Special Education Department

Staff Members

Barbara Smythe - Special Education Department Chair
David Green - Para Educator
Bobby Lane - Para Educator

Keys to Student Success

Resource Room Model/ Co-teaching Model

  • Classroom teachers, special educators and para educators are available to provide students with accommodations in the classroom.
  • Accommodations will be provided per educational programs.
  • A resource room is available to assist and support students as well as provide accommodations when needed.

Understanding and Using Student Accommodations

  • Teachers receive information about student accommodations and have access to IEPs, 504 and ELL plans.
  • Students are sometimes reluctant to use the accommodations and tell teachers that they do not need them.
  • Using accommodations will help students score better on test, quizzes, and classwork.
  • Encourage your student to use his/her accommodations.

Students Who Decline Accommodations

  • It is the students right to decline to use their accommodations.
  • Teachers will document that students are refusing to use accommodations.
  • Documentation for refusal of accommodations during HSAs, MCAP, mid-terms and finals will be forwarded to parents and the home schools to discuss at teams.

Monitoring Grades and Attendance

  • Parents can monitor their student’s grades and attendance next year on Schoology and FOCUS.
  • Students may feel overwhelmed by being thrust into the high school environment where they will be confronted with greater expectations than they saw in middle school, especially since they have the expectations of two new schools and many more teachers.
  • Parents can help their children by checking Schoology often to identify missing assignments or instances of poor performance and to make sure that students are attending school.
  • Dealing with problems early on when they are small is a better strategy than letting them build up into more daunting ones.
  • Contact the classroom teachers for specific academic/assignment questions at 443-809-7075. Contact our Special Education Department Chair, Barbara Smythe with specific questions regarding the IEP process.  Special Education Office direct line is 443-809-7178 email address [email protected]

Contacting Teachers for Support

  • Teachers send home a syllabus for each subject at the beginning of the year which contains their email address and contact information.
  • Teachers send home interim reports at the midpoint of each of the four quarters detailing your student’s progress and any missing work.
  • Teachers also contact parents whenever a student is absent more than twice without a note.
  • Parents are encouraged to contact teachers at any time, especially when they have concerns about the student’s progress or accommodations or modifications that their student is receiving.
  • When in doubt about whether or not the situation warrants contacting the teacher, it is always better to contact the teacher than to wait.
  • Research shows that increased contact between parents and teachers results in higher student performance.

Math, Science and Technology Classes in Grades 9/10

  • Students must pass exit exams to graduate from high school. 
  • Monitor your student’s progress in Schoology closely to ensure that they remain current on work related to long term projects which make up a large part of the overall grade.
  • Students should review vocabulary on a nightly basis as they study.
  • Students may come in before classes (Student must obtain a pass from the teacher) or stay after school from 2:30 to 3:30 for coach class. Check with the teacher for coach class days.

Career Technology Education

  • Labs and certification assessments cannot be modified for CTE programs.  Some accommodations can be used.
  • Please be aware that students are required to wear uniforms for CTE classes and must order these during the summer.
  • Please be aware that students must wear closed-toed shoes for IETC and CTE classes.
  • Please be aware that there are additional costs for CTE programs which include purchasing uniforms, certification assessments, and other costs. The CTE teachers will send home information for these additional costs.
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