Dutch Fork High School
Special Services
All Life Skills Learning
2024-2025 Course Syllabus
Debbie English, Room Number: 101 Planning Periods: 2A & 5B
Department Head: Sarah Park Academic Assistance: As Needed
Asst. Principal for Instruction: Lori Grant Website: https://www.lexrich5.org/dfhs
denglish@lexrich5.org Phone: 803-476-3633
I. Course Catalog Description
Special Education Life Skill Classes are designed to meet the needs of each student as stated in their Individual Education Plan through the use of sensory therapy, assistive technology, visual technology, visual, auditory, and kinesthetic application for daily lessons.
Life Skills Math: Students will understand and apply numbers, ways of representing numbers, the relationships among numbers and different number systems.
Life Skills English: Students will increase language expression skills by exposure to voice, main idea, conventions, word choice, fluency, and organization. Students will develop functional writing skills to meet their individual needs and abilities for maximum independence.
Life Skills Social Studies: Students will increase their knowledge of how history is the story of events, people, and places in the past as well as being created in the present.
Life Skills Science: Student’s unique needs will be met as they work with the four focus areas of Animals, Plants, Weather, and the Human Body.
Life Skills Job Skills: Engage the student to use both aptitude and ability assessments to explore career options.
Life Skills Independent Living: Students will increase their knowledge of nutrition, hygiene, Community Safety and Warning signs, and independent functioning to their best ability.
II. Course Standards or Objectives
South Carolina State (SC-NCSC) MATH Performance level indicators for Alternatively Assessed Students are available at: http://sc-alt.portal.airast.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Math-Performance-Descriptors-Combined.pdf
South Carolina State (SC-NCSC) ELA Performance level indicators for Alternatively Assessed Students are available at:
http://sc-alt.portal.airast.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Performance-Descriptors-ELA-Combined.pdf
South Carolina State (SC-NCSC) Social Studies Performance level indicators for Alternatively Assessed Students are available at: http://sc-alt.portal.airast.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Social-Studies.pdf
South Carolina State (SC-NCSC) Science Performance level indicators for Alternatively Assessed Students are available at: http://sc-alt.portal.airast.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Science-and-Biology.pdf
III. Instructional Goals
The goal of Life Skills Special Education is to develop each student’s independence to its full potential for daily living and for post high school needs.
IV. Course Sequence/Pacing Overview
Students will progress based upon individual movement from baseline assessments to unique goals set by their IEP team.
V. Textbooks and Additional Resources
Attainment: Explore Biology, Access Algebra, Access English, SRA Connecting Concepts for Math, ELA Core Curriculum Solutions Plus: Read to Learn Library Blended Kit, Attainment: Explore World History and American History, News-to-You: Curriculum for Reading, Secondary Online, Taking Care of Myself by Mary Wrobel, Teacher Created
VI. Course Grading Policies and Assessments
Continuing in the 2024-2025 school year, grades for minor assignments must be posted within 5 school days, and major or extended assignment grades must be posted within 10 school days.
Daily Performance and Participation Efforts (as assessed by data collection, teacher observation, and discrete trial practice) along with “practice and retest until we get it” using curriculum based measures - total 100%. In class projects and tests are considered major grades making up 60% and in class activities, quizzes, vocabulary, and journaling make up 40%.
VII. Grading Procedures
Continuing in the 2024-25 school year, grades for minor assignments must be posted within 5 school days, and major or extended assignment grades must be posted within 10 school days.
Major Grades - Assignments that students are given 2 or more classes (more than 48 hours) to produce or prepare. The following will be major grades in all content areas:
Test
Essay
Research paper
Speech/Presentation
Project
Cumulative Assignments
Summative Assignments
Lab Reports
Minor Grades - Assignments that students are given 1 class (48 hours) to produce or on-the-spot work. The following will be minor assignments in all content areas:
Homework
Quiz
Vocabulary
Classwork
Formative Assessments
Journal Entries
Other department specific assignments
VIII. Exam Exemptions
Seniors on track for graduation can exempt final exams in semester classes and year long classes if they meet the following conditions:
1. Grade of 80 or higher in the course.
2. Has not had an Out of School Suspension.
3. Has no seat time.
IX. Honor Code
In order to foster an environment of mutual trust and respect, we believe, within the community of School District Five of Lexington and Richland Counties, each individual should accept the personal responsibility to exhibit and promote academic and social integrity. Students will not cheat or plagiarize.
