1. What is inclusion?
The inclusion model refers to services given by a specialist
within the regular classroom. Children are not taken out
of the class during instructional time; rather, the learning
specialist works closely with the teacher and provides assistance
to the student and /or modifications to the curriculum.
2. What is pullout?
The pullout model is when services are given outside the
child's regular classroom. The learning specialist works
with the students out of the class in order to give specific
skill instruction that cannot be provided within the large
group setting.
3. Is my child going to miss academic concepts
when he/she is pulled out
for ESL/LD?
If a child is pulled out of his/her classroom for specific
skill instruction by the learning specialist, they will
not be graded on the content that they missed. The learning
specialist will be responsible for keeping the child up
with his peers in the academic areas.
4.
What are the exit criteria?
Once the learning specialist, classroom teacher, and other
Student Services Team (SST) members feel that the child
can function independently within the classroom, then he/she
is placed on monitoring status. Once the SST has seen that
the child has been able to succeed on a monitoring status,
he is then considered for exiting the program.
5.
How long will my child be in the program?
Every child in the ESL/LD programs is evaluated quarterly.
If the specialist and the classroom teacher feel that progress
has been made, and the child can function independently
within the classroom, the Student Services team meets and
evaluates the child's growth. At that time, the child might
be kept in the program, placed on monitoring status, or
exited from the program. Each child is evaluated on an individual
basis.
6. What is monitor
status?
Monitor status occurs when a child has made academic gains
that would enable him to return full-time to his classroom.
There, the child will be monitored periodically by the learning
specialist in case the child should need additional remediation.
7. When my child exits
the program is there still support available for
him/her?
All children are given learning support at FDR. Teachers
work closely with families and other professionals to provide
the optimal learning environment for each child.
8. What disabilities
are accommodated at FDR?
F. D. Roosevelt's Elementary School provides learning support
to children with mild learning differences.
9.
What can I do at home for my child?
Parents can assist their child with learning or language
difficulties by being active participants in their child's
learning. Some ways to become active at school include -Get
to know your child's teacher and school.-Volunteer to help
in the classroom or at home.
-Read to your child every night. Children need to see that
parents value and enjoy reading. -Encourage writing. Give
your child a journal. Start with drawing pictures for young
children, writing words, then sentences and finally paragraphs
and stories -Encourage your child to be responsible. If
children are to be independent thinkers, they need opportunities
to succeed and fail in order to learn and grow.
10.
How long will it take my child to learn English?
This depends upon several factors, including the age at
which the child begins learning English, the home language,
and the child's innate linguistic skill. Some children pick
up foreign languages more readily than others. It is generally
expected that new English speakers will have a grasp on
social language by about the third semester at Roosevelt.
Academic English, however, takes much longer to acquire,
and it is often several years before a child catches up
to grade level in reading, writing, and speaking.
11.
What does my child do in an ESL pull out class?
The ESL teachers work closely with classroom teachers to
assess the areas to reinforce during pullout time. Classes
may consist of language drills in the form of games or songs,
reading, or content area practice. Reading is done from
books at an appropriate level for ESL students, although
often on a topic parallel to those used in the classroom.
Math and science skills are also reinforced, with an emphasis
on communication of ideas and the reading and writing involved.
In the upper grades, projects in ESL class may take the
place of similar classroom projects. This enables the ESL
teacher to scaffold students' learning and guide them while
still following the grade level curriculum. ESL pullout
classes are not designed as study halls or as a time for
completing other classwork or homework.
12.
What is Early Intervention?
Early Intervention is the name given to a remediation program
offered to first graders at F. D. Roosevelt's Elementary
School. Children are taught basic reading readiness skills
in order to succeed in their first grade classes. Students
in Early Intervention are taught individually or in small
groups, focusing in on needed skills such as: sight word
vocabulary, sound-symbol relationships, phonemic awareness,
word families. Students in the Early Intervention program
are regularly evaluated. The Early Intervention specialist
works closely with the first grade teachers on curriculum
and lesson content.
13.
Who qualifies for Early Intervention?
The Early Intervention program is a year long program for
first graders. Currently, all students are evaluated at
the end of Kindergarten. They are given both formal and
informal assessments to identify high-risk children. These
children may have difficulty with the learning tasks in
first grade. Students in the Early Intervention program
are given extra help with beginning reading skills. The
program specialist coordinates instruction with the first
grade teachers, specialists, and guidance counselors.
