Special Needs/Accelerated Learners
Saint Thomas believes that each child is a unique and special gift with his or her own special needs, gifts, and talents. With this in mind, Saint Thomas offers a spectrum of services through our DiscovER Program to meet the needs of all our students.
The staff and teachers work to assess, evaluate, and meet the needs and gifts of each student in their class. Still, we encourage parents as the first and primary educators to communicate with teachers about special needs or gifts that could be further addressed and enhanced. Teachers will, whenever possible and within the parameters of the resources available, differentiate instruction within the classroom and utilive the services of our DiscovER Program to meet needs, strengthen gifts, and help each student achieve his or her full potential.
Our DiscovER Program provides a spectrum of services from Enrichment to Resource:
- Enrichment Teacher and program for the Academically Talented
- Differentiated Instruction in each classroom
- Title Program Tutors for students needing extra support
- CLC Network consultation and services for Inclusion
- Resource Teacher and program for Students with Special Needs
- IEP Support Services provided through Grand Rapids Public Schools: teacher consultant, psychologist, speech pathologist, occupational and physical therapists, social workers, hearing impaired, etc.
DiscovER Program Philosophy
We believe that all children are gifted and talented and all children have special needs. God has blessed every one of us with gifts that we strive to bring forth to enrich and enliven the Kingdom of God here on earth. Our DiscovER Program provides a spectrum of services from Enrichment to Resource. With this program we are enabled to meet all our students' needs, so that each student is taught through methods that allow him/her to achieve to the best of his/her potential. In so doing the students are grouped in many different ways throughout the course of the academic year, and these groups are continuously changing. Teachers are given resources for differentiating lessons when appropriate, and small group programs are created, both within and outside of the classroom, when in the best interest of the group and curriculum. We do not wish to convey an attitude of any one student or student groups as being "better," or at a "higher level" than any one else. We mean to meet each student's need at the most optimal time and with the most appropriate methods for learning without frustration.
The following resources are available to our faculty for these purposes: