Learning Consultant

Academic Support Center

The Academic Support Center provides a relaxed, student-centered environment where students of all ability levels can experience a sense of belonging and feel secure in their academic efforts.

The Academic Support Center provides a place where students can come for assistance from the Learning Consultant in addition to seeking help from their teachers in open labs. Some students are referred to the Center through their teachers, parents, counselors, but other students request help themselves. All students are welcomed whether they have an educational diagnosis or not. This is truly a place for the student to receive academic support.

Learning Consultant

IWA employs a full time Learning Consultant to meet the learning needs of all students.

The roles of the Learning Consultant consist of:

· Meeting with students to encourage and support their academic success

· Teaching students to be advocates for themselves in the academic environment

· Supervising special testing settings (extended time/ tests read together) in the Academic Support Center

· Mentor students on Academic Probation

· Assisting Administration, faculty, and staff by discussing methods/techniques to help students with learning concerns

· Assisting Administration with the on-going professional development of the faculty concerning the needs of all students

· Updating faculty, staff, and coaches with information concerning students needs

· Advising parents concerning the educational needs of their daughter

· Managing student's documentation for learning disabilities /ADHD

· Arranging for special testing for students within the school day and/or for standardized testing such as the Explore, Plan, PSAT, ACT and SAT

· Attending Individual Service Plan meetings with Special School District

· Assisting in the admission process to IWA

Learning Profiles

When a student is accepted into IWA, the families are given an Educational Needs Form in the registration packet. In order for IWA to best assist its students, it is important for the parents to return this form along with documentation of the student's educational history. We need to know if the student has an educational diagnosis such as a specific learning disability or Attention Deficit Disorder in order to create a Learning Profile.

The purpose of a Learning Profile is to give an overview of a student's educational history, describe a student's strengths and weakness, and the needed accommodations for testing and the classroom. The Learning Profile is created by the Learning Consultant and is available for teachers to view in a confidential file. The Learning Profile is update annually or when new documentation becomes available.

Documentation

What do you mean by documentation?

· If a student has been evaluated by a professional agency such as the public school district, the Archdiocese of St. Louis, or a private psychologist resulting in an educational diagnosis, we would like to have this documentation on file.

· Another form of documentation could be from a physician, neurologist or other medical doctors when diagnosing ADHD in a student.

· Both types of documentation need to be current which mean within the last three to five years.

· If documentation is older than three years, please send this information to the Learning Consultant and we can assist in updating the documentation.

Why is it important to have current documentation?

· IWA is committed to helping all of our students be successful, but it is extremely important for the school to have the most up-to-date information.

· Students will take standardized tests each year they attends IWA. A student must have current documentation on file with IWA in order to receive accommodations such as Extended Time on standardized tests.

· Students entering their junior and senior years will be registering to take the PSAT, SAT and/ or ACT. Accommodations on these types of tests, such as Extended Time, are only allowed with approval from the CollegeBoard or ACT Company. Even with current documentation approval for time extensions are not always granted.

· The Learning Consultant assists each student applying for test accommodations with documentation on file.