Criteria for Documentation
In order to qualify for accommodations, an evaluation with a diagnosis must be submitted. For Upper School, documentation must satisfy the criteria established by the College Board, most standardized testing organizations (ACT, etc.) and most college application policies for students with disabilities. If your child’s evaluation is nearing three years of validity upon entering the Upper School please contact the Learning Specialist as soon as possible so referrals can be made to a qualified evaluator for updating it. Evaluations have to meet both Head-Royce and College Board/ACT requirements. This is vitally important, so that inadequate or substandard evaluations can be avoided, thus saving time, money and potential heartache.
Documentation must:
1. State the specific disability, as diagnosed. Diagnosis should be made by a person with appropriate professional credentials, should be specific and, when appropriate, should relate the disability to the applicable professional standards (e.g., DSM-IV).
2. Be current. In most cases, the evaluation and diagnostic testing should have taken place within three years of the request for accommodations. For psychiatric disabilities, an annual evaluation update must be within 12 months of the request for accommodations. For visual disabilities, documentation should be within two years, and for physical/medical, an update must be within one year from the time of the request.
3. Provide relevant educational, developmental and medical history.
4. Describe the comprehensive testing and techniques used to arrive at the diagnosis. Include test results with subtest scores (standard or scaled scores) for all tests.
5. Describe the functional limitations. Explain how the disability impacts the student’s daily functioning and ability to participate in the test.
6. Describe the specific accommodations being requested and why the disability qualifies the student for such accommodations.
7. Establish the professional credentials of the evaluator (for example, licensure; certification; area of specialization).
For more information, go to the College Board website
Learning support services in the Lower School (grades K-5) may include:
· Working with each grade, K-5 in the classroom and with small groups each week to help teachers differentiate instruction
· Assisting teachers in assessing progress on an ongoing basis
· Providing small group academic support opportunities
· Providing small group enrichment opportunities
· Helping identify questions/issues/concerns about academic progress
· Working closely with each classroom teacher
· Working closely with the Lower School counselor
· Acting as a liaison to the Learning Differences Network (a wonderful parent support group at Head Royce)
· Acting as a liaison between school and outside support professionals
· Leading team meetings
· Ensuring that information about students’ learning profiles is passed from teacher to teacher
· Providing consultation and support to classroom teachers
· Being available to parents for consultation and discussion
Learning support services in the Middle School (grades 6-8) may include:
Support and consultation to teachers and staff:
· consultation about student progress and learning profile
· classroom observation
· recommendation of classroom strategies
· implementation of accommodations
· access to resources and information about various learning disabilities
Support and consultation with families:
· consultation about student concerns, progress and transition
between divisions
· referrals and timelines for outside support or evaluation
· assistance with collection of information for medication monitoring
· team meeting organization
· interpretation of evaluations
· setting priorities among evaluation recommendations
· collaborate with LDN to organize events and field questions
Advocacy, information, and case management support for students:
· maintaining testing records
· acting as liaison between school and outside professionals
· creating learning profiles and formalizing accommodations
· provide information, simulations and exploratory discussion about the range of learning and attention issues for 7th and 8th grade Life Skills class
· bring students to US Amazing Minds luncheons
· connect MS students to US mentors in collaboration with US learning specialist
· assist with transition to Head-Royce Upper School and other high schools
· implementation and record-keeping of ERB accommodations
Learning support services in the Upper School (grades 9-12) may include:
Case management:
· keeping up-to-date records on testing, tutoring and intervention strategies
· reviewing and interpreting educational assessments
· developing individual school plans
· communicate accommodations and teaching strategies to teachers
· communicate with outside specialists
· consult with parents
· Curricular support:
· classroom, teacher and student observations
· implementation of accommodations
· Student support
· check in with students briefly as needed to discuss accommodations and progress
· provide occasional guidance with organizational and study skills
· assist with self-advocacy skills
· work closely with School Counselor to ensure emotional health of LD student.
· facilitate LD club (Amazing Minds) meetings
· organize LD mentoring program
· assist with transition into college
· file standardized testing applications (College Board and ACT)
· Teacher and Community education
· teach LD curriculum
· provide teacher training/professional development
· liaison to parent group LDN (Learning Differences Network)
Communication
At the beginning of the school year any pertinent information regarding your child’s learning profile, including your child’s current school learning plan, will be passed along to your child’s new teachers. The Learning Specialist will share a copy of the accommodations plan with you. The Learning Specialist will be checking in with the teachers, you and your child periodically throughout the year to be sure that the transition is going well and all accommodations are being implemented as needed and proving effective.
Similar to the Middle School, your child’s Advisor is your first point of contact in the Upper School. Please direct any questions or concerns to him/her first and copy the Learning Specialist on the email. Also, if you choose to have a meeting with your child’s teachers, please contact your child’s Advisor to set up the meeting. These meetings tend to be somewhat challenging to schedule due to the number of teachers involved, and so we thank you for your patience and understanding in this process.
Self Advocacy, Mentorship and LD Club
Self-awareness and self-advocacy are keys to success in the Upper School. For students with learning differences it is especially important to understand their needs and be able to advocate for appropriate support and accommodations. Self-advocacy skills include:
· the ability to communicate with your teachers to acquire information and recruit help in meeting academic goals; and
· the ability to effectively communicate, convey, negotiate or assert your own learning needs.
In the beginning of the school year, each student should contact his/her core teachers to explain his/her learning profile and discuss accommodations. Your child may choose from a variety of options for communication purposes, including (but not limited to) an email/letter, a Power Point presentation, a poster, a screencast video, a video/recording of themselves or a drawing. You may request to see examples of some of these from the Learning Specialist, who is also happy to help. In conjunction, your child will be asked to fill out a self-advocacy form to use as a guide, and return it to the Learning Specialist in October. Self-advocacy can be challenging; The Learning Specialist and your child’s team are happy to help make the students feel comfortable with this process.
