• Special Education DCD/ASD
    Andover High School
    Functional Center-Based Program

    2018-2019

    Megan Freeman
    Functional Math, Functional Vocational, Functional Community Experience, and Functional Domestics
    Special Education Teacher for DCD/ASD
    megan.freeman@ahschools.us
    763-506-8634

    Ryan Nesvold
    Functional Reading
    Special Education Teacher for DCD
    ryan.nesvold@ahschools.us
    763-506-8556

    Program Offerings:
    Functional Math
    Functional Reading
    Functional Vocational
    Functional Domestic Skills
    Functional Community Experience

    DCD Program General Information:

    • Students are supervised by staff as often as needed to ensure safety in the building.  
    • Support the unique development of academic skills that enrich the independence of learning after post-secondary programs.
    • Support the ability for students to advocate for themselves.
    • Enhance student’s ability to identify and state their needs and wants.
    • Support students learning through specific and unique adaptations, strategies, modification, and programming for students to access their needs with minimal staff support.

    Learning and Grading Systems:

      • Students will be given formative work based on their cognitive ability, classroom instruction, and IEP goals and objectives.  Students will have continued opportunities to master skill development in a variety of areas.

     

    • Students will be given ample time to finish classwork during the assigned class time.  However, students who choose not to participate during work time, will miss out on preferred activities when given the option.
    • Students will demonstrate an understanding of classroom learning targets and IEP goals and objectives through a variety of methods.  Students who may not reach competency with a specific learning target, or goals and objectives, will have reteaching opportunities in order to demonstrate growth within a given goal area (or learning target).

     

    • Grading:
      • Students are given a letter grade to show progress on classroom units and goal areas.
      • At the end of the trimester, letter grades will be replaced with a Pass/Fail option.
      • These grades will be used in the General Education Classes and Special Education Classes.
      • Students will show progress in general education classes by increasing understanding of the content of standards that are preselected for them.
    • Inclusion:
      • Students are joined with their general education peers 1-2 periods each trimester, depending on the student schedule, building schedule, goal areas, interests and needs of the student. These classes are typically gym classes, art classes, foods classes, language classes, and others courses that the team feels will be a good fit for the student. These classes are supported by a paraprofessional to assist the student at a ratio of 1 staff member with 2-4 students depending on the need.

    Program Set-up:

    • The classroom number is B134.
    • The classroom is set up in different sections.
      • Teacher time areas
      • Paraprofessional work areas
      • Independent work areas
      • Kitchen (stove, oven, sink, dishwasher)
      • Laundry (washer and dryer)
      • Recreation and Leisure Space
      • Sensory/Break area
      • Bathroom attached
    • Lockers
      • Lockers are located among their school peers.
      • They are equipped with modified locks provided by the school.
      • Students may share a locker with another peer in the program.

    Lunch:

    Students eat lunch in the general education lunchroom to the best extent possible. Students will leave for lunch before their peers to go through the line right when it opens and make choices without the rush of students behind them. At lunch, students are able to pick what they want unless a parent gives direction for restrictions (no ala carte, no doubles, need a fruit and vegetable, need to not have a burger every day). Lunch is supervised and supported by paraprofessional staff who are promoting independence in any way possible when eating.

    Class Curriculum:

    Functional Math:

    • Equals
      • A comprehensive math curriculum for students with mild, moderate, and severe disabilities. It is standards based curriculum and works from basic number sense through division and fraction skills.
    • Functional Skills
      • Money, time, measurement, basic adding and subtraction through multiple programs and variety of means.

    Functional English:

    • Unique Learning
      • Unique Learning System an online standards-based curriculum specifically designed for students with special needs. There are monthly instructional thematic units of study. These topics cover social studies, science, functional skills, and other topics.
    • Reading A-Z and Razz-Kids
      • Reading A-Z is an online leveled book system that provides nonfiction and fiction books with worksheets that correlate with comprehension questions and skill questions (WH questions, nouns, prediction, letter sounds, rhyming)
    • Edmark Reading
      • Works on functional words to memorize the look of the work then the phonetic process for the words. Will use this curriculum to master sets of words (community words, food words, safety words, vocational words).

    Functional Vocational Skills:

    • Students work within the classroom and school building for appropriate jobs to increase their skills level
    • Students will have themed units to work on being a good employee, knowing their rights, and finding jobs that match their interests.

    Functional Domestic Skills:

    • Monthly Thematic Units
      • Recycling, cleaning, needs vs. wants, laundry, setting table/kitchen skills, grooming skills, holidays, first aid, holidays, etc.
    • School Jobs/Classroom Care
      • Cleaning the classroom/ treating it like a home.
      • Deliver mail to mailboxes, pick up teacher mail.
      • Deliver and pick up items at the copy room.
      • Running and folding laundry in the classroom
      • Working the dishwasher and hand washing dishes.

    Functional Community Participation:

    • Topics relating to skills needed to function outside of the home. These topics include safety signs, community helpers, transportation, etc.
    • Students go one time a month to the grocery store to purchase items for cooking units.
    • Students will go on one outing to places in the area:
      • Andover Lanes, area restaurants, Courthouse, Post Office, Target, Northtown Mall, area parks, Spring Fling (special education student only dance), area high schools, feed my starving children, etc.

    Advisory:

    • Students are placed in a homeroom with their case manager and classmates. The homeroom gives activities that are appropriate to their level and needs and addresses social skills, choice making, and community building.

    Cooking:

    • Students cook in the B134 classroom. The cookbooks that are used include visual directions. Students work as a team to complete larger food items (apple crisp) or individually (ham and cheese wrap).
    • Students also will make individual items that utilize a toaster or microwave (pop-tarts or frozen dinner) following directions on package.
    • Students will have staff assistance working with a stove or oven.
    • Students will have the opportunity to try new food items.