Student Services
Academic, Psychological & Behavioral Services
As part of Monsignor Slade’s commitment to its students, the school support staff includes a certified reading specialist, resource teacher, licensed registered nurse, and a nationally certified school counselor. In addition, the school has a team of consultants, which includes neuropsychologists from The Kennedy Krieger Institute. The school also works cooperatively with and consults with private professionals who support students outside of school.
Reading Resource Teacher
The role of the reading resource teacher is to provide the leadership, expertise, and support to ensure that all students reach their fullest potential as language arts learners. Working closely with administration, teachers, staff and parents, the reading resource teacher helps develop, implement, evaluate, and refine a language arts program that is effective, comprehensive, and cohesive. The reading resource teacher assesses the strengths and needs of individuals and groups of students by formal and informal methods, assists teachers in using and interpreting assessments to inform instructional decisions and to document student progress. The reading resource teacher implements reading intervention programs for students in grades 1-3 and is also a member of the educational resource team as part of the IEP process.
Resource Specialist
The role of the Resource Specialist is to implement research-based strategies and methodologies to improve curriculum. The Resource Specialist provides support to teachers in meeting the various needs of student learners using current trends in education, curriculum and educational research. The Resource Specialist assesses and provides support to struggling students in collaboration with the education team members. The resource specialist is also a member of the educational resource team as part of the IEP process.
School Counselor
The school counselor serves as a resource and consultant to the staff, administrators, and parents. The counselor leads guidance classes with students on a variety of topics throughout the school year, observes students as part of the in-house screening and provides appropriate academic or behavioral assessments as necessary. The school counselor is the liaison with the county public school IEP teams and a member of Slade’s educational resource team.
The Health Room
The school’s health room is staffed by a full time registered nurse who provides initial care for illnesses and minor injuries which occur during the school day, as well as the daily administration of prescribed medications. Emergency information, health records, and medications are kept current for each student. Children with food allergies and asthma have action plans and staff is trained on EpiPen administration. Hearing and vision screening is provided through Anne Arundel County Health Department for grades Pre-K, K, 3, 8, other teacher-recommended students and any new students. A current immunization and health record is required for admission to Slade.
Other Services
In order to provide educational services to students who have ongoing academic and/or behavioral difficulties, Monsignor Slade Catholic School has instituted a school-based referral process. Through this process administrators, parents, teachers, or support staff may request an assessment to determine the underlying causes of a student’s academic or behavioral difficulties. These assessments may be available through one of the following: the liaison with the local public school system IEP process, the fee-based services of our Kennedy Krieger Partnership, or possibly parents’ or guardian’s insurance policies. Additionally, the educational resource team at MSCS may provide in-school academic or social emotional screenings. Students who have academic difficulties in math may be referred for tutoring services provided by the National Security Agency Partnership.