Many Upper School students with learning differences have mentioned that having an experienced “buddy” or mentor, who can provide support and assistance navigating the waters of high school, has been helpful. To that end, your child is invited to participate in our learning differences mentoring program. Please discuss this at home and, if desired, your child will be matched with a buddy. In addition, our Amazing Minds Student Network (the LD club on campus) would like to welcome your child to our meetings and events throughout the year.
The Amazing Minds Learning Differences Club is another piece in our support structure at school. The club is run by students, with faculty facilitators, and meets every other week. Attendance is not limited to LD students; all students within the community are welcome to attend or join. During the meetings, students have a chance to socialize, eat lunch and share information about technologies and best strategies that assist in performing well in school (often best strategies for LD students are useful strategies for the general student population). Also, students discuss challenges and successes in school, to mentor and support each other, and to help educate the Head-Royce community about learning and learning differences.
Winter and Summer “Final” Exams
These cumulative exams mirror the college experience (on a smaller scale) and all students take them at the same time. If your child qualifies for accommodations (as listed on his/her school plan), he/she will take the exams in a separate, quieter classroom and will start slightly earlier in the day. Please check the Upper School bulletin online for specific information on times and locations.
Current Evaluations and Standardized Testing
If your child receives accommodation at HRS for learning disabilities, you may wish to apply for accommodations on the standardized tests offered by the College Board and/or the ACT. Please be sure that your child’s LD evaluation is current (i.e., no more than two years old). If your child’s evaluation is nearing three years of validity please contact the Learning Specialist as soon as possible so plans can be made for updating it by a qualified professional, whom we can recommend. Evaluations have to meet both Head-Royce and College Board/ACT requirements. This is vitally important, so that inadequate or substandard evaluations can be avoided, thus saving time, money and much heartache (if further testing is required).
With your permission, the Learning Specialist will file an application for accommodations with the College Board sometime during 9th grade. The Learning Specialist will be emailing information pertaining to this process in the fall. College Board accommodations apply to the following standardized tests: PSAT, SAT, SATII (formerly known as achievement tests or subject tests), and Advanced Placement (AP) tests. Generally, the first College Board test will be the PSAT in the fall of 10th grade.
Over the past few years, both institutions have become quite strict about approving accommodations, and what accommodations they may approve may be different from the accommodations your child is receiving at school.
College Board
In the school’s experience, students most likely to receive accommodations from the College Board have the following characteristics:
· The documentation for their learning disabilities is recent; testing and diagnosis have taken place within the last three years.
· They have received accommodations at Head-Royce for documented learning disabilities for at least four months prior to making applications to the College Board.
· Their diagnostic reports clearly demonstrate the “functional limitations” of their learning disabilities as specified by the College Board, and documentation of their learning disabilities includes results from the specific tests most frequently required by the College Board (see specific requirements below).
· They do NOT request the use of a computer for the essay portion of any standardized tests.
See the College Board website for further information.
As a side note, many of our students have had a terrific experience taking tests with accommodations at the Lamorinda schools, particularly Miramonte. Because of this, I would suggest making one of them your test center of choice. They seem to be very organized in general and specifically for students with accommodations.
ACT
Occasionally, LD students opt to take the ACT in lieu of or in addition to the SAT. This decision should be made in consultation with the College Counseling office. The ACT is a more curriculum-based exam, and students would typically take it towards the end of their junior or early in their senior grade year. The ACT is administered by a different organization than the SAT and requires a separate application process. For more information, please refer to their website.
**Please let the Learning Specialist know as early as possible about any standardized test (ACT, SAT, AP, SATII) your child may be taking so that an application is filed in a timely manner on your child’s behalf.
Note: The College Board and ACT each have their own stringent requirements and may or may not grant accommodations, independent of the accommodations Head-Royce School may be able to provide. It is essential for your child to use the school-approved accommodations for which he/she qualifies; failure to do so may jeopardize eligibility for accommodations for standardized testing.
K-12 Standardized Testing Timeline
· 3rd-5th grade — ERBs in fall
· 6th-8th grade — ERBs in spring
· 9th grade — AP Computer Science (with department approval only), typically in May
· 10th grade — PSAT in October; 1 or 2 SAT II tests in June when appropriate; AP exams when appropriate.
· 11th grade — PSAT in October; practice ACT in March; SAT, ACT, SAT II, AP exams in late spring or summer when appropriate.
· 12th grade: SAT, SAT II, or ACT in fall; AP in spring.
Preparing for Upper School
As you know, previewing content and practicing skills is always helpful for students with learning challenges. I encourage you and your child to familiarize yourselves with 9th grade literature, textbooks and other materials over the summer. These are listed online in the “course catalog” of the Upper School. For organizational and study skills prep courses or content-based summer school classes, feel free to contact the Learning Specialist.
Frequently Asked Questions
We often receive questions about available support services at the school and wanted to share the following information. Please know it is always our goal to build a collaborative partnership between the school and family in order to assist students in developing the skills they need to succeed at Head-Royce. As you work to support your individual child, you may wish to have more information about specific academic challenges and learning disabilities.
Below please find information regarding student learning support services in the Middle and Upper Schools at Head-Royce.
What is a learning disability?
It is important to recognize that every student learns differently and has a variety of learning strengths and weaknesses. A learning disability, on the other hand, is a diagnosed neurological disorder. A learning disability is diagnosed by a qualified professional and is based on discrepancies between academic and cognitive scores gathered from a battery of tests. It is important to understand that a learning disability is not linked to innate intelligence.