Sevier County School Support Teams (S-Teams)

Where To Access: Local school (assistant principal, school counselor, teachers)

Central Office (special education director, special education supervisors, consulting

teachers)

Designed To: identify and plan alternative instructional or behavioral strategies for children in need of

assistance in the regular classroom setting

Implementation: 1. Identify needs and clarify problems - request S-Team services

2. Observations and informal assessments are conducted by the team

3. Brainstorming session for strategies and techniques relevant to the student

4. Strategies put into effect and monitored for effectiveness

5. Results of intervention documented - support offered as needed

6. Formal evaluation - continued monitoring

7. Release from S-Team if special education placement

Student Characteristics: Students grades K-12 who are functioning below grade level in reading, math, spoken or written language, and those who display atypical behaviors can be referred to the school’s S-Team.

Advantages: -helps pinpoint interventions to help students in the regular education setting

-team provides support

-may avoid referral to special education

Disadvantages: -relies on regular education teacher to carry out interventions

-requires coordinated scheduling for team meetings

Recommendations: -weave modifications into the lesson

-keep anecdotal notes on progress or regression regarding modifications

-use least intrusive interventions

Sevier County does not mandate a specific format for S-Team services in schools, however, under current federal law each district and school has an obligation to attempt multiple and varied strategies for accommodating children in the general education classroom prior to referral. Although S-Teams should involve special education teachers, it should be imperative that regular education teachers are involved. This is not an appropriate forum for school psychologists or other service providers unless the child in question needs their specific expertise. The true intent is to identify students in need of help in the general education program prior to referral for special education. It may also be used to review teacher notes, assessment or evaluation data, and other records of students who might be in need of special education.

S-Teams, to be effective, must meet regularly to review the performance of students within each school who are struggling in the areas of math, reading, written or spoken language, or who have displayed atypical behaviors. Weekly or bi-monthly meetings would be most appropriate for most schools. The intent should be simply to review, determine which students need assistance, which students need to be referred for evaluation, and what accommodations or modifications might help the child in the general education program.