Special Education Services Grade Hingham Middle School

1. Special Education Services Grade Hingham Middle School 2013-2014

2. Special Education Services • Academic support classes • Strategies for Learning • Work toward meeting individual goals outlined in IEP • Gain a better understanding of individual learning style • Learn various studying, learning, and compensatory strategies • Become familiar with MCAS questions, procedures, expectations

3. Strategies for Learning • Strategies for Learning is for receiving specialized instruction in Math, Written Language, Comprehension, Organization, etc. • In Strategies, students will: preview & review material using hands-on activities, work on projects, ask questions about assignments, determine study strategies for upcoming assessments, organize time and materials, finish incomplete assessments, and utilize materials in room (study guides, books on tape, etc.) • Homework is to be completed at home, however, your student will have time to ask questions, receive support, and/or begin an assignment in class.

4. Strategies for Learning cont. • Procedures: • Complete warm up or participate in mini-lesson • Review warm up; make corrections, fill in missing info, etc. • Check agendas & calendar to mark upcoming assessments, activities, due dates • Organize, advocate, and begin assignments

5. Additional C Grid services • 6th grade: Skills English Language Arts and Math classes • Small group English Language Arts class • Speech and Language services • Occupational/Physical Therapy services • Counseling • Specialized Reading

6. Who should I contact before September? • You are all welcome to contact myself, Kim Kerr, special education chairperson, until your special education teacher is assigned in August. • Please take one of my cards tonight! • Michelle Woodard and I work closely with the elementary schools in transition meetings to review all IEPs, 504s, and CAPs in May.

7. Inclusion Classes (B Grid) • Inclusion English • Inclusion Math • Para-educator Support

8. When do these services occur? • C Grid/Pull-out services take place outside of the general education classroom. Strategies for Learning, Specialized Reading, and Skills/Small group classes will be on your student’s schedule that is issued in August. We do NOT remove students from regular education academic classes for special education services.

9. What will students miss for academic support classes? • Students will miss elective classes such as music, art, DARE, enrichment, and/or foreign language for academic support classes. We may not be able to accommodate all of your choices for which electives they should miss. However, we do work closely with the 5th grade teams and you to get everyone’s feedback.

10. Sample Schedule • Sixth grade students have electives C and D periods • C period: 9:22 AM-10:09 AM • D period: 10:12 AM-10:59AM • Sixth grade students have an enrichment period G period. The four enrichment classes are English Language Arts Enrichment, Math Enrichment, Study Skills, and Presentation Arts

11. Communication • Your primary contact person at HMS will be your students special education teacher/liason. You will receive a letter in August informing you of who that teacher will be. We currently have two special education teachers assigned to each grade, in addition to one special education skills teacher. We also have reading teachers who provide some of the specialized reading instruction.

12. How should I communicate? • Your student’s special education teacher should introduce themselves to you early in the school year. Email is a preferred method of communication here due to teaching schedules, but all teachers also have voicemails. You are also welcome to communicate directly with your student’s classroom teachers.