LEARNING RESOURCE DEPARTMENT POLICY
Our Learning Resource Department serves as a means of evaluation, adaptations, and support in an effort to make learning a successful experience for every child. St. Peter’s does not offer SPECIAL EDUCATION SERVICES as mandated in the public schools. If an existing student begins to experience academic difficulty, the learning resource teachers, the appropriate teacher or teachers, and the parent(s) will work together to identify the student’s problems and design a learning plan to address the issues and needs of the student.
The learning plan may include classroom observation, classroom strategies, interventions to be implemented on a trial basis, and screening to determine learning disabilities if needed. If additional testing is needed, it is the parents’ responsibility to contact either Pitt County Schools or a private testing agency. Testing through the Pitt County Schools is free; however, there are specific steps to follow. This information can be obtained from the learning resource teachers. Public schools have ninety (90) days after all paperwork is filed to complete testing.
If a student is diagnosed with a specific learning disability through formal testing, he or she will qualify to receive classroom adaptations from the Learning Resource Department. In order for a student to receive classroom adaptations, the Learning Resource Department must have on file a copy of a complete and recent psycho-educational evaluation (within the past three years). The resource teachers along with teachers and parents will determine which of the recommended adaptations may be implemented based on review of the required documentation. The Learning Resource Department will support the student after gathering information from the testing results, classroom performance, grades, and both teacher and parent input. Some adaptations can be provided based on specific needs the student may have and where benchmark adaptations have been established, but this is minimal and does not guarantee that the student will be promoted or not retained.
The resource teachers will consistently evaluate and monitor the progress of all K-8th grade students receiving support through this department. Good parent and teacher support, and communication, are necessary for this program to be successful. If the student continues to struggle with the available support and services provided, it may be determined that the student’s needs would be better met in a different learning environment. It is important that the student be in a learning environment in which he or she can experience success without frustration while maintaining his or her motivation to learn.
All evaluations (psycho-educational, Vanderbilt, etc.) will go directly to the Learning Resource Department, not the classroom teacher, for purposes of confidentiality and documentation. The Learning Resource Department will distribute the forms to the appropriate teachers to complete. They will then be sent to the designated health provider or agency as required. It is the responsibility of the parent(s) to request information from their health provider or agency if they want a copy of these reports.