The school has a dedicated team of trained professionals who work together as Student Support Services. Student Support Services is made up primarily of the school’s psychologists, learning specialists and testing coordinators, but they also work closely with school nurses and health educators. The Student Support Services team are here as a resource for students, parents, and teachers and are in regular contact with division offices. It is important to note that, especially in the younger grades, the presence of support staff in the classroom is an ordinary part of the school day that does not necessarily indicate a “problem” in that classroom.
The Teaching and Learning Center (the “TLC”) is located on the ground floor of the Bosworth Building, right next to the Ritchey Art Room. The TLC is open Monday through Friday from 8:15am-4:30pm. All middle and high school students are welcome to drop in during their free periods, including lunch. They can also stop in before classes begin to print out homework or get needed class supplies. Learning specialists staff the TLC and are there to support students with anything they need that is related to school work. They are happy to help with studying for tests, writing papers, understanding reading assignments, organizing materials, and managing time, among other things.
Support staff are available to speak with parents. Click here to visit the Student Support Services page of our website, where you’ll find a who’s who of the team and information about where they are located and how you can contact them. The Director of Student Support Services is our School Psychologist, Liz Bernbach, PhD. Click here to visit the nursing office section of our website.
Saint Ann’s aspires to meet the needs of each student, and to work with them to overcome obstacles so they can benefit from the school’s unique curriculum and pedagogy. The school strives to work in partnership with parents when it comes to supporting students. That partnership includes communicating with families and clinicians to ascertain if a student has received a diagnosis that impacts their learning. Diagnosed learning issues may be disabilities under the law. When such a diagnosis is present, Saint Ann’s engages families in an interactive process, based on testing and medical/psychological information provided, to determine a reasonable accommodation which enables the student to participate in the School’s program.
The School will reasonably accommodate such disabilities in accordance with legal requirements. It is important to note that the law does not require the requested accommodation nor the best accommodation. The School is not required to provide an accommodation if it would constitute an undue hardship or fundamentally alter the School’s program.