ISN - Individual Student Needs Program
ISN - Individual Student Needs Program
The Teurlings Catholic High School Individual Student Needs (ISN) Program offers limited accommodations to students with diagnosed learning disabilities.
By the time most students with learning differences reach the high school level and are applying for acceptance into Teurlings Catholic, they have already been evaluated by an educational diagnostician, psychologist, speech/language pathologist, reading specialist, or other professionals in the field of learning and have documentation indicating a diagnosis with specific accommodations. Once students are notified of acceptance into TCHS and the enrollment process begins, parents will have the opportunity to share relevant information regarding their child’s learning differences with school administration in order to determine if the school can meet the educational needs of that child. There are instances where TCHS may not be able to meet these needs, which would be communicated to the parents before completing the enrollment process.
In order for a student to be considered for acceptance into the TCHS ISN Program, parents must submit:
The following documentation to Lauren Schomaker - Vice-Principal. Documents can be emailed to lschomaker@tchs.net or dropped off at the front office.
*Copy of most recent Individual Accommodation Plan (IAP), Individualized Education Plan (IEP) or 504 Plan
*Current evaluation (completed within the last 3 calendar years) which includes:
- Credentials of the evaluator (Ph.D., Ed.D., Clinical Psychologist, Educational Diagnostician)
- Testing scores from more than one testing instrument (i.e. achievement tests, Woodcock-Johnson, Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (WIAT), Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT), Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement (KTEA), behavioral assessments, ADHD screening tools, etc)
- Primary diagnosis, date of diagnosis, and any other diagnoses that are relevant
- Recommendations for accommodations (TCHS is not required to offer accommodations recommended by the evaluator; see below for accommodations offered by TCHS)
*If the student has a medical diagnosis (anxiety, serious injury, visual/hearing deficit, chronic illness, etc), please include a physician's statement indicating diagnosis, treatment, physician's recommended accommodations, and medication administered.
*Standardized test scores from last 3 years
*Report cards from last 3 years
The ISN Program is of limited scope based on a college preparatory schedule of classes and is not a special education program. We are able to make accommodations (changes that do not affect the information or amount of information taught). On the other hand, we cannot make modifications (changes in the work format and/or amount of work required of a student).
Possible accommodations that students may receive in the TCHS ISN Program include:
- Extended time on major assessments (maximum of time and a half)
- Small group testing environment
- Enlargement of fonts on reading materials, tests, etc
- Preferential seating in the classroom
- Ability to have electronic assessments printed and/or have answers transferred to Scantron
- Assessments read aloud through the use of a computer extension/add-on (NOT with a human reader)
- Assessment questions given in smaller batches to the student within the extended time requirement
*TCHS does NOT offer resource classes or special sections of courses for ISN students.
Contact Lauren Schomaker - Vice-Principal (lschomaker@tchs.net or 337-235-5711 Ext. 233) with any questions.
**Accommodations for Standardized Testing
The process for requesting accommodations on standardized testing (ACT, SAT) is separate from the process TCHS uses for its ISN Program. Furthermore, TCHS does not have a say in the approval process for accommodations on standardized tests. Approval for those accommodations lies solely with the testing companies. TCHS will provide supporting documentation for a student directly to the testing company via the Guidance Department when requested by the testing company. Please see the websites for ACT and SAT, or contact the TCHS Guidance Department for more information.