SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS

The Gore Family Foundation’s newly launched Special Education Teacher (S.E.T) program focuses on assessing and addressing the learning loss and other social and emotional issues affecting our basic school students. Our S.E.T’S assess our students at the beginning and end of each school term using our developmental milestone checklist which tests in the categories of movement, language/communication, cognitive and social and emotional. They target the social and emotional needs by implementing the Second Step program in our schools by first training teachers and then teaching the classes.

The Special Education Teacher (S.E.T) program provides academic support to the teachers and children in our schools by having one on one and whole class sessions. They identify and provide effective early intervention services to our students that display developmental delays and are at risk of being left behind. We believe that early intervention has the strongest impact when offered during the first few years of life. Specialized tools and curriculums such as the Reach Up and Learn Program are used to facilitate this so we can reach our goal of preparing students for the next grade level.

REACH UP & LEARN

Since Jamaica’s progress is our passion, The Gore Family Foundation launched their Reach Up and Learn Program on August 2, 2017. This Program uses interactive media toys as tools to engage children in our basic schools.

SECOND STEP

The Gore Family Foundation’s Special Education Teachers complete Second Step: Skills for Social and Academic Success training, which gives them the tools to help kids in our Basic Schools control their impulses, stay focused, and follow rules. The Second Step Program promotes the teaching of life skills that strengthen our children’s ability to learn, have empathy, manage emotions and solve problems.

The Second Step program for Kindergarten is a universal, classroom-based program designed to increase students’ school success and decrease problem behaviors by promoting social-emotional competence and self-regulation. It teaches skills that strengthen ability students’ ability to learn, have empathy, manage emotions and solve problems. The program targets key risk and protective factors linked to a range of problem behaviors. Equipping students with Second Step skills creates a safer, more respectful learning environment that promotes school success for all. Excerpt taken from Second Step manual

With that in mind, we saw it fit to invest in this program for the students in our schools. We purchased the kit and our teachers participated in an online training that enabled them to be proficient in teaching this program to our students. We target our class 3 students (five (5) & six (6) year olds) who are heading to primary and preparatory school. The kits are equipped with puppets that our students gravitate towards, and they make teaching and learning fun and interesting.

Second Step Elementary Classroom Kit for Kindergarten

Kits can be purchased from https://www.secondstep.org/.

 

 

ASSESSMENT

Assessments are conducted by our Special Education Teachers at the beginning and end of each school term. This plays an integral role in our operations as it advises our Special Education Teachers (S.E.T) on areas such as: the instructional needs of the student, developmental delays, the knowledge base of the student, the performance base of the student, and student placement. These assessments also highlight specific academic areas that need to be revised or taught, allowing the process of teaching and learning to be as effective as possible. Our assessments are not only effective for our S.E.Ts but also for the class teacher in our schools and parents as we aim to work together to improve and contribute to our student’s holistic development. 

There is an assessment document tailored to each age group – 3-year-olds, 4-year-olds, 5-year-olds and 6-year-olds. Our assessment document tests in the areas of physical, cognitive, language and social and emotional development. Scores range from 1 to 4, with 4 being the highest score that a student can achieve. The scoring guide is on each assessment document. All data collected is treated with the utmost confidentiality.

TENNIS PROGRAM