• Highly Specialized Strands

    • SPS has many highly specialized programs to serve the diverse needs of students. There is a legal mandate to ensure that students are being supported in the least restrictive environment. It is important to recognize that the majority of students are able to receive their specialized education support through the learning center model, which is located in each of the schools housing a continuum of services. Related services, such as speech, occupational therapy, physical therapy and counseling, are included in each school. All of our special education programing provides a variety of settings, including in-class and pull-out models, with a consideration of the Least Restrictive Environment appropriate for each student.

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    • Below are brief descriptions of programs, and each year programs evolve and shift to meet the needs of the students.  

     

    Learning Centers/Skills Classes (All Schools)

    • Serves students in grades K-8 who present with a variety of educational disabilities

    • Individual and small group instruction to address student needs in the areas of 

      • Literacy (reading and writing) and mathematics

      • Executive functioning and organizational skills

      • Curriculum support, self-regulation and self-advocacy

    Language, Achievement, and Beyond - LAB Program (Loring/Curtis)

    • Serves students elementary-middle school with intensive language-based learning disabilities 

    • Provides specialized instruction with a systematic and multisensory methodology using a continuum of structures including co-taught, partial inclusion and  substantially separate classes with both individual and small group instruction in the areas of literacy and mathematics.

    • Particular emphasis is placed on reading, writing, and math instruction, including: phonemic awareness, decoding skills, reading comprehension and written language

    • Small group or general education content instruction available based on student needs

    STEPS/LEAP Program (Haynes/Curtis)

    • Provides highly-specialized instruction to students with complex learning profiles

    • Designed to encourage:

      • Acquisition and reinforcement of core content in reading, math and/or writing

      • Development of language, social, and/or functional life skills

      • Independence and executive functioning

      • Development of self-advocacy skills

    • Supported inclusion opportunities within the classroom and small groups, or individualized instruction outside of the classroom

    • Provides assistive technology integration

    • Provides highly modified curriculum via multisensory, language-based instructional methodologies

    Foundations/Flex Program (Noyes/Curtis)

    • Serves students primarily with autism spectrum disorders, communication, self-regulation and social/pragmatic language needs

    • Fosters independence and supports generalization of executive functioning and pragmatic language skills across all settings

    • Provides multimodal, language-based instructional methodologies across subject areas

    • Provides instructional practices using the principles of applied behavioral analysis

    • Inclusive and/or sub-separate settings are available based on the student’s profile

    Partner Program (Haynes/Curtis)

    • Serves students primarily with autism spectrum disorders as well as other students who require programming with intensive applied behavior analysis

    • Supports with comprehensive, specialized and intensive behavioral supports with a 1:1 ratio of staffing

    • Development of language, academic, social, and/or functional life skills

    • Provides intensive assistive technology integration

    • Community focused experiences to address functional application of skills in daily life

    • The program is in collaboration with The New England Center for Children (NECC).

    Access Program (Nixon/Curtis)

    • Serves students primarily with intensive social emotional needs grades K-8

    • Students participate in a continuum of full, partial inclusion and sub-separate classes

    • Provides language-based, multisensory, highly structured, systematic instruction as designated by individual student needs

    • Provides support students in the general education and sub-separate classrooms to help generalize academic, social and self-regulation skills

    • Intensive therapeutic and behavioral support is provided

    Bridges (Curtis)

    • Serves students in both general and special education who need therapeutic supports, often returning from school absence or facing intensive anxiety

    • Flexibility with partial inclusion or sub-separate programming is available

    • Clinical team members provide ongoing therapeutic support and social skill instruction. A special education teacher provides academic support.

    • Services provided to students:

      • Direct clinical supports and related services

      • Academic coordination

      • Coordination with family and wrap around community-based services