Special Programs

SPECIAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS

The Special Education Department provides a continuum of supportive services to students with identified special needs. Upon completion of an evaluation to determine eligibility for special education services, a student may be recommended for one or more of the following: academic support for study skills, organization and/or reading, writing, and math skills; specialized courses in English, math, history or science; and/or programs in vocational and life skills.

Academic Support

Most Milton Public School students who are supported by Special Education do so in the district’s Learning Center/Academic Support Programs (All buildings). Special education consultation, pull out services, co-teaching and in-class supports are readily available and designed to assist students in accessing the curricula, making effective progress, organizing materials and assignments and developing the skills needed to become independent learners.

Students often supported in the Academic Support Centers are those who present with organizational, attention and executive functioning. This might also include a student with educational gaps and weaknesses related to his or her disability that can be supported through specialized designed instruction.

This also is a model in which you may find students with language, motor or social deficits working on skills with special education teachers and related therapists who provide speech and language therapy, occupational or physical therapy and counseling.

Compass

Milton High School's Compass Program is designed to support students whose social-emotional needs impact their ability to make effective progress in the classroom. The program is staffed by a special education teacher who works closely with the school's adjustment counselors and general education teachers. Students in the program receive academic and emotional support in accordance with their Individualized Education Program.

Achieve

The Achieve Program at Milton High School provides support to students in grades 9-12+ who benefit from small group and replacement content for academic and social support. This classroom supports students with significant intellectual, neurological, communication, health and motor delays all of which impact social and academic development. Post-secondary goals are a focus of this programs’ overall design.

Launch

The Milton Public Schools’ young adult program serves students with a range of special needs and focuses primarily on functional academics and pre-vocational and vocational education. Students balance their time in the school and working greater community. Focus is placed on functional skills, community involvement, self-advocacy, positive social interactions and post-secondary planning for young adult life. Staffing includes: teachers, speech/language therapists, occupational and physical therapists, behavior analysts, guidance counselors and psychologists.

SCHOOL ADJUSTMENT COUNSELORS

School adjustment counselors provide counseling services to assist students in removing obstacles to the learning process.

More specifically, students struggling with death, loss, separation from family, abuse, substance abuse, eating disorders, anger management, peer and/or adult relations, conflict resolution are identified for counseling services.

Guidance counselors, administrators, school nurses, parents and teachers can refer students for adjustment counseling services. Adjustment counselors are available for consultation with faculty around social-emotional issues that might arise within the classroom setting. They are utilized for linking students and families to outside agencies and community resources. In addition, adjustment counselors communicate with parents or guardians as an integral part of the home-school partnership.

COMMUNITY SERVICE LEARNING PROGRAM

The Community Service Learning Program at Milton High School was implemented during the 1996-97 school year in order to develop and instill in all students a sense of citizenship, community, and the responsibilities that good citizens demonstrate by giving back to the community. Each student at Milton High School will be required to fulfill 35 hours of active service to the community each year in order to graduate. Students who transfer into the school will be responsible for the requirement on a prorated semester basis.

The staff and administration believe that community service provides a valuable self-directed learning experience with intellectual, social, and emotional benefits. The synergism of service and learning provides opportunities for students to work with people of diverse backgrounds, to develop interpersonal and leadership skills, to develop self-esteem and social responsibility, to explore career possibilities, and to learn the principles of citizenship. Community Service Learning enhances academic skills, and students are able to understand the relevance of what is being taught in the classroom. Students earn a sense of empowerment by engaging in community service where they are needed, valued, respected, and make real contributions.

A Community Service placement must be an active experience that benefits the Milton High School community, the community at large, or the global community. The service may not directly benefit the student’s family (e.g. babysitting), and students may not accept any money or a stipend for the service performed. If a student has a question about a proposed activity, they should consult their guidance counselor. The MHS principal has the final say if there is a dispute over acceptability.

Hundreds of in-kind service hours will be given back to Milton and surrounding communities through the Community Service Learning Program. The Community Service Learning Program reflects the core values of the Milton Public School System and is in keeping with the strategic plan for Milton High School.

Examples of service may include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. Tutoring peers or younger students in after-school programs

2. Service through religious affiliations

3. Service activities sponsored by MHS clubs

4. Park clean-ups, Park & Recreation Department activities

5. Service to physically or mentally challenged, ill or homeless

6. Assisting the elderly

7. Volunteering in the Arts: community theater, museums, music

8. Working with animals or nature

9. Advocacy or political campaigning

10. Service with social service agencies: VNA, Head Start, Fr. Bill’s Place, Rosie’s, GBFB, etc.

11. Fundraising for charity: walkathons, road races, group fundraising

12. Athletic coaching, Special Olympics, sports clinics

ROTARY CLUB INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE PROGRAM

If you are between the ages of 15 and 19, in the top third of your graduating class, and want to be a world traveler, the Rotary Club of Milton could give you a ticket for a great experience you will remember your whole life.

