List of 4 items.

• Program Components

  Grade chairs serve as the first line of communication with parents and faculty about issues that affect the academic performance of the student. They advise, challenge, encourage, and nurture students as they set and attempt to reach their own goals; they also encourage the development of class unity and a sense of community.
  
  Grade chairs also work closely with the school counselors to address social, emotional, academic, spiritual, and developmental needs as the students progress in their individual and collective development. There is a male and female grade chair for each grade level in grades 5-8.
  

• Academic Accommodations

  The following resources for academic support are available to all Wesleyan students:

  • Writing Lab
  • Math Lab
  • Tablet computers
  • Computer software in math and writing

  
  In addition, accommodations will be available to Wesleyan students who have submitted the following required documentation of learning differences:
  

  • A complete psychoeducational evaluation completed by a licensed psychologist within the last five years
  • Achievement, IQ, and/or Aptitude Test data completely listed within evaluation
  • A specific DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) diagnosis
    Because emotional and mood disorders (such as anxiety and depression) are diagnoses that can be remediated through avenues such as therapy and counseling, these diagnoses will require annual renewals comprised of two elements.  The first element should include documentation from the doctor or psychologist describing the current impact of the student’s disability as it affects their academic performance, and should document the need for ongoing accommodations.  The second element should include documentation of therapeutic efforts provided to address the student’s needs. 
  • Recommendations for services and/or accommodations for the classroom.

  Wesleyan will offer the following accommodations within the classroom if they are consistent with specific recommendations included in the student’s psychoeducational evaluation:
  
  

  Physical Accommodations

  • Preferential Seating (near teacher, between well-focused students, away from distractions i.e. windows, hallways, etc.)
  • Extra seat or table space for expanding work area when possible.

   

  Instructional Accommodations

  • Extended time (not to exceed 50% of the original time) on timed quizzes, tests, and exams
  • Technological learning aids including digital/tape recorders (with acknowledgement by teacher), laptop computers for the essay portions of tests and exams, audiobooks for homework and when instructed by the teacher
  • Permission to use notes (verified by the teacher) as a supplemental source of information to a student’s own personal notes (note-taking buddy to fill in gaps).

  • No penalties will be given for spelling errors on in-class writing assignments, essays, tests, exams, and quizzes. Assignments will be graded on content. When grading content, the teacher should be able to identify/sound out the word as it is written. If the teacher cannot, the student will be asked to identify the word. If the student cannot identify the word, it will be considered incorrect.
  • This is only granted to K-12 students who have been diagnosed (by a licensed/school psychologist) with a reading disorder/dyslexia, written expression disorder, or a phonological processing disability, and whose written psycho-educational report recommends a spelling accommodation.
  • Spelling errors noted in MCL courses may receive a deduction of a maximum of five percent.

  • Those students in the high school who have a diagnosis of a Specific Learning Disorder in Reading, Dyslexia, or a Reading Disorder, in which the disorder specifically impairs the ability to learn language, may choose to take their third year of a foreign language for a pass/fail credit instead of a letter grade. This accommodation will only be offered if:

  • The psychoeducational evaluation on file specifically documents that the diagnosed reading disorder inhibits the ability to learn a foreign language
  • The recommendation for an adjusted foreign language requirement is specified in the psychoeducational evaluation on file

   

  Behavioral Accommodations

  • Cueing procedures (i.e. nodding to student, gently placing hand on student’s shoulder) privately agreed upon with the student to help maintain focus

  • Additional appropriate movement throughout the classroom (ie, brain break) when possible

• Suggested Websites

  Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
  ADD.org
  CH ADD
  
  Counseling Organizations
  AACC
  
  Learning Disorders
  LD Online
  
  Online Safety
  Get Netwise
  
  Parenting
  Christian Parenting Today
  
  Bullying
  Bullying Awareness Guidebook

• Suggested Reading

  • The Blessings of a Skinned Knee – Wendy Mogel, Ph.D.
  • Children of Paradise – Lee Hausner, Ph.D.
  • Driven to Distraction – Edward M. Hallowell, M.D. and John J. Ratey, M.D.
  • Homework Without Tears – Lee Canter
  • Real Boys – William Pollak, Ph.D.
  • The Strong Willed Child – Dr. James Dobson
  • The Divorce Recovery Sourcebook – Dawn Bradley Berry
  • The Hurried Child – David Elkind
  • Helping Children Survive Divorce – Dr. Archibald Hart
  • On Children and Death – Elisabeth Kubler Ross, M.D.
  • What’s Happening to My Body? Book for Girls – Lynda Madaras
  • What’s Happening to My Body? Book for Boys – Lynda Madaras
  • Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys – Dan Kindlon, Ph.D. and Michael G. Thompson, Ph.D
  • The Shelter of Each Other – Mary Pipher
  • Reviving Ophelia – Mary Pipher
  • Hunger Pains – Mary Pipher
  • Children at Risk – James Dobson
  • Too Much of a Good Thing – Dan Kindlon
  • The New Dare to Discipline – James Dobson
  • Raising Sons and Loving It! – Gary J. Oliver
  • Raising Kids to Love Jesus – H. Norman Wright
  • Shepherding A Child’s Heart – Tedd Tripp