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Special Services |
| WHY SPECIAL SERVICES? |
A
child with learning difficulties or attention problems may need some modification
to a standard curriculum. Sometimes these can be minor adaptations, such as
presenting lessons orally. Sometimes a different book format may be required.
An individualized curriculum which works with the student's strengths in order to develop the weaker areas is the best teaching approach for a student with learning difficulties.
For the home schooling parent, designing such a curriculum can be a real challenge. While a parent may be knowledgeable about a child's learning style, the parent may not know where to find appropriate materials to satisfy the academic requirement as well as fit the child's learning needs.
The Special Services department at Seton works to help children with a range of difficulties, such as Attention Deficit, Down syndrome, and dyslexia.
| THE STAFF |
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Stephen received his Bachelor of Science Magna Cum Laude in Psychology and Religion from the University of Mary Washington in 2000, and his Master of Teaching in Special Education with an endorsement in Learning Disabilities from the University of Virginia in 2002. Stephen spent two years teaching children with learning difficulties in the public school system. He has experience administering and interpreting the Woodcock Johnson III Achievement Test and designing and implementing IEPs and Behavior Modification Plans. Stephen was trained in the Wilson Reading Program (an Orton-Gillingham remedial reading program) and used it with students for two years. He is also trained in project CRISS, a program that aims to create student independence in school work through learning strategies which students can learn and implement on their own. When designing a Seton curriculum, Stephen consults with the parents, studies evaluations, and examines test scores and any other pertinent data in order to learn about a student's academic level in each subject as well as his learning style. The personal telephone counseling continues throughout the year whenever a parent feels the need to try another technique, discuss a problem, or share some news of success. Stephen certainly will be in touch with Cathy Gould whenever necessary to obtain any background information. Stephen is also working with Pat Walker who is adapting lesson plans from the regular program for courses for students in Special Services. Stephen taught a First Communion Catechism class at St. Joseph's in Richmond. He is married with four young children. Seton enthusiastically welcomes Stephen Costanzo to the staff. |
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Cathy received her B.A. in Education from James
Madison University in 1977, and her M.A. in Education with endorsements in Learning
Disabilities and Emotional Disturbances from George Mason University in 1981.
Cathy has been teaching children with learning
difficulties, and advising parents on how to teach their children for the past
25 years.
When designing a curriculum, Cathy consults with
the parents, studies evaluations, and examines test scores and any other pertinent
data in order to learn about a student's academic level in each subject as well
as his learning style. The personal telephone counseling continues through the
year whenever a parents feels the need to try another technique, discuss a problem,
or share some news of success. |
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Other staff members are Kathleen Lamprecht and Elizabeth Pilon who grade elementary and high school papers for SS students. |
| COURSE MATERIALS--ELEMENTARY |
The books for each student are individually
selected based upon the student's needs and learning style. On the elementary
level, most of the books are workbook format. This eliminates copying work from
a text to paper; the student works directly in the workbook. The books combine
visuals with a minimum amount of reading. While these books are not Catholic,
they have been reviewed and do not have objectionable content though they omit
mention of God.
The religion program often used in our department
is the Faith and Life series from Ignatius Press. With the clear, concise, and
beautifully illustrated text, a child with learning difficulties is more easily
motivated to learn.
Seton has been able to obtain a special phonics
video program, originally designed for children with dyslexia, which has been
used very successfully around the country for children with a variety of reading
disabilities. The videos/DVDs with accompanying workbooks may be used by the teacher-parent or by the student for phonics, reading, handwriting, and spelling. The high school level students who have learning
disabilities or difficulties may need a customized curriculum which helps them
to approach the materials with more focus and attention to detail, more emphasis
on the objective, at a slower pace. In the areas of history and science, for
instance, the textbooks are more concise, with short chapters that demand less
long-term retention and memory work. High school English materials concentrate on
grammar, composition, and literature. Our department offers selected adapted
versions of classics such as Julius Caesar and A Tale of Two Cities,
so that our students may gain knowledge of great works but at an appropriate
reading level.
