Valuing diversity and individual learning profiles, St. Joseph School is fortunate to have the Learning Resource Center (LRC) with several learning resource specialists. The LRC is an integral component of the St. Joseph School educational program providing a variety of learning support services to promote student achievement and success. The LRC specialists acknowledge and appreciate the unique and varied learning profiles of our students, including individual strengths and challenges. The mission of the LRC is to ensure that all learners are appropriately challenged and taught so they can reach their God-given potential.
The LRC department is comprised of five academic learning specialists, an advanced learning specialist, a full-time counselor and director. The learning specialists and classroom teachers work in tandem to implement recommended classroom accommodations and to determine the most effective learning strategies for students in their classrooms. The LRC team administers screenings and additional assessments to more clearly understand individual strengths and challenges and to monitor progress as needed. They also oversee the flow of communication about individual student’s learning needs as they move through the grades.
All LRC specialists work to maintain an effective and positive partnership with parents and/or guardians. In collaboration with the school counselor, the LRC team works closely to ensure the social and emotional needs of the students are considered when implementing learning plans. As students discover how they learn best, they begin to develop effective learning skills, strategies, confidence, and the courage they need to become self-advocates.
The goal of our Academic Support Program is to provide responsive support to ensure every child is making progress and experiencing success. The LRC Academic Support specialists, kindergarten - eighth grade, work directly with small groups and individual students to strengthen skills and support academic success focusing on reading, written language and executive function skills. Based on individual learning needs, the students may receive academic support in an LRC classroom (pull-out) or in the homeroom classroom (push-in). The LRC strives to prepare students to become successful, independent learners regardless of their learning challenges.
St. Joseph School recognizes that some of our students demonstrate skills and readiness for participation in an accelerated and enriched curriculum. In such circumstances, a student may benefit from curricula, instruction, or additional learning experiences to promote deeper exploration of grade-level standards. Our Advanced Learning program works with qualifying first-fifth grade students in small literacy groups to ensure that students who benefit from additional challenge and rigor in literacy are sufficiently supported in their learning.
Our school counselor provides guidance and support to students, families, teachers, and staff to address social and emotional needs that arise in our school community. The counselor adheres to the CASEL (Collaborative For Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning) 5 SEL framework. This framework consists of 5 SEL competencies; self-awareness, self-management, responsible decision-making, social awareness, and relationship skills. Our counselor provides developmentally appropriate classroom-based guidance lessons from kindergarten through 8th grade in collaboration with faculty. The counselor facilitates individual and/or group meetings throughout the year at all grade levels covering a broad range of topics related to social-emotional health and well-being. The goal of the counselor is to facilitate students’ abilities to experience social, emotional, and academic success.