Mission
The Teaching and Learning Center at Darlington has a core belief that every student can learn, and that students often learn in different and unique ways. The mission of the Teaching and Learning Center is to directly serve students who have documented learning differences, while also supporting and enhancing the academic experience of all students in grades 9-12. While the primary role is to serve students with a diverse learning profile, the Teaching and Learning Center also provides support to the entire community through instruction, collaboration, professional development, parent resources, and outreach.
For more details, please contact Jessica Laliberte, Director of the Teaching and Learning Center.
Serving Students with Documented Learning Differences
The Teaching and Learning Center serves students with diagnosed learning differences in the following ways:
For students who do not have a psychological evaluation and diagnosed learning difference but require learning support, they can use daily office hours with teachers and take advantage of the drop-in Peer Tutoring service provided in close proximity to the Teaching and Learning Center.
Referral Process
Generally, a referral to the Teaching and Learning Center is initiated through consultation with the Director of the Teaching and Learning center, parent, School administrator, student, and/or teachers. If a student is struggling academically and a learning difference is suspected, please contact the Director of the Teaching and Learning Center.
After the initial stage of the referral process is complete, a meeting with parents will be scheduled and a recommendation for a psychoeducational evaluation or a review of psychoeducational documentation may be suggested.
Psychoeducational Evaluation
The Teaching and Learning Center begins its service when the parent shares a student’s current psychoeducational evaluation that was conducted by a licensed clinical psychologist. Current testing is defined as testing conducted during the student’s final year in Middle School or afterward. The report that concludes the evaluation process must contain the following:
Overview of Upper School Teaching and Learning Center Program
In many cases, the Teaching and Learning Center’s program of service begins when the parent or guardian shares a student’s psychoeducational evaluation with the Teaching and Learning Center. This evaluation provides a necessary road map showing the school who the student is as a learner and what they need in order to be successful. Based on recommendations from the psychologist in the evaluation, ongoing observations of academic experiences, discussions with teachers, as well as conversations with school administrators, the student, and with parents, the Teaching and Learning center provides two key services: Creating and Managing an Official Accommodations Plan and Learning Strategies Instruction.
Official Accommodations Plan
All students with diagnosed learning differences are afforded rights as specified by federal regulations, this includes providing reasonable accommodations to learning in school activities that allows students with disabilities to participate successfully.
Students who have a diverse learning profile often face barriers while learning. Darlington School can allow for accommodations to help remove these barriers so that students served by the Teaching and Learning Center can do their best work and achieve academic success. An accommodation is a slight change to the way in which teaching and learning takes place to make growth possible for students with learning differences. A list of accommodations in the Official Accommodations Plan does not change what the student learns and will not change what responsibilities students have; rather, accommodations slightly alter how students learn and get their work done. Accommodations also do not change the expectations for performance; rather, they offer support to account for challenges.
If it is determined that a student is eligible to be served by the Teaching and Learning Center, an Official Accommodations Plan is written based on recommendations from the psychologist, dialogue with the student, parents, teachers, and school administrators. This plan is updated annually or as needed. It includes a list of approved accommodations, the students strengths and challenges, as well as strategies and interventions that are appropriate to implement both in the Teaching and Learning Center and in classrooms.
The Teaching and Learning Center reaches out to parents in the first few weeks of the school year to discuss students' Official Accommodations Plans. This touchpoint and others throughout the year help parents and students understand their commitment and responsibilities to the accommodation plan and the educational process.
Official Accommodations must:
Be based on the specific diagnosis.
Be based on the functional limitations of the specified disability upon the specific student.
Be modified if the impact or symptomatology of the disability on the student changes.
Be approved through consultation with a learning specialist
Be documented in the Teaching and Learning Center file.
Accommodations in the classroom must not:
Significantly alter the academic requirements of the class.
Significantly alter the content of the class.
Approved testing accommodations must be listed on the psychological evaluation and include (but are not limited to) the following:
Time accommodations
Extended time for test taking (50% more time as specified by academic testing)
Tests administered in sections over periods
Breaks during tests
Setting accommodations
Testing in a small group setting
Preferential seating
Administration accommodations
Reader assigned to read test
Dictate answers to scribe or tape recorder
Allow students to mark tests instead of scantron
Use word processor
Oral testing
Important Note: While accommodations help a student bypass his or her weakness, interventions aim to improve on a student's weakness. While our learning specialists and teachers are accustomed and happy to provide some degree of intervention, it should be noted that the scope of our intervention and remediation services is limited. Students requiring significant remediation should seek additional support with teachers during office hours. In some cases, students benefit from one-on-one academic intervention with an outside tutor.
Learning Strategies Instruction
Students with a psychological evaluation and an Official Accommodations Plan at Darlington School can be enrolled in a Learning Strategies Class in the Teaching and Learning Center offered by Learning Specialists.
The TLC Learning Strategies class is taught in a structured and systematic way aimed at supporting the development of goal-directed academic behaviors. The goal is for students to become excellent stewards of their academic success through development of self-awareness, self-management, and self-advocacy skills.
