For the Parents
Dear Parents and Caregivers of our #Exceptionauts,
Dear Parents and Caregivers of our #Exceptionauts,
Welcome to the special education program at McAuliffe Elementary School! My name is Aldrich M. Tan and I am the resource and technology specialist at the school. Your child now qualifies for special education services and supports to help them be the best that they can be at our school based on their Individualized Education Plan that our team has created for you based on your child's deficits.
Welcome to the special education program at McAuliffe Elementary School! My name is Aldrich M. Tan and I am the resource and technology specialist at the school. Your child now qualifies for special education services and supports to help them be the best that they can be at our school based on their Individualized Education Plan that our team has created for you based on your child's deficits.
As "resource students," your students will spend the most time with general education teachers and I will be working/consulting with those teachers to provide both physical and virtual resources to support your child so that they can complete work at their grade level. Please start by prioritizing contact with your child's general education teacher first. If you need help with scaling your students' assignments from their general education teacher, please contact them directly through their emails or through the contacts they have provided. If you have not succeeded, you may contact me and I will try to get in touch with them
As "resource students," your students will spend the most time with general education teachers and I will be working/consulting with those teachers to provide both physical and virtual resources to support your child so that they can complete work at their grade level. Please start by prioritizing contact with your child's general education teacher first. If you need help with scaling your students' assignments from their general education teacher, please contact them directly through their emails or through the contacts they have provided. If you have not succeeded, you may contact me and I will try to get in touch with them
Throughout the day, the resource students will receive additional interventions, based on their IEPs, through time in Room 7 where Mrs. Vidana and I will be providing a combination of traditional and technological intervention instruction to address students at their independent levels. Independent level means the grade level that the child is mentally at. And yes, we have had 5th grade students reading independently at the kindergarten level, especially as they return to school from a year of school closures.
Throughout the day, the resource students will receive additional interventions, based on their IEPs, through time in Room 7 where Mrs. Vidana and I will be providing a combination of traditional and technological intervention instruction to address students at their independent levels. Independent level means the grade level that the child is mentally at. And yes, we have had 5th grade students reading independently at the kindergarten level, especially as they return to school from a year of school closures.
ELA Interventions
ELA Interventions
To address students' reading deficits, we have evidence-based curriculum such as Orton-Gillingham and Read Naturally. Orton-Gillingham's is a program that supports students with dyslexia and phonological processing deficits with direct instruction tied to the connections between letters and sounds for decoding, spelling and sentence construction. The instruction can be delivered in-person with hands-on instruction or remotely using YouTube videos on Mr. Tan's YouTube channel and Google Docs. As our students improving on their decoding skills, they move onto Read Naturally, another evidence-based curriculum with high-interest reading worksheets to help students build their fluency and reading comprehension skills.
To address students' reading deficits, we have evidence-based curriculum such as Orton-Gillingham and Read Naturally. Orton-Gillingham's is a program that supports students with dyslexia and phonological processing deficits with direct instruction tied to the connections between letters and sounds for decoding, spelling and sentence construction. The instruction can be delivered in-person with hands-on instruction or remotely using YouTube videos on Mr. Tan's YouTube channel and Google Docs. As our students improving on their decoding skills, they move onto Read Naturally, another evidence-based curriculum with high-interest reading worksheets to help students build their fluency and reading comprehension skills.
In addition, we also teach students how to use a variety of digital supports such as accessing text-to-speech supports so students can access their grade-level content when the focus is more on reading comprehension and not on decoding or fluency and speech-to-text supports, aka "voice typing" to help students who are better at expressing themselves verbally expand beyond "idk" in their writing skills when spelling is not being assessed. We also use individualized digital interventions such as iReady and Prodigy English to collect data for IEP goals and engage students in their curriculum.
In addition, we also teach students how to use a variety of digital supports such as accessing text-to-speech supports so students can access their grade-level content when the focus is more on reading comprehension and not on decoding or fluency and speech-to-text supports, aka "voice typing" to help students who are better at expressing themselves verbally expand beyond "idk" in their writing skills when spelling is not being assessed. We also use individualized digital interventions such as iReady and Prodigy English to collect data for IEP goals and engage students in their curriculum.
Math Interventions
Math Interventions
To address students' math deficits, we also use evidence-based practices and teach students both physical and digital supports that they can use to access their grade level curriculum. In terms of number-symbol intervention, we use a combination of physical and virtual manipulatives to help our especially younger students develop number sense skills with repeated practice. As concepts become more challenging, we teach students how to use self-made or pre-made hundreds charts and multiplication charts to solve basic computation problems in the form of repeated practice through physical or virtual worksheets and assignments. As for multiple-step challenges, such as long-division and multi-digit multiplication, we teach students to consult visual schedules in paper and digital form as they do repeated practice. In addition, we use individualized digital interventions such as iReady and Prodigy Math to collect data for IEP goals and engage students in their curriculum.
To address students' math deficits, we also use evidence-based practices and teach students both physical and digital supports that they can use to access their grade level curriculum. In terms of number-symbol intervention, we use a combination of physical and virtual manipulatives to help our especially younger students develop number sense skills with repeated practice. As concepts become more challenging, we teach students how to use self-made or pre-made hundreds charts and multiplication charts to solve basic computation problems in the form of repeated practice through physical or virtual worksheets and assignments. As for multiple-step challenges, such as long-division and multi-digit multiplication, we teach students to consult visual schedules in paper and digital form as they do repeated practice. In addition, we use individualized digital interventions such as iReady and Prodigy Math to collect data for IEP goals and engage students in their curriculum.
Google for Education
Google for Education
In addition, Mr. Tan will be posting individualized assignments to students through Google Classroom. As students work on these assignments, the software will be collecting data on their progress, which will help us determine IEP goals. We may differentiate the curriculum as needed and Google has given us the power.
