School-Wide Resource Program
SPBS believes in providing on-site academic support and short-term academic intervention for our students in grades K-8 as needed. Our classroom teachers or school parents may refer students struggling to become proficient at grade level standards to this program. SPBS employs an experienced and credentialed (General and Special Education) teacher, Mrs. Molly Bostic, who works full-time four days each week at SPBS, to coordinate and provide student services through the SBPS Resource Program. In addition, two credentialed teachers with Masters Degrees in Education also work with our junior high students, to provide upper level Math Resource through this on-site academic support program.
The SPBS Resource Program is offered to our students who may be experiencing difficulty in academic subjects; study skills; and/or organizational skills, at no cost to their families. This program is included as part of our overall curriculum at SPBS, therefore, no additional fees are charged to families of children participating in this unique, short-term, support service at SPBS. This allows all students who would benefit from participating in our Resource Program to do so, regardless of personal finances.
The main goal of the SPBS Resource Teachers is to enhance student achievement, and thereby decrease student frustration, while concurrently increasing student self-esteem and overall success at each grade level. The Resource Teachers use a variety of methods to achieve this goal, including: testing for reading fluency; assessing Kindergarteners’ emerging language art skills; assisting the classroom teacher, by providing reinforcement to classroom curriculum; working with small groups of students; providing one-on-one lessons; administering standardized tests to students on inclusion plans; referring outside specialists to families by request; and coordinating grade-level student study groups, to prepare for upcoming quizzes/exams. Our Resource Program is designed to both function as a “stand alone program” and/or to work in conjunction with any long-term outside professional support provided to our students by their parents.
During the recent Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) site-evaluation at Saint Paschal Baylon School, our SPBS Resource Program was specifically cited by the visiting WASC team as being a strength of this school. Our Resource Program also received accolades in the written WASC report, regarding the positive and measurable impact this short-term on-site program has had enhancing student achievement at our school, which was validated by the visiting team members.