Welcome to Special Resources
What makes our school shine?
Our school offers a collaborative effort of support for all learners to be successful students. This multi-tiered learning management plan at Sacred Heart School is an example of the student-learning model called Response to Intervention, which our local public schools are now attempting to emulate. We are proud of what we offer here at Sacred Heart School.
From the earliest learner, all of our teachers observe, notice and track all those aspects that contribute to a student’s education. These observations enable the teachers and parents to partner in the educational experience of all of our children.
The teachers of Sacred Heart do an excellent job of responding to the academic needs of all of our students. Early identification of potential problems in reading or math can permit all of the teachers to work with the student and family to strengthen any weak areas of a students’ personal learning styles. Our two Resource Teachers work in specific areas of identification and intervention that are unique.
Reading Intervention/Resource
Goal: To identify and support early intervention in reading for K-3rd grade. Beginning with Kindergarten and continuing through the 3rd grade, the resource teacher works with all students to identify their reading readiness. It is the goal of the Diocese of San Jose that all children receive early support if they appear to be struggling with any of the aspects that lead to good reading fluency and comprehension. Classroom teachers in grades K- 3 work cooperatively with the resource teacher as she evaluates each student.
Initially, the classroom teacher will make small accommodations to differentiate the instruction so as to attend to a student’s particular learning style. This is something that all of our teachers are very good at doing. If a student needs the additional support of small group intervention, the resource teacher tailors her program to the needs of her students. The resource teacher tracks the readers by reading level baseline tests and then supports them in small groups. These students are continually monitored and as they improve, then are gradually weaned of the extra support in the pullout group and are then graduate out of the program. All students continue to be evaluated throughout the school year with assessments specific to reading fluency and comprehension, in addition to the standardized testing that is given to all students from grade 2-8.
Resource /Support Program
Goal: To offer support for any student at any grade level who may need some accommodations for specific learning style issues is available through partnering with this Resource teacher. The resource teacher works with our youngest students in the pre-Kindergarten to students in the 8th grade.
The resource teacher uses the Lindmood Bell method of teaching how the letters feel as they are sounded-out to our Kindergarteners, in addition to assessing the letter naming, sound replacement, pencil grip, and memory for patterns so that we can track the learning of young students.
Monitoring our students progress continues throughout the grades. If a student’s performance on any of the standardized testing, that the school does bi-annually, indicates a concern, we will respond with additional support to that student. This starts in the classroom with the teacher and the resource teacher working together to identify specific needs, small group work and possibly additional support either in the classroom or working one-on-one with the Resource teacher. Specialized programs are used to work with the student’s particular learning difficulties to strengthen the weak academic areas. This is most productive after a detailed learning assessment. The student is given the support, adaptations or modification as dictated by the student’s documented learning needs that a full assessment offers.
As a private school we can also utilize the testing services of our local public school system by working together with Saratoga School District to assess our students for speech and language concerns or learning style differences that could impede the learning progress. All students have strengths and all of us have areas of weaknesses. We can partner together to learn and grow with our strengths to overcome any weaknesses as long as we face it together in a team effort.
After school planner check is available to all students, in all grades. The resource teacher has offered this service in the library every day after school for over two years now. Here the students learn to check School Notes, have their backpack checked to verify they have all of the correct books and even start their homework. Suggestions for organization and learning how to prioritize assignments helps all of our students strengthen their personal study skills management. The resource teacher is available until 3:30 Monday through Thursday (shorter on staff meeting days).
Learning Style/Profile Building- The resource teacher has also been trained in the method supported by Children’s Health Council’s, Schools Attunded program. Students and parents could take advantage of this free service where the student works with the resource teacher to discover their own learning style and fine-tune their own approach to learning. It helps them to focus on their specific talents and discover methods for overcoming any difficulties they may encounter. Contact her by email if you are curious.
