Later in 2017, Levine hired a dyslexia specialist to work with students diagnosed with dyslexia or displayed characteristics of dyslexia. The school implemented the Take Flight Dyslexia program that originated from Scottish Rite Hospital. This program allowed students to receive these specialized services during the school day with no extra tuition cost to the family. Currently, Levine Academy’s learning support team consists of a Dean of Learning Support, two learning support specialists, a dyslexia specialist, and the lower and middle school counselors. Building a Bridge from PreK to K In 2020, the learning support team started observing students in Pre-Kindergarten to help with the transition to Kindergarten. The specialists worked with the Pre-K teachers to identify any academic needs or intervention that would be needed before entering Kindergarten. The preschool is now using the accommodation plan template as well to create plans for younger students with a diagnosis of a learning difference and/or social emotional difficulties. The students receiving learning support services are allocated to a case manager on the learning support team. The role of a case manager is to be the contact person for that child and parents and to coordinate meetings with teachers, related services, diagnosticians, initiate and schedule Kid Talk meetings, and develop accommodation plans for that student. Addition of New Academic Assessment Tools In 2017, the learning support staff brought to the school a different type of standardized testing for students in grades Kindergarten through 6th grade. This assessment is given to the students three times per year. The Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) assessment is designed to measure a student’s academic achievement and growth over time in reading and mathematics. Together with other classroom-based information, MAP results can help teachers make instructional decisions that match the needs of each child. MAP is a computer adaptive assessment. In a computer adaptive assessment, as a student responds to questions, the test responds to the student, adjusting up or down the difficulty of the questions presented to the student. This creates a personalized assessment for every student. In 2021, the learning support team introduced the math MAP accelerator program for students in grades 3 through 6. Map Accelerator is a personalized learning tool to reduce the manual work of differentiating math instruction by automatically integrating class rosters, MAP® Growth™ scores, and Common Core-aligned Khan Academy content to generate learning pathways—complete with lessons, instructional videos, and practice problems. The lower school grade teachers and middle school math teachers will use this program in math stations during class two to three times per week. Statistics of Students Receiving Learning Support K-8 (as of March 2021) • 71/224 students receive learning support services (32% of student population in grades K-8)
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