Dear Parents and Caregivers,
I hope you are well. I
would like to share with you some information about our Child Study Team (CST) process. This process may be called other names such
as Student Support Team, Intervention Team, or School Based Problem-Solving Team
in other schools and districts. Despite
the different terms used to describe this team and process, the purpose and
function are the same. The goal is to bring
together a group of teachers, school administrator, and staff regularly to examine
and address problems that may occur with a particular student or a group of
students. The CST process existed at McCall
prior to my arrival four years ago, and one of the goals I set for the school is
to create a formalized structure focused on data collection for this process to
occur. COVID delayed our progress toward
meeting this goal during the last two years, but this year we
are able to consistently follow the CST structure we have put in place three years ago.
The core team of the CST is comprised of an administrator (i.e,
Assistant Principal) who chairs CST meetings, a school psychologist, our school’s
Instructional Coach, our school’s Social Emotional Coach, and a consultant who
is social worker and advises our staff who works with students with high levels
of social emotional and behavioral needs.
A guidance counselor is typically the staff member who becomes aware of
a problem with a student. Therefore, the
first step of the CST is for that staff member to bring the case forward to the
CST core meeting. The counselor will
bring to the meeting a problem statement that summarizes the student’s
struggles and pertinent data related to it.
The data may include, but is not excluded to, student’s current grades,
performances on standardized tests, attendance record, and past interventions
that have been put in place to support this student. The core CST members will examine the problem
statement and the accompanying data and take one of the two following steps:
·
Determine that additional data needs to be
gathered and decide what is that data, the appropriate mechanism to gather that
information, and who to gather that data.
The CST may also recommend other professionals (e.g., nurses, EL teacher,
Speech and Language Pathologist) to consult on the case if the problem matches those
colleagues’ expertise. The team will
reconvene and take the step described below.
·
Determine an intervention that would support the
student and decide what data needs to be collected to determine whether
progress is being made.
Once an intervention has been put in place, the CST will hold
follow up meetings to examine the data collected. If the problem is resolved or the student is
consistently making gains, the case may be closed out. If no progress is being made or the problem
worsens, the CST may make a Special Education evaluation referral or consult other professionals.
It is important to note that parents and caregivers will be notified
once the initial CST referral is made. The
team members will work collaboratively with the families to address the problem
that was put forth for consultation. The
CST will not proceed with any data gathering or intervention if the parents do
not consent for the school to do so.
Another frequently asked question about the CST process is
its relationship with the Special Education evaluation process. The school will begin the Special Education testing
process based on the timeline and process established by the special education regulations
once a parent or caregiver formally requests the school to do so. The CST process may cease if the Special Education evaluation is
going to gather the same information that the CST
members recommend to the gathered. Conversely, the CST may
continue alongside the Special Education evaluation process if the CST recommends
interventions that can help the student while the evaluation process is
proceeding. CST will not replace the
Special Education evaluation process unless the parents request that to happen.
The CST is designed not only to support our students, but it
is in place to advance the practices of our school, teachers, and staff. This year several cases that were put to Child
Study involved school refusal and school avoidance. The work of the CST resulted in the determination
of several strategies that helped our students who struggle with anxiety to
consistently attend school and their classes.
We are in the process of compiling those strategies and intervention in
one document that can be used as a “go to guide” for future students who may experience
similar struggles.
I am pleased with the progress of our CST process, and I am impressed
with the work that CST core members have been doing. I am hopeful that the CST will continue to support
our struggling students and also to improve our school and staff’s practices.
James Lin
Principal
McCall Middle School
