At Holy Spirit School we recognize that not all students learn at the same rate and there will always be a need to provide additional support for some students. Children with learning differences are identified through teacher observation, assessment and performance on standardized tests, outside testing (local school district or private testing), parent input, and through our Student Support Team (SST) process. Parents are made aware of any concerns as soon as possible and the identified educational needs of each child are supported by his/her classroom teacher and our Educational Achievement Specialist (EAS). Children receive additional one-on-one or small group support as needed. Holy Spirit School is committed to inclusion for those with additional needs and will strive to meet the needs of each student. When we are unable to provide the necessary resources for a particular student we will meet with the parents and work together to help transition the student to a more suitable learning environment.

Our EAS, Mrs. Hanna, can schedule and facilitate a Student Support Team (SST) meeting at the request of a parent or teacher. At this meeting student strengths, background information, current performance, concerns, strategies tried, and recommendations will all be reviewed and discussed by the team of parents and teachers. Some of the interventions that might be recommended are preferential seating in classroom, extended time on tests as needed, reteaching and/or retakes on some tests (teacher may write “retake with help” and raise failing grade to a C-), oral testing, teacher lecture notes provided to student, reduced number of assignments (e.g., every other problem), and permission to use sound-canceling headsets, among others.