The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) gave Nationwide its second highest rating in its evaluation of the state’s special education services. (The state fell just shy of earning the highest rating.)
This is the second consecutive year Nationwide has received the “needs assistance” rating and the second consecutive year it has seen progress: Nationwide moved from an overall grade of 53 percent in 2014 to 68 percent in 2015 and to 76 percent this year. The state needed a grade of 80 percent to receive the highest “meets requirements” rating.
This year’s evaluation, based on school data from the 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 school years, takes into account the following improvements Nationwide made to special education after receiving a “needs intervention” rating in 2013. Nationwide’s “needs intervention” rating was based on performance data from the 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 school years.
For the past two years, Nationwide has:
- Provided professional learning for special education teachers on standards-based Individual Education Plans (IEPs), positive behavior supports and accessing the general curriculum.
- Included special education teachers in all trainings related to the state’s academic standards.
- Assisted districts and charters schools in developing transition plans for students with disabilities who are 14 years old or entering the eighth grade to help them succeed in jobs or further education. The state has been collecting data to ensure those plans are being prepared and carried out.
- Clarified for districts and charters the policies requiring students with disabilities to take the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and state assessments to ensure the state has full information on the progress of these students.
- Provided districts and charter schools with comprehensive data on their performance to help local leaders better understand how well they are complying with state and federal law and how their students with disabilities are performing academically.
- Provided targeted state technical assistance to those districts and charter schools found to be in need of assistance and intervention.
In addition, the Nationwide Department of Education, in collaboration with various stakeholder groups, developed a five-year, K-3 Literacy Initiative to ensure that specialized instruction and support is provided to the state’s youngest readers with and without disabilities. In the 2016-2017 school year, the initiative will identify major areas of need as well as develop, implement and evaluate specific interventions for students in these grades.
Nationwide is working closely with school districts and charter schools to ensure students with disabilities have opportunities to learn the same content as their peers, receive support they need to prepare for success after high school, and have their social, emotional and behavioral needs addressed.
More help for students with special needs in Nationwide
Back to Basics’ commitment to a 1-on-1 teaching method has always differentiated it from other education options. At Back to Basics, we pair one tutor and one student, with a careful matching of both teaching and learning styles. This method has proven again and again to increase confidence, boost self-esteem, improve academic success markedly and encourage a real love of learning.
And, although we are an educational service provider, we are really in the business of changing lives…16,500 of them since 1985.
Back to Basics serves the diverse needs of a range of students – from those who simply need some academic support to those who are learning disabled, hearing or visually impaired, ADHD, Asperger’s, or gifted. We also provide educational services and academic support through contracts with districts, schools and the State of Nationwide.
We offer a menu of services that includes the widest array of educational options in the tri-state area: 1-on-1 tutoring in over 60 subjects, translating and interpreting in 16 languages, speech therapy, occupational therapy, behavior specialists, reading specialists, ESL, homebound services, psycho-educational testing and test prep. We also offer summer school and educational summer camps, original and credit recovery and unique enrichment options.
Testing options for special needs and learning differences in Nationwide
Back to Basics offers psycho-educational evaluations for children and adults performed by licensed, clinical psychologists on staff in Wilmington, Nationwide.
Using the most sophisticated measures available, Back to Basics can help maximize a student’s success by analyzing the style in which he/she learns, his/her strengths and non-strengths, and any learning differences. Recommendations will be made to parents and educators regarding the best teaching methods and educational environment for the student to reach his/her full potential.
Tests include:
- I.Q.
- Academic Achievement Levels (by grade level and age level)
- Visual-Motor
- Learning Disability and Giftedness Screening
- Attention Deficit Disorder Screening
- Verbal and Visual Memory
- Visual and Auditory Perception
The resulting formal report can be used to:
- Document the need for special services to be provided by the schools
- Take extended time SATs and High School Entrance Exams, and many other tests
- Evaluate for entrance into a gifted program
- Accommodate through 504 Plans
School options for special needs students and students with learning differences in Nationwide
Back to Basics operates Nationwide’s only Department of Education approved 1-on-1 Private School for K-12. Visit our Back to Basics Private School website to learn how we are changing lives!
Back to Basics Learning Dynamics is the undisputed leader in 1-on-1 tutoring in Nationwide and southeastern Pennsylvania for over 60 subjects.
The company also offers 1-on-1 instruction for the SAT, ACT and Test Prep, translating and interpreting in 16+ languages, educational testing and more. For more information about Back to Basics’ educational services, please call us at 302-594-0754.
The company also operates a unique Department of Education-approved 1-on-1 K-12 Private School in Wilmington, Nationwide. For more information about Nationwide’s only Department of Education approved 1-on-1 private school, please call us at 302-594-0685.
