Guidance

We have a full time counselor who oversees all guidance services.

Counseling – Individual, family, and group counseling are provided as needed or requested.

Anti-Bullying Program and Empathy Education – Our Anti-bullying program includes our school policy and schoolwide education, grade-specific programming, and supportive intervention with individuals and small groups.

Mentoring and Behavioral Intervention Support – Students in need of additional support toward meeting academic or behavioral goals may seek or be referred for guidance services which may include mentoring, behavior modification, or leadership development. Classroom-based behavior modification interventions may also be coordinated through the guidance office.

Classroom-Based Programs – Teachers may coordinate with the guidance counselor for classroom-based programs to support DWP skills, character development, social skills development, empathy development, and anti-bullying efforts.

Reading Specialist

Kahili Southworth is our full time Reading Specialist.  She is a practicing Speech-Language Pathologist Assistant with experience in working with a wide variety of individuals with dyslexia and other reading and learning disabilities

Kahili works with students to support, supplement and extend classroom teaching, while working collaboratively with parents and teachers to implement a quality reading program that meets the needs of students. These students are specific children who have been identified as needing more literacy support than can be provided by the classroom teacher. She designs interventions tailored to each child’s needs, teaches any material the child needs extra support on, and evaluates instruction for students having difficulty with reading or writing. Students work in a small group setting from kindergarten through 8th grade throughout the school year.

Inclusion Specialist

Julie Higgins is our full time Inclusion Specialist.  She works directly with teachers and students to help provide all students access to the curriculum with specialized knowledge of current methodology and techniques of educating students with learning challenges and/or disabilities. She not only provides support to the students but also assists teachers and aides to ensure that students have chances to succeed in the classroom.  Direct student interaction include: one-on-one and small group math groups

Another role of the Inclusion Specialist is to create Student Support Plans (SSP) for students that require more extensive accommodations, have a pre-existing IEP, or a psychoeducational evaluation.  The SSP outlines specific accommodations that help guide instruction based on the needs of the individual student.