Students attend the Learning Strategies class as part of their academic schedule. The Learning Strategies class is not a study hall and Learning Specialists do not manage or oversee a student’s assignment completion. Rather, Learning Specialists teach students how to monitor their own academic information posted by classroom teachers, how to use their approved list of accommodations, as well as offer time and space for work completion and studying. It is the student’s responsibility to check their coursework pages, stay up to date on assignments, and monitor feedback and grades posted by their teachers
The Learning Strategies class is not a tutor service. If a student needs extra help with concepts or skills in any subject area, Learning Specialists will direct the student to use daily office hours support with teachers and/or to take advantage of the drop-in Peer Tutoring service provided in close proximity to the Teaching and Learning Center.
The Role of Learning Specialists
Students with a psychoeducational evaluation and Official Accommodations Plan at Darlington School are assigned a Learning Specialist in the Teaching and Learning Center. In addition to overseeing students’ Official Accommodation Plans, Learning Specialists collaborate with students, parents, teachers, and other school administrators to determine the type and frequency of support a student needs (in and out of the classroom). Darlington provides three distinct levels of support: Direct Support, Consultation Support, and FLEX.
Direct Support
Students at this level of support attend an assigned Learning Strategies class as part of their academic schedule.
Students at this level of support are learning what their accommodations are, how to use them to their benefit as learners, and how to advocate for them with teachers.
Students at this level have demonstrated a need for explicit instruction on consistent adoption of key executive functioning and metacognitive skills including: goal setting, organizing, prioritizing, thinking flexibly, self-monitoring and self-checking.
Students at this level are required to keep a TLC approved planner/academic calendar. Students are strongly encouraged to use TLC recommended folders for organization of important papers. These time management and organization tools are critical to student success.
Students at this level meet with their assigned Learning Specialist regularly.
Consultation Support
Students at this level of support attend an assigned Learning Strategies class as part of their academic schedule.
Students at this level of support have learned what their accommodations are, and are still getting comfortable with how to use them to their benefit as learners, and how to advocate for them with teachers.
Students at this level have demonstrated a need for some explicit instruction on consistent adoption of key executive functioning and metacognitive skills including: goal setting, organizing, prioritizing, thinking flexibly, self-monitoring and self-checking. One or more of these skills presents a lingering challenge for students and require continued scaffolded support, while other skills are considered becoming relative strengths for the student.
Students at this level are required to keep a TLC approved planner/academic calendar. Students at this level can opt into demonstrating use of an independently chosen planner system if approved by Learning Specialists after a period of close scrutiny and review. Students are strongly encouraged to use TLC recommended folders for organization of important papers. These time management and organization tools are critical to student success.
Students at this level meet with their assigned Learning Specialist regularly.
F.L.E.X. (Future Leaders of Excellence)
FLEX students have demonstrated the ability to shift flexibly, set goals, organize, prioritize, access working memory, self-monitor and self-check. Though they have identified and continue to work on key areas of growth, they have become stewards of their academic success, and have demonstrated excellent self-management and self-advocacy.
FLEX students do not attend a Learning Strategies class as part of their academic schedule.
FLEX students have the ability to use learning strategies effectively, and to match these strategies appropriately with specific tasks, demonstrating successful learning and achievement in school and everyday life.
FLEX students continue to use the Teaching and Learning Center on an as needed basis and have accommodations as specified in their Official Accommodations Plan. FLEX students are encouraged to use the Teaching and Learning Center space as needed, and to seek out meetings with Learning Specialists as needed.
Standardized Testing Accommodations
The Teaching and Learning Center can help eligible students in grades 10-12 apply for standardized test accommodations with the College Board (PSAT, SAT, AP & Subject Tests) as well as the ACT exams. The first step in determining eligibility for standardized test accommodations is setting up a phone call or meeting with the Director of the Teaching and Learning Center.
Both the College Board (which offers the PSAT, SAT, AP, and Subject Tests) and the ACT have strict requirements that need to be met in order for a student to qualify for accommodations. Documentation is needed to support the request, as is a history that shows use of accommodations. The College Board and ACT have a decision making process and what is approved for one test does not guarantee approval for another. Even if a student has documentation and is approved for accommodations at Darlington School, it does not guarantee approval of accommodations on standardized tests.
The Teaching and Learning Center can help build a case for standardized testing accommodations. The approval process of standardized testing accommodations is not automatic and often takes several months.
College Board (PSAT, SAT, AP)
Documentation of a disability that directly impacts performance on College Board tests is needed. Accommodations can be approved for individual subject areas or the entire test. Approval may take several months. Once accommodations are approved they automatically apply to all future College Board tests.
Provide The Teaching and Learning Center with the required documentation with a parent and student signed authorization form.
The TLC submits the accommodations request.
If accommodations are approved the family will receive an eligibility letter that contains test-by-test details of what is/is not approved and an SSD Number. If they are denied there is a detailed reason.
Families use the SSD Number from the eligibility letter to register for a preferred test date. When registering you must always use the SSD Number to link the accommodations to the test.
ACT
Sign up for a desired test date and mark “yes” when asked about receiving accommodations. Forward the email entitled “Instructions to complete your accommodations request for the ACT” with your ACT ID number to the Director of the Teaching and Learning Center. Documentation of a disability that directly impacts performance on the ACT test is needed. Decision notification takes six or more weeks.
Additional Academic Support: The Tiger Tutor Program
At Darlington, we understand that all students at one point in time need academic help, whether it be to ask a question about how to solve an equation in math, or for help with citing sources on a research paper. Studies have shown that peer relationships can be a powerful and effective tool in engaging struggling students towards productive learning.
