Non-Public School Services
- those already offered in the school district in which the non-public school is located;
- student need based on consultation with the Intermediate Unit and the non-public administrators, teachers, students, and parents;
- budgetary allocations; and
- supply of qualified personnel, materials, and equipment.
- preschool students
- home schooled students
- students whose primary residence is outside of Pennsylvania
- students for whom tuition is paid by the Commonwealth
- Reading Intervention Services
- Speech and Language Services
- School Counseling Services
- Psychological Services
- Standardized achievement testing and scoring
Reading Intervention Services
The WIU employs Pennsylvania-certified Reading Specialists trained in Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS) and in Orton- Gillingham through the Institute of Multi-Sensory Education (IMSE). The Act 89 Literacy Interventionists provide students in Westmoreland County non-public schools with direct, explicit, and systematic supplemental instruction in reading.
Depending on student needs, interventions are provided at both Tier 2 and Tier 3 levels of intensity and support. For students who require remediation at the Tier 2 level, supplemental instruction takes place in a small group setting using materials targeted for developing areas of weakness. Students in need of Tier 3 interventions are provided supplemental, explicit, systematic, individual instruction that is tailored to their needs. Frequent progress monitoring is provided at all levels of intervention, and instructional methods are adjusted accordingly. The goal is to close educational gaps and make significant progress toward grade-level benchmarks.
Because the classroom is the primary center for instruction, WIU continues to provide professional development, including ongoing support through consultation for classroom teachers and administrators in non-public schools. In addition, these services are coordinated with Title 1 interventions where appropriate.
Our Focus: The 5 Big Ideas of Reading
According to the National Reading Panel, the following five big ideas of reading are essential when teaching students to read. They are Phonemic Awareness, Phonics, Fluency, Vocabulary, and Comprehension. As Literacy Interventionists, our lessons incorporate each of these components.
Screeners and Diagnostic Assessments
Through screening measures, the Act 89 Literacy Intervention Team collects and analyzes data to determine student need and caseload. This data is used to identify students who may be at risk of struggling with reading. Diagnostic assessments are also used to assess specific components of reading and the individual needs of each student. The results of the diagnostic measures help to determine which specific interventions will be most beneficial to each individual student. Additionally, our team conducts progress monitoring assessments throughout the school year to measure student progress towards a specific goal.
Examples of assessments that are used by our intervention team may include:
- Acadience Learning Online (ALO)
- IMSE’s Reading Skills and Placement Assessments
- Phonological Awareness Screening Test (PAST)
- LETRS Phonics and Word Reading Survey
- LETRS Spelling Inventory
- Corrective Reading Placement Assessment
- Heggerty Bridge the Gap Assessment
Intervention Resources
Act 89 interventionists use data collected from screening and diagnostic assessments to develop an intervention plan for each student. Resources are chosen to target specific needs for each student. Interventions are not limited to a specific set of resources, but some resources that may be used in intervention include:
- Heggerty Phonemic Awareness
- Heggerty Bridge to Reading
- Isabel Beck’s Word Building
- IMSE Orton Gillingham
- Deb Glaser’s Morpheme Magic
- Corrective Reading
- SAVVAS Quick Reads
- Florida Center for Reading Research
- University of Florida Literacy Institute
Meet the Act 89 Literacy Intervention Team
Elyse Patrick
Speech and Language Services
The WIU employs speech language pathologists who are certified through The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) and licensed through the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of State to provide researched-based services to the students within the Westmoreland County non-public schools. Certification and licensure through these organizations require ongoing continuing education with specific coursework in professional development.
Various programs provide speech and language intervention to K-12 students in non-public schools. Included are Act 89 support and EP services. Upon a formal request, Act 89 screenings will be completed to determine communication needs, if any, as well as the level of intervention necessary for each qualifying student. It should be noted that these screenings are not evaluations to determine eligibility for special education. Students with more severe speech impairments may need a more comprehensive evaluation in which written permission will be obtained from parents and input will be gathered from team members by the requesting non-public school before the initiation of formal student testing.
