Supports for Learners (Special Education, Enrichment, Interventions, & English Language Learners)

St. Vincent’s supports our learners with leveled instruction, and achieves that with a lead teacher and a teaching assistant in the K-6 classrooms, and with smaller class sizes in grades 7-8, also with support from a teaching assistant. This approach is used effectively to benefit all learners in our school.

In addition, St. Vincent’s uses data to establish more focused instructional groups for students in the areas of special education, enrichment, intervention, and English language learning. These groups meet 3-4 times/week in an “intervention” format.

In this format, students may leave any given classroom for tailored instruction in a special education, enrichment, intervention, or English language learning group. Other students remain with their lead teacher and teaching assistant, now with a reduced class size and a more focused instructional level, and receive more specifically tailored/targeted instruction at their level.

The purpose of our Enrichment Program is to not only address areas of cognitive growth, but also provide opportunities, resources, and encouragement in student interests, and to achieve the highest level of personal growth in their God-given talents.

Students are selected for the enrichment program using the data collected from various standards-based tests taken throughout the school year, along with teacher collaboration, and a student’s needs and abilities. 

Saint Vincent’s pullout enrichment program is designed for students in grades K-6. These students meet during intervention time 3-4 times a week. Students in grades 7 and 8 have the opportunity to take an accelerated math course in Junior High and participate in Junior High elective classes.

Our intervention department supports learners when data identifies a particular learning focus / support is needed for reading, math, or both. Our data can identify a specific aspect of reading or math processes in which a student needs support, and our intervention team works to serve student needs in these areas.

Our intervention teachers also help coach our classroom teachers in creating flexible leveled groups with their teaching assistant, as well as an independent group in many grades. Teachers work collaboratively on strategies to maximize student growth both in intervention groups and for those instructional groups that remain in the classroom.

Reading intervention entails intensive or targeted instruction with a multi-sensory approach. This approach is evidence-based and includes various areas of support, such as phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. Typically, instruction is 30-minutes in length, 3 days a week.

Mathematical intervention customizes the curriculum to help students succeed in their core math class and grow in their mathematical understanding. Students are given various strategies and instruction for solving problems in the areas of number sense, computation, algebraic thinking, measurement, data analysis, and geometry. Typically, instruction is 30-minutes in length, 3 days a week.

Our EL program focuses on English Language development using grade-level content for the development of speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills for nonEnglish learners. In grades k-2 we use a fun and engaging, oral language acquisition curriculum that provides a bridge to reading and writing skills. For grades 3-8 our focus is on reading and writing skills based on academic standards that are used in the classroom.