The Child Study Team is a multi-disciplinary team comprised of guidance counselors, administrators, the school psychologist, the behavioral interventionist, and the school social worker. Each team member brings a wealth of knowledge in his/her respective discipline, which proves to be highly beneficial in analyzing and addressing student needs from all perspectives. The purpose of the child study process is to identify students experiencing serious academic, social and / or emotional difficulties and to implement reasonable accommodations and modifications before the student is referred for a special education assessment. The CST works to identify a student’s learning strengths and needs, determine and implement appropriate interventions and / or accommodations, and evaluate the impact of these interventions to determine a student’s ability to succeed in the general education classroom.

Process

The CST process follows these steps:

• Review a student’s strengths, interests, and talents.

• Discuss reasons for referral, overall performance level, and behavior in the classroom.

• List interventions previously tried and their rate of success. School interventions may include accommodations, modifications, and behavior plans. Home interventions may include follow up with health concerns, behavior plans, and help with homework.

• Brainstorm interventions that address concerns.

• Select interventions to try and develop a plan for carrying them out.

• Implement the intervention and evaluate it over time. The timeline can vary greatly—from a couple of weeks to a school quarter or trimester, depending on the type of program set up.

• The team meets again to discuss the success of the intervention. As a result of the intervention, did your child's performance improve, remain the same, or decrease?

The Child Study Program has a reciprocal relationship with the Student Assistance Program. Referrals to either team may be managed by the other if deemed by team members as being more appropriate. This arrangement ensures that all students’ needs are met with the most appropriate and efficient level of service. 

Anyone can click here to make a referral for Student Services.