Programs & Services
The Arlington Public Schools provides a comprehensive array of programs and services from preschool through grades 12 designed to address the needs of eligible students who have a disability and require specialized instruction. All students who are serviced with an Individual Education Program (IEP) are assigned a Special Education Liaison. This liaison serves as a case manager and contact person for staff and parents involved in the support and implementation of the student’s IEP. The liaison also collaborates with the general education teachers to ensure accommodations and modifications are implemented as outlined on the student’s IEP, as well as possibly provide direct instruction as specified on the IEP.
Special education staff include:
Learning Specialists (often referred to as "liaisons”)
Sub-separate (small class) Special Education teachers
Behavior Support Paraprofessionals (BSP) and Paraprofessionals (previously called Teaching Assistants or "TAs")
Related Service Providers (RSP) - Augmentative & Alternative Communication (AAC) Specialist, Assistive Technology (AT) Specialist, Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBA,) School Counselors, Occupational Therapists (OT,) Physical Therapists (PT,) Physical Therapy - Assistant, School Psychologists, Speech Language Pathologists (SLP,) Speech Language Pathologist-Assistant (SLP-A,) Teacher of the Visually Impaired (TVI), and Orientation & Mobility Specialist (O&M)
Contracted Service Providers - Board Certified Audiologist & Teacher of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing
MENOTOMY PRESCHOOL - integrated preschool program serving students ages 3-5 years old.
SUPPORTED LEARNING CENTERS (SLCs)
REACH (A) - typically serves students with Autism Spectrum Disorders and with similar/related neurological disorders with needs based primarily around lagging skills in executive functioning, social cognition and emotional regulation, and sensory processing. The program team modifies the curriculum to meet student's individual needs and focuses on building student's executive functioning, self-regulation and social skills. Currently located in Stratton Elementary, Ottoson Middle School, and Arlington High School.
SUMMIT (B) - primarily serves students who may present with complex trauma, mood instability, impulsivity, lagging academic skills, and executive functioning weaknesses . The important functional concern is their inability to access the curriculum based on their social/emotional needs and/or struggles with self-regulation and communication. The program team utilizes a variety of individualized tools to build students' executive functioning capacity, coping skills and academic endurance. Currently located in Dallin Elementary, Ottoson Middle School, and Arlington High School.
COMPASS (C) - largely serves students with cognitive and intellectual profiles that require significant modifications in order to access the curriculum and students often have impairments in adaptive functioning (communication, social skills, personal independence, and school or work functioning.) The program team focuses on building students' functional academics and life skills. Currently located in Brackett Elementary, Hardy Elementary, Ottoson Middle School, and Arlington High School.
SLC (D) - serves students identified with specific learning disabilities in reading and/or writing and/or language impairments that significantly impact students' ability to access the general ed curriculum due to severe language-based learning deficits. The program team works to identify and explicitly teach the underlying linguistic skills critical to reading and writing with multi-sensory, sequential, structured methodologies targeting student deficits in key foundational areas, such as accuracy (phonemic awareness & phonics), retrieval (naming speed and efficiency) and oral language comprehension. Additional individualized specialized language-based instruction is built-in across other academic content areas. Currently located in Peirce Elementary.