Student Support Services in the 40th Year

Over the past 5 years, my driving vision for Student Support Services (SSS) at The Meadows School has been implementing a data-based multi-tiered system of support across all divisions, domains (social emotional/behavioral, and academic), and members of the microsystem in which our students develop (i.e. parents, faculty, etc). A visual representation and additional information about this conceptual model can be found on Essential Components of MTSS. It has been amazing to watch our team grow from one Learning Specialist in 2020 to embracing a team that currently consists of the Director of Student Support, three divisional School Counselors, two divisional Academic Learning Specialists, an Upper School Academic Coach, and a Lower School Intervention Support Specialist. You can meet them on the Student Support Services section of The Meadows website.

Our main purpose and priority in SSS is to serve students through the provision of or connection with a variety of programs and services:

Direct Counseling Instruction

Beginning and Lower School students receive direct instruction around Character Traits (including responsibility and respect) during their sessions with Ms. Loomis. Middle School students engage in conversations around brain development, relationship skills, and executive functioning in their sixth grade Life Skills course with Mr. Pasieka. Upper School students engage in student-led conversations overseen by their advisors and the Upper School Counselor, Mr. Haddock, during weekly Advisory Periods.

 

Members of the SSS Team consult with teachers to provide strategies to best meet the needs of all learners. They are also available to work with families to provide strategies to try at home.

 

To help students at The Meadows School find success in their early years, the Lower School offers a Learning Lab that houses the Academic Learning Specialist and Intervention Support Specialist. These professionals use student data to build and guide targeted instruction to meet the needs of individual learners. The specialist will work with small groups or one-on-one to remediate or challenge the curriculum as identified by teacher and student data.

 

Students in any division with documentation from diagnostic providers are able to request accommodations through the development of a Student Success Plan (SSP). Qualifications for these scaffolded supports are based on the review of a neuropsychological or other diagnostic evaluation and are updated annually. With this external guidance, an SSP identifies the accommodation strategies classroom teachers should employ to help Meadows students benefit from instruction and achieve TMS learning objectives. Students with these plans are expected to engage in the same curriculum, without modifications, at the same pace as their peers. On-campus accommodations may include, but are not necessarily limited to:

 

Students needing additional executive functioning support in the Middle and Upper Schools have access to a specialized Study Hall or Flex Period during which they can receive targeted instruction around study skills and individualized check-ins to support organization and time management. While the Academic Learning Specialist and Academic Coach prioritize students with SSPs, their support is available to all students.

 

We have coordinated with a number of TMS organizations to provide after-school tutoring options. Middle and Upper School students may access support through the academic content area’s related honor society for peer-tutoring opportunities after school in the Upper School Library. In addition, students can receive brainstorming support through The Writing Center during some class periods and after school. Lower School students can receive homework assistance as part of MAPS, or be connected with Middle or Upper School students for peer-to-peer support. Additionally, we’ve established procedures and relationships with teacher-tutors and specialized companies for targeted tutoring and re-instruction.

 

The Meadows School has partnered with external Speech and Occupational therapists who are background-checked to provide services on campus Monday through Friday. At the request of a family, these providers offer a free screening on campus. Should the screening reveal the need for a full evaluation, parents may contract with these providers privately and elect to receive services on campus during the academic day.

 

The SSS Team serves as a resource hub to connect students and families with community resources to help each child succeed. If a family is ever in need of a recommendation for a local provider of any sort, they need only reach out.

 

As we continue to expand the impact of our program, we are revisiting and honoring a model that harkens back to our founder, Carolyn G. Goodman. She has been known to cite that educational success is like a three-legged stool with students, faculty, and families serving to support that end goal. During the establishment of Student Support Services, we focused on the first two legs of the stool. We have provided the human resources to support the learning and well-being of our students and these faculty members have collaborated with instructors to ensure high-quality classroom experiences. This year, with an expanded team, we are enthusiastically adding a focus on supporting that third leg, the families.

 

To that end, we are excited to introduce newly-envisioned Parent Coffees. This year, we will host five live watch parties of ParentEd Talks—a dynamic series of parent education webinars designed to guide you through the ups and downs of parenting. These Coffees will feature renowned parenting experts who will dive into essential topics such as building resilience, navigating screen time, and fostering independence. Our Parent Coffee series kicks off on October 15 at 12 p.m. with an exclusive talk by social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, author of The Anxious Generation.

 

Student Support Services has also been establishing a digital resource portal for families. Over the next few weeks, you will be able to find the Student Services tab in MyMeadows where you can locate resources on a broad range of topics for you to explore at your leisure. As we receive requests for information on topics such as ‘sleep’, ‘dealing with testing anxiety,’ and ‘how to build math skills at home,’ we will continue to add to the content located there.

 

If you have any questions or would like to connect with a member of our team to discuss these support options, please reach out to Dr. Kristin Withey at kwithey@themeadowsschool.org. We are very much looking forward to continuing the 40th year celebrations and supporting our goal of ‘Excellence in Everything’ with our community.

 

Director of Student Support Services