Student Support Services

Cultural Family Advocates (CFA) support the Achievement and Integration Plan by working with culturally and ethnically diverse students, to increase and support over all participation and academic achievement. These staff members advise school staff in understanding the culture and expectations of diverse families, and serve as a liaison between the school district and diverse families in facilitating an understanding of school culture and expectations.

Developmental Adapted Physical Education (DAPE) is a special education service that provides educational support for students with disabilities who cannot safely or successfully participate in the general physical education program. Students ages 3-21 who have a substantial delay or disorder in gross-motor development and who meet Minnesota State Developmental Adapted Physical Education criteria may receive this service.

The English Learner (EL) program supports multilingual learners in acquiring the English they need in order to succeed in the classroom and beyond, in accordance with the State of Minnesota Guidelines and English Language Proficiency Standards. Incoming students are tested for English proficiency when entering District 196 schools, as well as periodically throughout the school year to determine progress and eligibility for continued instruction.

In EL settings, English learners are part of an English language learning experience where students engage in content study and English learning simultaneously. Students are grouped by proficiency level at the elementary through high school level and may or may not share the same native language.

Additional Information

The GT curriculum includes units in creative thinking, critical thinking, problem solving, invention, research, and selected special topics. The GT curriculum also includes some enrichment activities that relate to the classroom curriculum, supporting the classroom teacher whenever possible. Core curriculum enrichment may include ability grouping for certain subject areas. Flexible grouping techniques are also used within the regular classroom and outside the classroom, to meet the needs of high ability students.

"Your chances of success in any undertaking can always be measured by your belief in yourself." -Robert Collier

Through confidential consultation I am available to assist our families in the following areas:

Crisis Intervention-Provide support to families when locating housing, employment, food, financial and mental health resources as needs arise.

Individual Counseling-I will often meet with children to provide emotional support when they are experiencing stress in a specific area. This could stem from family, school, or a specific life event. I can assist parents and teachers to understand why the child is feeling these stressors and develop a plan to immediately help. Some examples of why I meet with children include

• Work completion
• Support military families experiencing deployment
• Child development
• Fear or anxiety regarding school
• Recent crisis at home (injury, illness, death, divorce, etc.)
• Mental health concerns
• Develop healthy friendships
• Social skill development

Group Counseling-I also provide group counseling to assist children both academically and socially. The primary goal of group intervention is that through shared experiences, peer support, and effective modeling, children can learn positive coping strategies to immediately provide assistance. Throughout the school year I often host the following educational support groups:

Social skills-The propose of this group is to help children develop appropriate social contacts and friendships.

• Grief and Loss-To help children understand and endure a death or significant loss within their family
• Family Change-For students who have experienced parental divorce or separation.

If you would like to arrange a confidential consultation, or if you have any questions, please call me at your convenience.