In order to have the special curriculum designed
and also continued counseling with our staff throughout the year, then an additional fee is required: $125 for grades K - 6 and $175 for grades 7 - 12. We only provide our materials to students enrolled in the Special Services department. From time to time, a waiting list does exist. The number of students to be accepted
in the Special Services Department is limited by the number of qualified personnel
at Seton who can service them.
General information on our policies and procedures is available
in pdf format. For the Special Services Fee, the
following is the Cancellation and Refund policy.
1. If a parent cancels a student
enrollment in the SS department before a phone consultation with one
of the Special Services professional counselors and no curriculum has
been designed, all of the SS fee will be refunded.
2. If a parent cancels a student
enrollment in the SS department after a phone consultation during
which a customized curriculum was designed, Seton will retain $75 of
the SS fee.
3. If a parent cancels a student
enrollment in the SS department after the customized curriculum has
been designed and shipped, Seton will retain $100 of the SS fee.
4. If a parent cancels a student
enrollment in the SS department four months or longer after the
curriculum was shipped, Seton will retain the full SS fee.
If you are considering home schooling,
we recommend the home schooling handbook written by our director, Dr. Mary Kay
Clark, titled Catholic Home Schooling: A Handbook for
Parents. Another book for your consideration is Home
Schooling Children with Special Needs by a Christian home schooling
mother and licensed LD teacher, Sharon C. Hensley. Both books are available through
Seton Educational Media. Another helpful booklet is provided by HSLDA (Home
School Legal Defense Association). Home Schooling Your Special Needs Child
answers many questions which parents often present about their special situations.
Contact HSLDA at 540-338-5600.
Sharon Hines is available Monday through Friday at ext. 151. Stephen Costanzo is available at ext. 176 or by e-mail at scostanzo@setonhome.org. Margaret Marschner is available by e-mail at mmarschner@setonhome.org. Also, if you are enrolled in the phonics video program, you may request future video orders by calling the SEM department at 540-636-9996.
The Special Services Department wants you to have
the best home schooling experience possible. May God bless you and your family.
General information on our policies and procedures is available
in pdf format.
Because some subject areas offer special challenges, we are stocked with almost 1000
different titles. Handwriting is often a problem for children with Special Services Department,
so we have several courses on our shelves including how to teach handwriting
to a left-handed child.
COURSE MATERIALS--HIGH SCHOOL
ENROLLMENT IN THE SPECIAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT
CANCELLATION AND REFUND POLICY
RESOURCES
FREQUENTLY
ASKED QUESTIONS
If you have been working with your child at home doing homework or class work,
you are probably aware of his learning style and what works best for him.
When you combine this knowledge of your child and curriculum materials which
are individually selected for your child by the counselors in the Special
Services Department, the challenge of home schooling your special needs child
seems manageable.
The Special Services Department provides curriculums for students with a wide
range of disabilities including dyslexia, pervasive developmental disorder,
Down syndrome, Aspergers Syndrome, and Attention Deficit Disorder.
No, an evaluation requires a process to be completed by a doctor or educational
consultant who can meet with the student and parents and perform the necessary
type of testing.
An evaluation is most helpful but not a requirement. The more information
we have about a student, the better curriculum we can design.
No.
No. Some computer programs now allow for the conversion of written text into
braille, and some families have done that.
No. Some families have used their computer to provide enlarged type.
A student enrolled in the Special Services Department has up to 24 months
after the date of enrollment to complete his curriculum before an extension
fee is required.
The number code for a course from the Special Services Department is different
from the course numbers for Setons regular courses, and SS precedes each
course title, for example SS ENG 10. Unless someone contacts Seton about the
course, they would not be aware of any accommodation.
Yes, a student who completes 22 credits of required courses can earn
a diploma. The Special Services Department offers four different
diplomas: Modified Academic, Modified General, Vocational, and Basic.
The requirements for each diploma are different. The main difference
between the diplomas is the required level of reading and math. If
you have any questions about diplomas, please call the Special
Services Department and ask to speak with a counselor.