The service models provided by the speech and language pathologists during school hours include the following:
- Pull-out speech sessions – traditional therapy of determined length completed in a therapy room in an individual or small group setting which provides more intensive intervention to students whose communication needs may be affecting their performance with academics in the classroom
- Push-in speech sessions – therapy completed within the educational setting/classroom environment with school personnel present to promote carryover of skills and techniques in addition to addressing communication challenges that may not benefit from the pull-out model of intervention
- 5-Minute speech program – therapy for students may include correct sound production of a single or few speech sounds, language and fluency skills, and any other communication need requiring monitoring and maintenance of skill carryover. This program is completed in a 1:1 format with numerous practice opportunities quickly, thereby limiting the time pulled from the classroom. This may decrease the need for makeup work/tests and/or disruptions of their class schedule.
- Whole classroom push-in sessions – the focus is on early learners in the kindergarten program for an all-student instruction that supports targeted communication, including articulation, language, and pre-reading skills. This increases overall communication within the class while supporting the needs of students who are already receiving services. Additionally, school personnel benefit from staff education and increased opportunities for carryover of techniques within the classroom environment which may decrease the need for more intensive intervention.
Communication areas that may be addressed per delays or disorders during speech intervention include:
- Articulation & phonological disorders –placement/production of speech sounds
- Expressive language –an expression of thoughts, wants, and needs
- Receptive language –knowledge, understanding, and processing of information
- Stuttering – disfluencies such as prolongations, part/whole word repetitions, hesitations/blocks, etc., as well as accessory behaviors including tension, struggle, and fear
- Voice disorders – difficulties with pitch, volume, tone, and other vocal qualities such as resonance or hoarseness. Before any intervention related to voice issues, an evaluation by a medical professional such as an ENT is recommended to rule out any physical problems which may impede and result in speech therapy being counterproductive.
Meet the School Psychologist
Meet the Speech Language Pathologists
Psychological Services
Equitable Participation
The reauthorization of IDEA in 2004 and the subsequent 2006 IDEA regulations significantly changed the obligation of States and local education agencies (LEAs) to children with disabilities enrolled by their parents in private elementary and secondary schools. LEAs, in which the private schools are located, conduct child find and provide equitable services to parentally-placed private school children with disabilities. In Pennsylvania, intermediate units serve as the LEAs for equitable participation.
IDEA mandates that the LEAs (IUs) where the private schools are located, must conduct a thorough and complete child find process to determine the number of parentally-placed children with disabilities attending private elementary schools and secondary schools to calculate the proportionate amount of Federal funds under Part B of the Act that must be spent on parentally-placed private school children with disabilities. The amount of funds available for equitable participation is based on the total number of children with disabilities who are enrolled in the private schools located in the LEA.
Through timely and meaningful consultation, the nonpublic school administrators of Westmoreland County have elected a consultative service model which means Equitable Participation allocations will be directed toward adding resources to lending libraries, professional development and consultations.
Equitable Participation Consultants are available to provide technical assistance and professional development for teacher and administrators. Emphasis is placed on improving educational results for children with disabilities. Services include, but are not limited to:
- Assistive Technology
- Least Restrictive Environment/Inclusion
- Secondary Transition Planning
- Multi-tiered System of Support (MTSS): Literacy/Mathematics/Behavior
- Youth Mental Health First Aid
- Functional Behavior Assessments (FBAs)
- LETRS training
To initiate a professional development or a consultation, please complete the Equitable Participation Launch Form. For any student who has an IEP and/or a diagnosed disability through an ER/RR and enrolls after your Child Find School Visit, please complete the Equitable Participation Child Find: Data Collection Form.
*Both forms can be found in the Forms section below.
Nonpublic Schools Portfolio
Forms
