ACADEMIC SUPPORT PROGRAM
The Academic Support Program at Concord Christian School began in the fall of 2019 with a desire to help struggling students become successful. Over the last 4 years, the program has helped a significant number of students make gains and meet goals. The Academic Support Program is rapidly expanding, and recently, a few revisions have been made.
Academic Support serves students from Kindergarten through 12th grade. Beginning in the fall of 2023, students will only be eligible for support services if they have had an outside educational evaluation by an educational psychologist. The academic support staff use the psychoeducational evaluation to determine intervention needs and appropriate classroom and testing accommodations. An exception to this guideline would be very young students, typically grades K-1st, that may not be old enough to have diagnostic testing. If a Kindergarten or 1st grade student is struggling significantly, the classroom teacher, academic support teacher, and parents will meet to determine if the child is eligible for support and will come up with a plan moving forward. Educational evaluations must be completed every 3 years to be considered current.
Students who qualify for academic support will receive a support plan created by the Director of Academic Support. The support plan will document the student’s diagnosis, current areas of concern, a service plan (days/times of pull-out intervention), and classroom and testing accommodations. The support plan will be updated annually and will travel with the student from grade to grade.
Students with medical diagnosis such as ADHD, autism spectrum disorder, epilepsy, visual impairment, deafness, and other health impairments that impact learning may qualify for a support plan without a full educational evaluation. However, the academic support staff will communicate and recommend testing on an as needed basis. Some students with other health impairments, such as those listed, may receive a support plan with documented accommodations, but might not require pull-out intervention.
Since Academic Support at Concord Christian School is an additional service, it has an additional cost. The Director of Academic Support will suggest the level of support that is needed on an individual basis.