Technically if the fee is paid you are enrolled in
Seton's program. However, if work is not sent in for grading on a
regular basis, you are not actively enrolled. On the grade school level,
this means that should you need verification of the student's
progression in his or her studies for your local school district or
other agency we will be unable to do any more than say you are enrolled
with Seton's program. On the high school level, it is even more
important that work is sent in on a regular basis. Seton is an
accredited school. In order to get a diploma a certain number of credits
must be reached in specified areas of study. Seton must be able to track
progression in these courses to assure understanding and mastery of the
material before moving the student along or giving him or her a diploma.
If no work is received we cannot issue a diploma, transcripts or proof
of progression.
If no student work has been submitted in six months,
Seton cannot verify to anyone that a student is actively enrolled. For
a student to be actively enrolled, he must submit at least one quarter
of work for English, math, and reading during the first 6 months, and
must submit at least one quarter of English, math, and reading during
the second six months. If the curriculum is extended a second year (as
mentioned in question #8 above), the same schedule applies during the
second year.
English, math, and reading course work must be submitted,
completed, and passed for the current year before the next curriculum
will be designed.
If a parent insists on a new curriculum being designed and
shipped before the current work has been submitted, completed, and
passed, the parent must sign a waiver that the
student is not striving for a Seton diploma.
If a high school student is re-enrolling in the Special Services
Department, and the 4th quarter of high school English, math, and
reading has been received at Seton to be graded
but cannot be graded quickly, the next curriculum may be
designed and shipped if the AVERAGE grade for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd quarters
of high school English, math, and reading are
at least a passing grade. The parent will be informed by the
Special Services counselor that if the submitted 4th quarter work is
incomplete or failing, a final grade and credit will
not be given for that course until the work is completed and
passed.
Yes. Students enrolled in the Special Services Department may
complete courses by Independent Study in the same way that students
enrolled in the regular program may. The same restrictions apply as
well. English, history, and religion courses may not be completed by
Independent Study. We encourage students to use the Independent Study
option to receive credit for courses that we cannot offer, such as
carpentry, art, music, etc. The guidelines for earning credit are the
same as with the Seton regular program: 50 hours are required for a
half credit, 100 hours for a full credit. The course must be approved
in advance, and the student must be enrolled in three Seton courses
(either with the regular program or with Special Services). Because
students enrolled in Special Services have paid the Special Services
enrollment fee in addition to the standard enrollment fees, the
Independent Study fee is waived for all Independent Study courses
completed by students enrolled in the Special Services Department.
Students are enrolled for one year. After 12 months, enrollment in
Special Services may be extended for an additional year at no additional
fee. During this time, since a curriculum was designed and received
Seton can verify that a student is "enrolled." However, in order for
Seton to verify that a student is "actively enrolled," we must receive
one quarter of English, Math and Reading for grading in the first 6
months after shipping the curriculum. In the second 6 months we must
receive another quarter of English, Math, and Reading for grading. If a
student's enrollment is extended an additional 12 months, we must
receive an additional quarter of English, Math, and Reading for grading
by month 18 and another by month 24 in order to verify that a student is
"actively enrolled."
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Copyright © 1997-2008 Seton Home Study School
1350 Progress Drive, Front Royal, VA 22630, 540-636-9990, FAX 540-636-1602
info@setonhome.org
Send comments or questions about our site to webmaster@setonhome.org
The customized curricula are designed by Stephen Costanzo who has been with Seton Home Study School since August, 2004.
Cathy Gould
has been with Seton Home Study School since 1990. She is teaching her own four children
at home, and is active in the local St. John's Parish home schooling support group. She is now working only a few hours a week with Seton parents
Sharon
Hines joined the department in June,
2000. She has a B.A. degree from the State University of New York. Sharon's
background and experience in the field of ADHD has enabled her to assist parents
and students with the support and encouragement that is often needed. Sharon
Hines is usually the first person in the Special Services Department with whom
you have the opportunity to speak. She also assists with many of the office
requirements and the scheduling of new curriculum appointments. Should you have
any questions, they may be directed to Sharon. 
Margaret Marschner
became a member of the Special Services department in
May of 2005. She has her B.A. in Liberal Arts, her M.E.D. from Regis
University, School for Professional Studies, and she is certified to
teach High School English. Margaret has experience in working with
special needs students in the classroom, as well as private tutoring.
She grades and tutors our High School English students.