X. Suggestions for Success in Course
Come in rested and ready to learn daily.
Content Recovery Plan is individualized per student needs.
XI. Classroom Management Plan
Positive behaviors are acknowledged frequently using a variety of verbal, visual, and preferred task reinforcements. Do your best. Work your hardest. Be a peacemaker.
Students are expected to follow all rules and guidelines listed in the Student Handbook on the school’s website.
Students are expected to use school and personal technology responsibly and follow rules included in the 24-25 District Issued Device Guide and Acceptable Use Agreement. This includes:
Having a charged mobile device (district-issued Chromebook or comparable personal device) at school EVERYDAY.
Not using devices assigned to other students.
Being responsible for their own devices and should keep them secured at school and off campus.
Following all teacher directions regarding appropriate times for use of the device.
XII. Uniform Grading Scale
See State Department of Education website for complete details.
All report cards and transcripts will use numerical grades.
A=90-100; B=80-89; C=70-79; D=60-69; F=Below 60
Each final grade (numerical) will have different weighting for the basis of computing GPR. The chart included gives the weighting for each numerical value.
Extra weight is given to honors (.5) and AP (1.0) courses. This policy also establishes that courses may not be dropped after the fifth (5th) day in a semester class or after the tenth (10th) day in a yearly class without penalty.
Students may only retake a class at the same difficulty under the following conditions: Only a course in which a D or F was earned may be retaken.
The course must be retaken at the first opportunity within the next year. The student’s record will reflect all courses taken and the grade earned, except for courses taken prior to the ninth grade.
XIII. Student/Teacher and Parent/Teacher Communication
All students should use district issued email accounts for communicating with teachers (studentnumber@stu.lexrich5.org).
All students should check school email, Google Classroom and Google Calendar every school day.
Parents and students should check the teachers’ websites for classroom calendars/assignment sheets.
Parents may contact teachers via email in order to receive invitations to Google Classroom parent/guardian signup. Parents will receive an email from Google and then need to register to receive emails from Google Classroom. Once a parent is registered to receive emails from one class, he/she will receive emails from all Google Classroom groups. It is not necessary to contact all teachers to register.
Emails and phone calls to teachers will be returned within two business days.
Parents and students who would like access to the parent/student PowerSchool portals should visit the DFHS attendance office for login information.
XIV. School Attendance and Make-up Work Policy
Students are encouraged to attend school regularly. If, however, a student must be absent from school for any reason, it is his/her responsibility to make-up all missed work.
Students who miss more than one half of an instructional block will be marked absent for that block of instruction. See the Student Handbook on the school website for full attendance and absence policy.
Since it is in the student’s best interest to make up all missed work as quickly as possible, the following guidelines have been established for make-up work:
When a student misses a class meeting, all previously assigned work that was due the day of the absence is due no later than the beginning of the next class meeting in which the student is present. All work missed as a result of the absence is to be completed by the beginning of the second class meeting from the absence.
When a student misses two consecutive class meetings, all previously assigned work due while the student was absent and all work missed as a result of the absence should be completed by the beginning of the second class meeting from the absence.
When a student misses three or more consecutive class meetings, he/she must make specific arrangements for make-up work with each teacher the day he/she returns to class. The amount of time given for completion of work will be up to the teacher’s discretion based on the amount of work missed and the level of difficulty of the material.
Long term projects and papers are due when the teacher says they are due. In the event of an absence, the student or the student’s parent should notify the teacher in advance or upon immediate return to school.
Students are responsible for the work they miss while on a field trip or attending any other school event. Students should contact each of the teachers whose classes they will be missing to make specific arrangements with them regarding all make-up work. Teachers may choose for work to be submitted in advance. If the student does not follow the teacher’s guidelines, the student will receive the academic penalty as assigned by the teacher.
Students must make every effort to complete all make-up work according to these established guidelines. If the student has not submitted his/her make-up work within the specified timeframes outlined above or as directed by the teacher, the teacher has the option of not accepting the work. As with anything, regular communication with the teacher is encouraged.
XV. Syllabus Acknowledgement and Information Form
I will be sending home class syllabus with our first weekly communication folder. Please sign just the “received syllabus” sheet and return.