The Rotary offers two student exchange opportunities – a long term and a short term. The student selected for the long term exchange will attend secondary school overseas for one year with room, board, and schooling provided by the host Rotary Club. The Milton student selected for the short-term exchange will go overseas for approximately three to six weeks during the summer and will stay with a Rotary family who also has a teenage student. At the end of the visit, the foreign teenager will spend about three weeks with the Milton student’s family.

Seven thousand students from more than 80 countries take part in Rotary Youth Exchanges annually. The Rotary Club, a worldwide organization of business and community leaders dedicated to “service above self”, is uniquely positioned to offer this program.

Milton has hosted students from Chile, Ukraine, France, Thailand and Brazil over the past five years. Having foreign students in Milton makes a richer educational experience for all students, and teaches them about the world as no other way can. Additional information about the Rotary Exchange Program and applications are available in the Guidance Office.

SPECIAL OFFERINGS

SAT PREP Unleveled 154 (2.5 credits)

This course prepares students for the SAT exam. Students rotate between an English and Math instructor throughout the semester in order to prepare for both the Verbal and Mathematics portions of the exam. Focus will be on the content assessed by the exam but will also include test-taking strategies specific to the exam. Students taking this exam should take the SAT exam scheduled by the College Board at the end of the course.

SENIOR PROJECT Honors 043 2.5 credits

This semester program is for seniors who want to work independently to develop an original project. Students who apply for this program must be seniors in good standing, who are creative, possess critical thinking skills, and are able to manage time and tasks efficiently. The Senior Project can be a research paper, a project, a study, a creation in art or music, a construction, a video, or other creative work. During the Senior Project period, the student will report to the library. Exceptions will only be approved by a Vice Principal.

The Senior Project must be:

• Academically linked to one of the school’s departments: English, mathematics, world languages, music, business, science, art, etc.

• A college-level project

• A rigorous learning experience that is challenging and will significantly add to the student’s knowledge and/or skills

• Approved, guided, supported, and graded by a faculty advisor

Seniors must submit a proposal for their project that will be reviewed by a group of faculty members, a department head and an administrator. Participants will be selected from those who submit a quality proposal that explains the type of Senior Project being considered. The culmination of the project is a presentation to a panel of faculty members. All the information needed for the application to this program is available in the guidance office.

TEACHING ASSISTANT Unleveled 004 2.5 credits

A few departments may accept a very small number of applicants as Teaching Assistants (TA) for one semester. This course is open to juniors during the second semester and seniors during the year. No student may take this course more than once during their MHS years.

Students must complete an application for TA for a specific course with a specific teacher. Next, they must meet with the teacher and get the teacher’s signature of approval. Students must then submit the application to the department chair/director and get their signature of approval. Guidance will attempt to schedule this request with the specific course and specific teacher who approved the application. A TA for Freshman Seminar needs approval from a department chair/director rather than a specific teacher.

The TA must be a role model for students in the course – always on time and prepared. The TA must be actively involved in classroom activities every day and will be formally assessed bi-weekly. The TA may be involved in checking homework/class work that is not graded and may tutor or coach students in the class. An individual serving as a TA in a classroom cannot (a) be doing his/her homework for other classes, (b) make photocopies, (c) see other students’ grades or be involved in grading, (d) see/hear confidential information about students in the class or, (e) be left in the room alone with other students should the teacher not be in the room.

SENIOR PRIVILEGE Half-Year 002

Full-Year 003

Senior Privilege grants seniors in good standing the ability to carry a reduced course load. Instead of carrying 7 classes (35 credits), approved seniors may carry a course load of 6 classes for the year (30 credits) or one semester (32.5 credits). Applications will be reviewed by your student’s Guidance Counselor to ensure a rigorous course load and completion of graduation requirements, and reviewed by MHS Administration to ensure students are in good academic and behavioral standing. The additional time afforded to seniors who are approved for a Senior Privilege (reduced course load) can be applied to:

Navigating the college application process, which has changed in light of the COVID-19 pandemic

Completing a Senior Project for credit, under the guidance of a teacher or MHS Administrator of the student’s choosing

Seeking or continuing with after-school, part-time employment

Seniors may choose Senior Privilege Course #002 to request Senior Privilege for only one semester, carrying a course load of 32.5 credits for the year. Seniors may choose Senior Privilege Course #003 to request Senior Privilege for both semesters, carrying a course load of 30.0 credits for the year. Seniors must have a schedule of at least 6 classes each semester.

FRESHMAN SEMINAR Unleveled 973 2.5 credits

Freshman Seminar prepares and empowers students to succeed academically, personally and socially as they transition into Milton High School’s rigorous and enriching educational program. The goals for Freshman Seminar are as follows: students will communicate effectively with students and faculty and advocate for themselves, become familiar with the resources available to them, prioritize and organize their work, set goals, learn and apply appropriate study strategies for their courses and know the academic and social learning of Milton High School. Students will be assigned to this one semester course but may opt out with parental consent.