Category Archives: SST

How can teachers chart an academic intervention strategy for the Student Support Team?

How can teachers chart an academic intervention strategy for the Student Support Team?

Without good documentation, Student Support Teams are useless. Teachers should start with pinpointing the skill the student is having trouble with. Be specific, not vague. If a student can’t write an expository paragraph, don’t just write ‘writing’, write ‘organizing thoughts into paragraph form’. Being specific allows you to find academic intervention strategies appropriate for helping the student going through the SST process.

If ’organizing thoughts into paragraph form’ is the needed skill, then an academic intervention strategy the Student Support Team could use is a leveled writing system. Leveled writing uses small goals to allow students to feel success in the writing process and eventually be able to write full organized paragraphs and even essays.

Once the skill needed has been identified by the Student Support Team, and an appropriate academic intervention strategy has been chosen by the Student Support Team, they then have to decide how they will measure the academic intervention strategy. For example, if leveled writing has been chosen by the Student Support Team as the academic intervention strategy then it can be measured by the levels the student moves up. Leveled Writing can also be measured by the checklist it is graded by.

The Student Support Team then needs to decide what their first month, second month and third month goals are. There should be an SST meeting every month which is why the goals should be made by the month. For example, if the leveled writing system is the academic intervention strategy, then the first months goal could be to write a complete topic sentence with 3 listed facts. The second month goal could be to write a complete topic sentence and the first fact sentence with 2 listed facts. The third month could be to write a topic sentence, one fact sentence and elaboration sentences to go with the fact and 2 listed facts.

After the Student Support Team decides which goals are appropriate for the student over a three month period they need to make sure it leads to the accomplishment of the long term goal. In this case, it should be ‘write a complete organized paragraph’. The long term goal does not have to be accomplished in a three month period but progress does need to be made using the academic intervention strategy.

Monthly goals should be reviewed, and if needed changed, each month during the SST meetings. At each SST meeting the result of the months use of the academic intervention strategy needs to be documented. It is also a good idea to provide proof of the academic intervention strategy used and the results of it. Correct documentation and use of the academic intervention strategy whenever possible is what makes the Student Support Teams successful for student growth.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Leveled-Expository-Writing-System-867302 offers an academic intervention strategy for writing in the form of a leveled writing system. It also has the SST Measurable Goal Chart pictured above toohttp://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/SST-Measurable-Goal-Chart-125321 Check it out!

Written by,

Kasha Mastrodomenico

http://www.socialstudiesdifferentiatedinstruction.com

kasha@socialstudiesdifferentiatedinstruction.com

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Kasha-Mastrodomenico

What are academic interventions for the SST process?

 

SST academic interventions are a big part of the SST process. SST academic interventions are strategies teachers can try to help the student become successful. SST academic interventions must be able to be measured. SST academic interventions also must have a goal or in some cases several goals set. The use of the academic interventions must be documented and brought to each SST meeting to be discussed by the student support team.

If the student is having trouble with the expository writing process, have them try an expository leveled writing system. Each level of a leveled writing system can be an SST academic intervention and goal. For example if a student can’t write in paragraph form, have the start with a topic sentence. Once they can do that, have them move to the next level of leveled writing system which would be the first fact in sentence form. The progress or lack of progress for an SST academic intervention should be reported on monthly at the SST meetings. Proof needs to be brought to be evaluated by the student support team. If the leveled writing system is working and the student is making progress, then continue the short term goals of the leveled writing system until the long term goal of writing a paragraph has been accomplished.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Leveled-Expository-Writing-System-867302 offers a leveled writing system and that can be used as an academic intervention and accommodation during the SST process. 

Written by,

Kasha Mastrodomenico

http://www.socialstudiesdifferentiatedinstruction.com

kasha@socialstudiesdifferentiatedinstruction.com

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Kasha-Mastrodomenico

What is the SST?

An SST in some states stands for student support team but I have also heard them referred to as student success team.  The goal of an SST is to try to find academic interventions and accommodations that might help an individual student be successful in a specific area. SST meetings usually occur once a month. The teacher is in charge of implementing the intervention strategy or accommodation for the student and documenting any results. If this is not done correctly, the SST process is stalled.

Contrary to popular belief, the SST process is not necessarily the precursor to being tested for a learning disability. If certain interventions are successful, they are documented and should be used for years to come to help the student be successful. SST‘s should be revisited monthly and if they are no longer necessary, they should be classified as closed. An SST can be reopened at anytime in the future if an educator or parent sees it as necessary. Even if an SST is considered closed, it should remain in the student’s permanent file for future teachers to review and be aware of.

If there is no improvement after all SST intervention strategies and accommodations are considered, tried and documented, the possibility of having a student tested for a learning disability should be considered.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Leveled-Expository-Writing-System-867302 offers a leveled writing  system that can be used as an intervention strategy during the SST process. Check it out!

Written by,

Kasha Mastrodomenico

http://www.socialstudiesdifferentiatedinstruction.com

kasha@socialstudiesdifferentiatedinstruction.com

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Kasha-Mastrodomenico

Why should parents be a member of a student support team?

Why should parents be on the Student Support Team?

I was recently not invited to my son’s SST meeting and I’m very unhappy about it. Prior to me changing my career to entrepreneur, I was a teacher. I was a SPED teacher. At one time I was the SST Coordinator for the grade I taught and of course I have had to go to SST meetings for every student I taught that had one over the past 10 years. I can safely say that I have experience with the SST process. I have a lot of experience with providing the correct intervention accommodations for students. One of the reasons why I switched careers was because we adopted a special needs son who needed more than I could give him when I was teaching. I wanted to be able to help and focus on him and be there as a supportive parent, something that he hadn’t had before. I feel robbed of that opportunity because I was denied the right to be an advocate for my son and his education. Education is something I feel is one of the most precious gifts a parent and society can give to a child.

So what do I think I could have added to that SST meeting that the other members couldn’t? How about that the doctor picked up on the fact that my son has a speech delay in a matter of minutes. She asked if he was being served in speech and then why not? She was upset that the school wasn’t giving him the accommodations that he needed and that it wasn’t related to the ADHD, which is what the teacher is convinced of. She is the only person with daily contact with my son so her word was taken. If I were invited, I could have countered that statement.

Any time there is an SST meeting, the parents should be invited. When I was the coordinator, it was standard practice to contact the parents three times to try to get them to the SST meeting. They are valuable resources. After all, they do know their children the best. Parents should help teachers decide what the best intervention accommodations are for their children. Parents and teachers need to work together to get the best results for the student and child. The SST or RTI meeting is a great starting point.

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Leveled-Expository-Writing-System-867302 has a leveled writing system that can be used as intervention accommodations during the SST process because it tracks improvement. Check it out!

Written by,

Kasha Mastrodomenico

http://www.socialstudiesdifferentiatedinstruction.com

kasha@socialstudiesdifferentiatedinstruction.com

http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Kasha-Mastrodomenico