Mission and Intent of the Elementary Instructional Support Program:
To provide a comprehensive and balanced general education intervention program in grade 1 - 5 that is grounded in curricular expectations but driven by student need.
Purpose of Instruction:
To provide qualified students in grades 1 - 5 with the opportunity to develop and strengthen foundational literacy and/or mathematical skills in a small-group setting.
Role of the Instructional Support Teacher:
Instructional support teachers target unfinished academic learning specific to each student in order to help them meet grade-level expectations.
Instructional Support Guidelines:
Instructional support must supplement, NOT supplant, the general education curriculum.
The general education classroom teacher remains responsible for and continues to perform all required instructional duties, including delivering literacy and mathematical instruction.
The instructional support teacher coordinates instruction with the general education classroom teacher to supplement general education curriculum.
Regular communication between the instructional support teacher takes place with the general education classroom teacher as a means to evaluate a student's progress and specific learning goals. Along with the report card, instruction support progress reports are issued once per trimester.
Students enrolled in instructional support typically receive 60 minutes of support on a weekly basis. This usually occurs in 30-minute intervals but is based upon individual student needs, building schedule, and resources available.
Entrance into the Elementary Instructional Support Program
Throughout the school year, teachers submit evidence-based recommendations for entrance into the instructional support program. A district committee composed of instructional support teachers, building administration, and district administration meets four times a school year to review recommendations and supporting evidence in order to render a decision.
Since the intent of the Elementary Instructional Support Program is to provide general education academic support, the following guiding question is used when rendering a decision whether to place a student in the program:
Is there sufficient evidence to show a student needs academic Instructional Support - in addition to his/her general education differentiated classroom - to acquire the necessary mathematical content and/or literacy skills in order to meet grade level expectations?
Parents of students accepted into instructional support are notified after each committee meeting.
Exit from the Elementary Instructional Support Program
All students are formally exited from the instructional support program at the end of the year. Those students expected to continue to need instructional support at the end of the school year will be monitored by instructional support staff at the beginning of the following school year in order to assess a student's current skill level and academic needs.
In addition, an instructional support teacher may recommend exit from the instructional support program during the year if the evidence shows a student no longer requires academic instructional support in order to acquire the necessary skills/content within the differentiated general education classroom setting. The district committee reviews all exit recommendations several times throughout the school year.
All students receiving instructional support in 5th grade must exit the elementary instructional support program at the end of the year since they are moving to the middle school. Those students found eligible for the WAMS Instructional Support Program will be notified over the summer by the Mathematics and English Language Arts Supervisors.