The Student Learning Process

Assessment & Team Meeting

The PARC has initiated a two-phase assessment process. All learners in PARC will participate in receiving informal assessments early in the academic year so we can proactively approach student learning. Students will typically receive an informal evaluation on goal setting, motivation, educational engagement, mindset, and grit. All of these factors help to determine a student's approach to learning. In addition, nonacademic factors significantly impact how a student performs academically.

The second phase will consist of informal and formal academic/achievement assessments. In addition to a comprehensive review of psycho-educational evaluations from either the Board of Education or independent evaluators, students' material review and interviews may include: 

  • Organizational and study strategies
  • Classroom work 
  • Tests & quizzes
  • Formalized tests 

Normed measures are in testing batteries used to determine if a student has a learning disability. On an as-needed basis, we will also assess therapy needs.

Individualized Learning Program

Meeting

Once the assessment is complete, the director, appropriate PARC staff, classroom teachers, family members, and the student (when applicable) will meet at the beginning of the school year to discuss the Individualized Learning Plan (ILP) and adjust the learning goals as necessary.

Instruction & Monitoring

PARC aims to construct a developmental model that can follow a child from Pre-K3 through Grade 12 across ability levels. This process allows for greater classroom differentiation and more seamless movement from one developmental goal to the next. PARC staff will conduct individual and small group skills lessons for PARC students regularly, as outlined in the ILP. A focus on accommodations, direct skills instruction, and learning growth evaluation for students who learn differently will be a cornerstone of the PARC.

Evaluation

Finally, all PARC services and instructional sessions are coded and saved electronically, allowing learning growth to be monitored to allow for learning objectives and goals can be changed, recalibrated, and celebrated in real-time as necessary. ILP meetings also use this system at the beginning and end of the school year. In addition, we use statistical analysis to monitor individual students' growth and to inform our instruction at PARC specifically and SIA in general.