The Team
The Student Support Team (SST) is a regular education function. SST provides a place to discuss student concerns in a supportive open environment. The members of the SST share a common mission to strengthen and support students who are having difficulty in the school environment. The SST intervenes as early as possible when there is concern about a student’s success and, through the 6 Step process, identifies concerns, assesses the situations, searches for strategies, selects strategies, implements the strategies and evaluates the strategies. The development of a student action plan attempts to prevent decline in a student’s progress and support future success. Most often, the student’s teacher(s) or parent(s) makes a request for SST involvement. Each school has an SST that meets on a regularly scheduled basis, typically 2-4 times a month.
Roles
Parents are critical to success of their children and are invited to participate
at all stages of the SST process. During SST meetings, the parent(s) sits as a full member of the team when his/her child is discussed. Membership on the team may include SST Coordinator, requesting teacher, parent(s), administrator, regular education teacher and other teachers involved with the student or who have expertise in the area of concern.
The Goal
The goal of the Student Support Team is to strengthen and support the individual student by developing and implementing an action plan using strategies that are school-based or community-based depending on the availability if resources most likely to enhance the student’s success. The SST’s basic responsibilities using the 6 Step process are as follows:
1) To gain a full understanding of the student’s school or home life that may be affecting the student’s success.
2) To generate and select effective strategies that will increase student success.
3) To develop and implement an action plan that reflects the areas of strength and concern for the student.
4) To provide follow-up of the results of the action plan.
Most importantly, the strategies involve school personnel, families, and/or individuals from the community in the action plan. The SST then manages the fulfillment of those strategies identified in the joint decision-making 6 Step process and may make changes to the action plan as often as necessary depending on the progress of the student.
Contacts
Elementary Schools–Nanette Lavery (nlavery@wcpss.net) 431-8004
Secondary Schools–Rhonda Covington (rcovington@wcpss.net) 431-8003
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