Student Support

The Early Schools acknowledge that we may be the first formal school experience for your child. It is our goal to support each student, both in their strengths and with their challenges.

As students and teachers come to know one another, we may observe that some children are having difficulty fully accessing our curriculum. Ongoing conversations and parent-teacher conferences allow parents/guardians and teachers to share feedback about students’ progress.

For times when we feel the need for more information, we have a Learning Specialist who can work with teachers and families to determine the best next steps. Our Learning Specialist is aligned with our Carolina Friends philosophy of celebrating the strengths of each child while acknowledging challenges. She is a resource to further a child’s school success.

When a child is unable to fully access our curriculum, the teachers will talk with parents/guardians about having our Learning Specialist offer her perspective and advice. Her role is to observe the child and meet with families and teachers to gain a complete picture of the child. The Learning Specialist will make recommendations to teachers and parents/guardians based on the observation and intake meetings.

Together teachers, families, and the Learning Specialist will develop a plan to help the child to be successful in the classroom. This team will create a timeline for evaluating progress.

At times it may be determined that other professional evaluations and services may be necessary to benefit the child’s progress. The cost of such services is paid for by families. When outside professionals can provide services in the school setting, we are happy to provide spaces for them.
 

The Lower School builds upon the work of the Early Schools to provide open communication about student needs. Students in the Lower School are moving through developmental stages at different rates and may demonstrate differing needs for support and modifications in our learning environment.

Lower School students are of an ideal age to begin to identify learning differences and needs. When teachers or parents/guardians have a question about a student’s progress, they begin a conversation with one another about the concern.

Teachers and/or parents and guardians may find it necessary to gather further information about a child’s learning through observation by our Learning Specialist, or, for example, an evaluation for psychoeducational, speech and language, occupational therapy, or other needs. Costs for these evaluations are covered by parents.

As a result of this type of information gathering, teachers will identify the specific accommodations and/or services that will best support the student in our learning environment.

Accommodations that might be considered, within limits, include:

• Preferential seating
• Behavioral contracts
• Access to audiobooks, word processors, tracking cards for reading
• Kinesthetic cues
• Quiet background music
• Noise-blocking headphones
• Separate work space
• Modified homework

Necessary services, such as tutoring, academic coaching, speech/language therapy, occupational therapy, and others will be provided and paid for by the families. For tutoring and academic coaching, parents and guardians may contract through the CFS Student Support Program if they’d like to obtain services at school.
 

In the Middle School, parents of students with identified learning differences or special needs have an introductory meeting with the Middle School Learning Specialist, Kerry Howard, who serves as the liaison or “point person” for information about special needs.

An accommodations plan is developed for individual students based upon recommendation from the psycho-educational evaluations provided by parents. Further conversations take place between parents and each student’s advisor.

Accommodations that might be considered, within limits, include:

• preferential seating
• checking of assignment books, advance notice of some assignments
• use of a calculator
• use of a word processor for writing assignments
• opportunity to use another student’s notes or teacher’s notes if available
• permission to record a class
• access to audiobooks
• modification of assignments or due dates, possibly including alternate texts or demonstrations of competence
• extended time or alternate location for tests
• behavioral contracts

Some students require more specialized instruction beyond the accommodations outlined above. For these students, the Middle School offers small classes with a 4:1 ratio taught by the Learning Specialist and other qualified staff. These classes are offered with additional tuition and are designed to support students with more significant learning needs such as dyslexia or significant ADHD.
 

In the Upper School, students with identified learning differences or special needs will have an introductory meeting during the fall term with our Learning Specialist as well as the student’s relevant teachers, advisor, Head Teacher, and/or Dean for Students. The purpose of this joint meeting is to clarify needs as they relate to the Upper School program and how we might best meet those needs.

For those students rising from the Middle School who already possess an Accommodations Plan, this plan will be taken into account and adjusted as necessary to reflect the changing needs and opportunities of the Upper School.

For students without an Accommodations Plan, recommendations for a formal psycho-educational evaluation will be made, and the Upper School Learning Specialist will write a plan based on evaluation results.

In either case, all plans will have the additional elements of standardized and college entrance exam accommodation allowances within those formalized testing structures. For example, a student who has been recommended to have 100% extended time for in-class test taking will have the same amount listed in the “standardized testing” section of the Accommodations Plan, to the extent that it is available for tests such as the ACT and SAT. There is an additional application process for standardized testing accommodations that families must initiate.

While the Upper School endeavors to provide accommodations within the daily classroom as needed (sometimes without formal psycho-educational evaluations in place but with recommendations from teachers) formal psycho-educational testing is nevertheless required from a licensed Ph.D psychologist in order to list and grant standardized testing accommodations for college entrance exams.

Accommodations that might be considered, within limits, include:

• preferential seating
• checking of assignment books and advance notice of some assignments
• use of a calculator
• use of a word processor for writing assignments
• opportunity to use another student’s notes or teacher’s notes if available
• permission to record a class
• ability to use audiobooks
• modification of assignments or due dates, possibly including alternate texts or demonstrations of competence
• extended time or alternate location for tests
• behavioral contracts

Examples of accommodations that have been granted for standardized testing have included the following options:

• extended time (between 50-100%)
• separate setting
• multiple sessions
• dictation to scribe
• use of assistive technology

The School now has contracts with a number of academic tutors and coaches who work on campus with teachers and students with identified learning differences and ADHD. The additional cost of these services is the family's responsibility.

Additionally, the School Counselor occasionally provides supportive counseling (as distinct from therapy) to students on an individual and/or group basis. The purpose of this counseling is to help the student regulate emotional experiences within the course of the school day in order to return to the classroom with an enhanced ability to resume school work. In other cases, students simply want assistance with test and performance anxiety, coping strategies, generalized anxiety, low grade depression, and a host of other issues.

Confidentiality is respected and maintained, and referrals for external therapy are made according to the student’s and/or family’s requests.