Counseling / Gifted Talented
Speech Therapy / Special Education
Band, Strings, Chorus
Volunteer Reading Tutorial Program
Junior Achievement / D.A.R.E.
Before-After School Care
Counseling
School Counselors work with students in individual, group, and classroom settings. If needed, the counselor is available to work with students on an individual basis. There are a variety of reasons students may have a need to talk to the school counselor. Some of these may include: divorce, loss of a loved one, anger management, friendship concerns, bullying, self-concept. The counselor also visits each individual classroom several times a year to teach lessons on topics such as bullying, friendship, conflict resolution, self awareness, etc. Referrals to the school counselor are made by parents, teachers, the principal, or the student themselves. Regardless of who makes the referral, the counselor will always try to meet with the student at the earliest convenient time, without taking the student out of an important lesson. Be assured, the parent/guardian will always be contacted if there is a reason for concern. We want to keep the lines of communication open.
Individual abilities of intellectually superior students are challenged in Ohio County Schools' gifted program. Academics are the greatest importance. Writing skills are a major part of the total program. Elementary programs emphasize higher level thinking skills, language arts, and mathematics. The specialists provide consultation services and incorporate the co-teaching model to provide enrichment in the classroom. During the summer of 2006, the Special Education Department held the first Academic Center for Enrichment program designed for grades 1-8 in the gifted program.
A student can qualify for speech services if a speech/language impairment is adversely affecting a student's education performance. Students who qualify for speech services receive therapy in a variety of ways to meet the individual needs of the students. The therapists may provide one-on-one therapy or small group therapy according to the severity of the impairment. Preschool students may also receive speech therapy as a walk-in to receive services. The therapist may provide whole group instruction or work on a consultative basis to monitor progress of the student. The services are based on the individual needs of each student.
Special Education
Special Education and related services are available to all eligible exceptional students in the least restrictive environment. To the maximum extent appropriate, exceptional students are educated with non-exceptional students. The ultimate goal in providing an individual instructional plan for each exceptional student is to enable the student to acquire the skills necessary to function in a constructive manner in the adult world.
Band, Strings, Chorus
Ohio County Schools offers an extensive Fine Arts Program with music and the visual arts beginning in kindergarten. Strings, instrumental music (band), and chorus begin at the upper elementary level.
Volunteer Reading Tutorial Program
Ohio County Schools Volunteer Reading Tutorial Program has been helping students improve their reading and their self-confidence for 30 years. The program is structured but easy to follow. Parents, grandparents and community volunteers work with first and second grade students during the school day.
Volunteer tutors work one day per week for two hours by reinforcing the concepts of phonemic awareness and systematic phonics instructions, vocabulary awareness, reading fluency, comprehension, background instruction and writing.
Reading tutors are trained in a full-day session to learn the tutoring procedures and become familiar with all the materials used in the tutorial program. The volunteers are trained to pre-teach and re-teach the same material taught in the classroom.
Children who need additional assistance with reading instruction are tutored one-on-one on a daily basis. Student selection is based on the following: No Child Left Behind criteria; Kindergarten teacher recommendations; Teacher observations.
TOP
Junior Achievement
The Elementary School Program shows elementary school students the relevance of education to the workplace through a sequential business and economics curriculum. Its sequential approach helps the students understand their economic world and prepares them for academic learning and lifelong achievement. With a variety of hands-on activities delivered by a volunteer role model, students will better understand the relationship between what they learn in school and their successful participation in our economy.
Junior Aceievement is available to the fifth grade students at Bethlehem. Junior Achievement will ensure that every child in America has a fundamental understanding of the free enterprise system. Junior Achievement educates and inspires young people to value free enterprise, business, and economics to improve the quality of their lives.
D.A.R.E.
The D.A.R.E. Program (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) is a collaborative effort by DARE certified law enforcement officers, educators , students, parents and community to offer an educational program in the classroom to prevent or reduce drug abuse and violence among children and youth. The emphasis of DARE is to help students recognize and resist the many direct and subtle pressures that influence them to experiment with alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, inhalants, or other drugs or to engage in violence.
The DARE program offers preventive strategies to enhance those protective factors - especially bonding to the family, school and community - which appears to foster the development of resiliency in young people who may be at risk for substance abuse or other problem behaviors. These strategies focus on the development of social competence, communication skills, self-esteem, empathy, decision making, conflict resolution, sense of purpose and independence, and positive alternative activities to drug abuse and other destructive behaviors.
Before School Care
Orchard Park Day Care Center
- To provide a nurturing, flexible, and calm atmosphere where self-concept is enhanced, independence is encouraged, and expectations are made clear.
- To provide an atmosphere where the foundations of respect for others are established, as well as respect for their environment.
- To foster security and trust with adults who are not members of the family, but caring members of Orchard Park's staff.
- To develop an active curiosity about the world in which each child lives.
- To encourage enthusiasm for learning in children of all abilities.