Sara Stewart

Rachel Miltko
Preslie Flemins
SpEd 480

Campus Survey

English as a Second Language (ESL)

An ESL program is coursework designed to help students who are looking to

learn English as their second, third, or in some cases fourth language. These programs

hire teachers that are often bilingual who are there to help students to develop their:

speaking, writing, reading, and listening skills. To be eligible for the ESL program you

cannot speak English at home, international students, and students that genuinely have

trouble with English.

504 Committee

Every school in Waxahachie has a 504 committee. At Felty, the 504 committee is

ran by the assistant principal. The section 504 is a law that prohibits discrimination

against disabilities. Under the federal law, the needs are always to be met just as well

as they would for a non-disabled students. Students testing for 504 must qualify.

Students with any unseen disabilities are placed under 504 before that student can be

placed anywhere else.

RTI

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 All schools in the Waxahachie district have RTI. Response to intervention (RTI) is

a multi-tier approach to the early identification and support of students with learning and

behavior needs. Its often hard for a teacher to tell right away which students are

struggling or why. RTI aims to identify struggling students early on and give them the

support they need to be successful in school. Educational decisions about the intensity

and duration of interventions are based on individual student response to instruction.

The RTI process that is generally described as a three tier model with a lot of school

support that uses research-based academics and behavioral interventions. The Three

Tier Model: Tier I, Tier II, and Tier III

At-Risk Programming

At Felty we do have an At-Risk program. There are many reasons a child could

qualify for the At-Risk program. A few of the things that could qualify you is: Student did

not advance to the next grade level 1+ times, Student did not perform satisfactorily on

assessment instrument, student did not perform satisfactorily on a readiness

assessment, Student is presently on a Tier for RTI. There are many more things that

could get a child qualified for the At-Risk program, those were just a few of the common

ones.

Gifted/Talented

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 Felty students who are part of the gifted & talented program are served through a

pullout program. Kindergarten and 1st grade receive 1 hour per week, and 2nd through

5th grade receive 2 hours per week. All students in grades 1-5 are screened, but

parents who don't want their children screened can opt out. Once students are identified

as gifted & talented, they are able to attend Advanced Academic Lab where they have

an opportunity to learn using hands on experiences, independent studies and research,

academic challenges, and supportive extensions of the state curriculum. The gifted &

talented teachers have yearly training in nature and social/emotional needs,

assessment and identification, depth, complexity, and differentiation, instructional

strategies, and advanced products and performances.

Bilingual Education

Every school in Waxahachie school district has an ESL programs for students

that meet entrance criteria, but only two schools offer a dual-language education. To be

eligible for bilingual services, students must go through an identification process. Within

the first 4 weeks of each new school year, the LPAC (language proficiency assessment

committee) Committee will determine the number of LEP students on each campus and

what language they are proficient. The LPAC consists of a professional bilingual

educator, a professional transitional language educator, a parent of a LEP student, and

a campus administrator.

Special Education

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 Felty offers many special education services that include audiology, school

health, counseling, speech-language therapy, occupational therapy, transportation,

orientation and mobility, parent training, physical therapy, psychological, recreation,

rehabilitation counseling, and interpreting services. In order to receive special education

services, students must be between the ages of 3 and 21 and have documentation of

their disability. Additionally, they need to have an educational need that requires

educational support and services.

Speech Therapy

Felty has a SLP (Speech-Language Pathologist) that works with students who

have communication problems that affect success in classroom activities, social

interaction, literacy, and learning. SLPs work with school-age children who have a

variety of disorders such as voice, articulation, dysphagia, language, and fluency or

stuttering. SLPs work with children in several different ways. They combine

communication goals with academic and social goals by integrating classroom

objectives, help students understand and use basic language concepts, support reading

and writing, and increase students understanding of texts and lessons. Each students

needs are different, so the services that the SLP provides is based off what the student

needs. Monitoring or periodic screening, collaborating and consulting, classroom based

services, small group or individual sessions, or speech classrooms are several different

services that SLPs offer in a school setting.

Resource/Inclusion/Life Skills

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 Felty Elementary offers Special Education services that included resource,

inclusion, and Life Skills classes. The resource room is a separate, remedial classroom

in a school where students with educational disabilities, such as specific learning

disabilities, are given direct, specialized instruction and academic remediation and

assistance with homework and related assignments as individuals or in groups.

Inclusion is when students with disabilities are given the opportunity to learn alongside

their non-disabled peers in general education classrooms. In life skills classes, students

with disabilities are taught the skills or strategies we need to deal effectively with the

challenges in everyday life, whether at school, at work or in their personal lives. Each of

these classes offer different opportunities and advantages for the students placed within

them. Their placement is determined by their individual needs.

Adapted Physical Education

Within Waxahachie ISD, Adapted Physical Education services are provided

through Region 10. Adapted Physical Education is physical education which has been

adapted or modified, so that it is appropriate for a person with a disability. Physical

education for children with disabilities is a federally mandated component of special

education services. This means that physical education needs to be provided to the

student with a disability as part of the special education services that child and family

receive.

Occupational Therapy (OT)

Waxahachie ISD has Occupational Therapists that travel from school to school,

throughout Region 10, who assist students learn skills to make each student as

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independent as possible in all areas of their lives. Occupational Therapy helps people

of any age to do things they want and need to do to live life to the fullest by helping

them promote health and prevent or live with an injury, illness, or disability.

Occupational Therapy focuses on helping people with physical, sensory, or cognitive

disabilities.

Physical Therapy (PT)

Within Waxahachie ISD, Physical Therapy services are provided through Region

10. Physical therapy is a service that is provided to students under the Individuals with

Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and is provided to support the Individualized Education

Program (IEP) for students who have a disability that interferes with their educational

performance and ability to benefit from their education program. School-based Physical

Therapy promotes motor development and student participation in everyday routines

and activities.