Student Services

Intervention Services

Our Student Services Department is committed to supporting “every student, every step of the way.” We believe ALL students possess unique strengths, and we are wholeheartedly committed to building upon each child’s gifts in a caring and supportive manner. We value the close collaboration of both parents and staff members to design individualized educational programs (IEPs) that maximize student success. Above all, we are committed to the implementation of evidence-based strategies that research has shown works best for students with exceptional needs. 

Our special education program is designed to identify students with disabilities and implement programs and services to support their educational needs. 

You may find more information on Special Education Services here. 

Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) 

MTSS is a student support system that builds on and strengthens best practices in education for personalizing learning for every student. Educators deliver high quality instruction and interventions that meet students where they are so they can achieve at their highest possible levels in all facets of their school experience. 

Through the MTSS framework, teams of educators — including classroom teachers, intervention specialists and other specialized educators, and school counselors — ask themselves: How can we reflect on our teaching practice and adjust instruction to meet student needs? They evaluate students’ strengths and areas of opportunity, develop plans of action to help them reach their highest potential and then constantly monitor these plans, making adjustments as needed, to keep students moving forward. 

Parents and guardians are important partners in their students’ education and in the MTSS process. Teachers work collaboratively with parents and guardians of students who additional support. 

Gifted Services

Gifted education is an intervention placement that is designed to meet the unique needs of students who score significantly above their age peers on state-approved, nationally-normed achievement and ability tests. All students who are identified as gifted receive basic services through differentiated instruction in the classroom. Classroom teachers receive professional development and provide differentiated services to students in a variety of ways. 

In grades six through eight, students who score two standard deviations above the mean, minus the standard error of measurement, on an approved individual or group cognitive abilities test and who attain a total score at or above the ninety-fifth percentile at the national level on an approved individual or group standardized achievement test are eligible to participate in the gifted program. In middle school, gifted services are delivered in a replacement English Language Arts class taught by a gifted intervention specialist. 

School Counseling 

The school counseling program is a comprehensive, student-centered program designed to serve all students. In alignment with the ASCA (American School Counselor Association) National Model, our counselors deliver services that support students’ academic achievement, career development, and social/emotional growth. School counselors are professional educators with a mental health perspective who help all students succeed in school and prepare for postsecondary opportunities. Every student is encouraged to connect with their counselor whenever questions or concerns arise.

Proactive Programming

School counselors also provide prevention programming regularly through class lessons, weekly activities, and monthly themes. Sources of Strength is a school-wide program that helps students build resilience, make healthy choices, and support one another. It focuses on spreading messages of hope, help, and strength through peer leadership and positive connections.Sources of Strength helps us build a stronger, more supportive school community. Everyone has strengths, and this program helps us recognize and use them to lift each other up.

Students and staff work together to build and strengthen eight key protective factors that help all students navigate challenges and foster resilience:

• Family Support
• Positive Friends
• Mentors
• Healthy Activities
• Generosity
• Spirituality
• Physical Health
• Mental Health

Individual Counseling

Sometimes, students go through difficult times academically, socially, or personally. Counselors are available for individual counseling sessions with students to support them through difficult times. If, as a result of working with a child, a counselor believes a referral for further counseling is warranted, the counselor will discuss this with the student and family. 

Group Counseling

Each year middle school counselors run a variety of counseling groups for students. Group topics each year depend on the needs and interests of students and recommendations from teaching staff or parents. Group topics range in variety, from topics like living with divorce, handling stress, experiencing grief to skill building (social skills, leadership skills, etc.). Parent permission for group participation is required. 

Classroom Counseling

School counselors provide proactive, prevention-focused lessons and activities throughout the year. Lessons are designed to build skills in areas such as decision-making, goal setting, emotional regulation, suicide awareness and prevention, communication, and career exploration. Topics may include but are not limited to, Organizational Strategies, Bullying and Cliques, (e.g., Empathy), and Depression and other mood disorders. Other classroom lessons and visits can occur as needed throughout the middle school experience. 

Parent/Guardian Support

Supporting parents as they navigate the middle years with their children is a big part of a counselor’s daily work. As the advocate who follows the entire class throughout their three years of middle school, the counselor gets to know students and their parents well. Counselors are typically a family’s first phone call or email when they have a question or concern that goes beyond a typical communication with a classroom teacher. 

Teacher Support

The teaching teams have a team planning period every day, and counselors meet with teams as frequently as possible. This allows teachers and counselors to quickly identify any concerns they may have with an individual or a group of students. It also helps to identify all the good things that are happening on a daily basis! When teachers observe a particular concern with a student, they typically go to the grade-level counselor to discuss the concern whether it is academic or social. Together, teachers and counselors determine the best approach to support the student through whatever difficulty they may notice.