Our Programs
Special Education ProcessAt the Canadian American School, we aim to provide a world-class education to our students. All students including at-risk and children identified with special needs may seek admission provided that they adhere to school policies, guidelines, and our special education process. We provide an inclusive education where both typically developing and students identified with special needs play and learn together to create a mutual respect and healthy understanding of diversity as we prepare them to become independent, productive, and globally competitive.
We work collaboratively with education professionals and other service providers (developmental pediatricians, school psychologists, occupational therapists, speech and language pathologists, physical therapists, etc.) to complete educational assessments and monitor program plans to help students meet the demands of their respective grade levels. The purpose of this collaboration is to determine appropriate and equitable accommodations, adaptations to the curriculum, testing, and instructional strategies that can be reasonably implemented in the school setting.
Special Education Process
Step 1: Record Review
Students who are at risk or have identified special needs undergo a Record Review where our Student Intervention Team (SIT) reviews education and medical documents furnished by the families. This helps us make decisions about what types of assessments a student may need.
Step 2: Comprehensive Evaluation
A team of special education and related service providers (OT, PT, SLP, etc.) conducts a multidisciplinary approach to assessing and evaluating the student to identify his/her areas of strengths and needs. Eligibility for special education and related services are determined. The cost for a comprehensive evaluation ranges from USD 250 – USD 750 depending on the child’s identified needs.
Step 3: Individualized Education Plan
The team creates an Individualized Education Plan that identifies the student’s:
Present levels of academic performance
Goals and objectives
Instructional and testing accommodations
Supplementary aids and services, and
Placement
Step 4: Progress Monitoring/Annual Review/Reevaluation
The team monitors the student’s progress based on the identified goals and objectives; conducts an annual review of the IEP document; or reevaluates the student for continued eligibility for special education services.
“At the Canadian American School, we aim to educate our students with special needs with their typically developing peers to the maximum extent appropriate. We offer a Continuum of Services to ensure that all students have access to high quality and responsive environments.”
Continuum of Services
Level 1: Full Inclusion
Support at this level involves some instructional and testing accommodations in the general education setting. The student follows the general education curriculum.
Level 2: Full Inclusion with Special Educator Support
In this level, all previous supports are in place and a special education teacher may come in to the general education classroom to provide additional support to the student and the teacher for a specific subject or subjects. Some modification to the general education curriculum may be put in place.
Level 3: Partial Inclusion/Program Modification
At this level, all previous supports are in place and the student may be receiving instruction in a special class 20-80% of the time depending on the child’s need. The student may be several grades behind and needing intensive intervention services in the form of specialized reading and math instruction, social skills training, or a completely individualized program. The student may still attend general education classes (ex. PME, Art, Music, etc.) which he/she can attend with minimal or no support needed.
Level 4: Individualized Education Program
The student is in a small group or one-on-one setting with a special education teacher. The student follows an alternative curriculum (ex. life skills training, augmentative communication, etc).
Student Intervention Team (SIT)
Students of today are considerably more complex that anytime in history. When students do not meet the academic or behavioral expectations in the classroom, they may be referred to the Student Intervention Team (SIT). The primary role of the team is to provide a problem-solving structure to resolve student-centered problems. Classroom-based strategies and interventions are put in place to achieve desired results, but if the student still remains unresponsive to interventions, a referral for further evaluation may be requested.
While the student is undergoing the Response to Intervention (RtI) process as facilitated by the Student Intervention Team, he/she is classified as being in the RtI status.
Fees
Due to the individualized needs each student may present, fees are established on a case-to-case basis and may incur an additional 30 – 80 % premium on the standard tuition fees. Possible supplementary aids and services may include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Speech and Language Therapy
- Occupational Therapy
- Physical Therapy
- Family Counseling
- Reading and Math Intervention
- Executive Functions Training
- Social Thinking
A list of school fees can be found in our website here.
