupational therapy also can be accessed through a 504 plan and is a resource for teachers who seek early intervention for at-risk students.

For more information about Occupational Therapy www.kidscandiscover.com

Licensed Clinical Social Worker:

         The Woodlands Licensed Clinical Social Worker program includes:

• Meeting one-on-one, in small groups or with classes to help students to develop a positive self-image, to make positive life choices, and be able to work collaboratively with peers and staff
• Partnering with parents to discuss progress and make recommendations for further growth
• Consulting with staff and teachers to address individual students social, emotional or behavioral needs
• Providing social, emotional, behavioral testing/evaluation as needed for Individual Education Plan or assessment purposes
• Consulting with staff on issues such as drug and alcohol prevention
• Offering parent education seminars on drug and alcohol prevention
• Providing training for staff on student behavioral/mental health issues

Speech Pathologist

         The Woodlands Speech Language Therapist works collaboratively with Support Services, School staff, and parents/caregivers to address students’ speech or language needs that impede their academic, vocational, or social success.

         The therapist will address concerns of:

• Speech sound development & intelligibility
• Receptive and expressive language skills
• Fluency
• Voice
• Social use of language

School Psychologist

         School psychology services at Woodlands School includes:

• Coordinates supportive services
• Consultation with parents and staff on students’ academic, emotional, social, and behavioral needs
• Psychological assessment
• Completion of special education and related documentation