In addition, Mr. Tan will be posting individualized assignments to students through Google Classroom. As students work on these assignments, the software will be collecting data on their progress, which will help us determine IEP goals. We may differentiate the curriculum as needed and Google has given us the power.
To log into their respective Google accounts, the students will click onto the link "Sign in with Google" on respective pages. Then they enter their username that they use to log into the Chromebooks as an email address. For example, if their login was "aldtan081684," their username is "aldtan081684@alvordschools.net
To log into their respective Google accounts, the students will click onto the link "Sign in with Google" on respective pages. Then they enter their username that they use to log into the Chromebooks as an email address. For example, if their login was "aldtan081684," their username is "aldtan081684@alvordschools.net
As students work on these assignments, the software will be collecting data on their progress, which will help us determine IEP goals. We may differentiate the curriculum as needed. We also will teach students how to use the accessibility tools on their Chromebooks which are similar to the same tools that have been approved for their standardized testing.
As students work on these assignments, the software will be collecting data on their progress, which will help us determine IEP goals. We may differentiate the curriculum as needed. We also will teach students how to use the accessibility tools on their Chromebooks which are similar to the same tools that have been approved for their standardized testing.
Classroom Management
Classroom Management
For completing assignments and tasks, students will earn points on a sticker chart located in the classroom that leads to earning prizes from the Mr. Tan and Mrs. Vidana treasure troves, where there will be toys and prizes based on student personal preferences from all their favorite cartoons and brands. Since we are scaling assignments to students' independent levels, we expect students to try their best, have a positive and open-minded attitude, and be respectful of the space and the curriculum that we are providing them.
For completing assignments and tasks, students will earn points on a sticker chart located in the classroom that leads to earning prizes from the Mr. Tan and Mrs. Vidana treasure troves, where there will be toys and prizes based on student personal preferences from all their favorite cartoons and brands. Since we are scaling assignments to students' independent levels, we expect students to try their best, have a positive and open-minded attitude, and be respectful of the space and the curriculum that we are providing them.
Throughout the year, there will also be opportunities for "social interventions," especially ones that we weren't able to do when we were learning online, such as playing cards, playing computer games together, and building up Mr. Tan's Lego Mario set. We believe that these interactions are equally important to your children's well-being as their education is and especially benefit our students with autism who struggle with those social interactions.
Throughout the year, there will also be opportunities for "social interventions," especially ones that we weren't able to do when we were learning online, such as playing cards, playing computer games together, and building up Mr. Tan's Lego Mario set. We believe that these interactions are equally important to your children's well-being as their education is and especially benefit our students with autism who struggle with those social interactions.
Mr. Tan and the special education staff are trained in all varieties of behavior interventions such as verbal prompting, planned ignoring, but we truly believe that by giving kids a smaller class setting, they will receive more attention and thrive in ways that they may not inside a larger classroom. We are also both CPI trained to administer physical prompts if necessary. In addition, we will use digital interventions such as GoGuardian to monitor students Web usage. Consequences of negative behaviors could lead to contact with parents and follow-up IEP meetings to develop and change behavior plans and behavior goals with our psychologist and other service providers.
Mr. Tan and the special education staff are trained in all varieties of behavior interventions such as verbal prompting, planned ignoring, but we truly believe that by giving kids a smaller class setting, they will receive more attention and thrive in ways that they may not inside a larger classroom. We are also both CPI trained to administer physical prompts if necessary. In addition, we will use digital interventions such as GoGuardian to monitor students Web usage. Consequences of negative behaviors could lead to contact with parents and follow-up IEP meetings to develop and change behavior plans and behavior goals with our psychologist and other service providers.
This sounds great! Now what can I do?
This sounds great! Now what can I do?
Even as the Covid-19 pandemic ends and students are now back at school in-person and you are all probably back at work too, parent involvement in this hybrid world is more important than ever. Pay attention to teachers when they suggest at-home interventions such as taking your child to the local library, asking your child to read signs or words or even teach them to count money. Please also take advantage of the digital interventions at home, such as Prodigy and iReady, so that your child can close their learning gaps. Practice with your children on accessing appropriate technology by using sites like CommonSenseMedia to guide you.
Even as the Covid-19 pandemic ends and students are now back at school in-person and you are all probably back at work too, parent involvement in this hybrid world is more important than ever. Pay attention to teachers when they suggest at-home interventions such as taking your child to the local library, asking your child to read signs or words or even teach them to count money. Please also take advantage of the digital interventions at home, such as Prodigy and iReady, so that your child can close their learning gaps. Practice with your children on accessing appropriate technology by using sites like CommonSenseMedia to guide you.
The most important thing that you can do is, in an age appropriate way, explain to your children about their disability and that it will not stop them from living a fulfilling and wonderful life. There is a great book called "The Survival Guide to Kids with LD" by Rhoda Cummings that explains to students in an age appropriate manner. Here's their mantra.
The most important thing that you can do is, in an age appropriate way, explain to your children about their disability and that it will not stop them from living a fulfilling and wonderful life. There is a great book called "The Survival Guide to Kids with LD" by Rhoda Cummings that explains to students in an age appropriate manner. Here's their mantra.
It does not mean that you are dumb.
It does not mean that you are lazy.
It does not mean that you cannot learn.
It does not mean that you cannot go to college.
It does not mean that you will have a low paying job when you grow up.
It does not mean that you cannot have a good life as an adult.
Your child learns differently and that's okay. Once your child figures out how they learn and who they are, they will take off. Welcome to Room 7!
Your child learns differently and that's okay. Once your child figures out how they learn and who they are, they will take off. Welcome to Room 7!
Mr. Tan and Mrs. Vidana