Woodland Title I

Welcome to our website! We hope you are able to find information and resources here to help you better understand our program and also work with your child on reading, writing, and math.

Below you will find a general description of our program. The other pages within our site go into more detail regarding our programs, staff and other information.

Woodland Elementary offers services to support all students. Title I provides math, reading and writing services to students in Young Fives through 5th grade who qualify for additional academic support. We also use an (Multi-Tiered System of Supports) MTSS model to help provide academic interventions to all students depending on their need (you may hear this referred to as PAW time).

If your student is being seen in a small group provided by an MTSS staff member, you likely received a "Contract" which explains the purpose of our programs.

At Woodland, there are several MTSS Team Members:

  • Dana Smith (Intervention Specialist, Title I) dsmith@portageps.org

  • Rachelle Gamble (Intervention Specialist, Title I) rgamble@portageps.org

  • Hillary Ruimveld (Reading Consultant) hruimveld@portageps.org

  • Lorin Gallivan (Resource Room Teacher) lgallivan@portageps.org

  • Sarah Place (Resource Room Teacher) splace@portageps.org

  • Dawn Gross (Speech and Language Pathologist) dgross@portageps.org

  • Melonie Stewart (MTSS Paraprofessional)

  • Kelly McMeekan (MTSS Paraprofessional)

  • Bronwen Brinkerhoff (MTSS Paraprofessional)

Your student could work with any or several of these staff members- if you have a question regarding services, please contact one of the above teachers or your child's classroom teacher.


Our daily schedule has blocks of time for reading and math intervention groups for Young Fives through fifth grade. Your student might refer to this time as "PAW Time". The purpose of PAW time is to provide ALL students with the opportunity for intervention or further academic work that is at their level. During this block of time, classroom teachers are not teaching new lessons or information, so students who receive support outside of their classroom are not missing new instruction.

We believe a partnership with parents positively impacts the Title I program at Woodland. As we send notices or surveys home, please support our program by returning them and giving us your thoughts or ideas. Each year, we hold an advisory committee meeting with our Title I intervention specialists, parents, and other building stakeholders. This team is meant to help us fine tune our program. We ask for your input on items that are sent home and our parent involvement budget spending. Please contact us if you would like to be part of this team that meets twice a year.

Contact Information for Title I:

Mrs. Dana Smith, dsmith@portageps.org, (269) 323-6627

Mrs. Rachelle Gamble, rgamble@portageps.org, (269) 323-6636