Learning Disabilities Collaborative

Teachers:
Virginia McManus and Christopher O'Reilly
Instructional Associate:
Wendy Rezzonico

The Learning Disabilities Collaborative has approximately forty students. Among the criteria for being in this student population are an IQ of average or above average, identification as learning disabled, and teacher/parent recommendation. Most students in the LD Collaborative have been coded LD since elementary school. A few, however, are not identified until high school. While LD has to be their primary difficulty, many have other issues with attention, organization, math, etc. Most go on to a four-year college. There are five components of the LD Collaborative:

Academic Support Class: This class helps students organize their homework, activities, and life in general. Students learn about their individual learning styles and how best to modify so they will be more successful in school. Career exploration is one focus.

Collaborative Classes: These classes are taught by a mainstream teacher and staff from the Collaborative; only LD Collaborative students are in these small classes (Examples: English 9 and10, Biology, and Math).

Mainstreamed Classes with no Support: The majority of the classes the students take are in a regular classroom with the Academic Support teacher making contact through e-mail or in person to assure that students understand the expectations and requirements of the class.

Departmental Connections: Special Ed teachers attend meetings and make connections with different departments. The purpose of this collaboration is to develop communication between departments and to facilitate team teaching. Some departments have more than one special ed teacher as a liaison.

Case Management: Sometimes, students only need to be monitored and do not receive support services. Student progress is tracked and parents or teachers are contacted when necessary through this monitoring system. Services might be reinstated when students are not independently successful.

One-to-One Tutors: This service is initially provided for students who cannot participate in regular classes without assistance. This could be due to severe ADHD and behavior management issues., transitions from out of school placement, physical disabilities, etc. Genrerally, these students do not participate in a full day program. These one-to-one tutors may not be needed for the complete school year depending upon the success of the student.