Student Services Center
Learning Support For All Grades
Individualized support for your child
At Christian School of York, we understand that the nation is in an educational crisis. In recent years, students have been faced with major disruptions to their eduction. From time away from the classroom to a lack of resources, many have been left in need of extra support, particularly those with special needs. Because we realize the value of today’s educational evaluations and their ability to identify students’ specific needs, we’ve dedicated an entire department to helping grow students with additional concerns.
With SSC support, we take suggested strategies, accommodations, and modifications from students’ private or school-based evaluations and Individual Education Plans (IEPs) and develop a plan our teachers can implement in the classroom. In the lower school, we offer pull-out support to provide academic remediation, or “re-teaching,” and in the middle school, we utilize push-in academic support. In the upper school, we have designated times when students can get help from instructional support teachers, who follow research-based curriculums and methods, including the Wilson Reading System, in both reading and math.
As for gifted students, they can be evaluated and given a written learning plan that will challenge them within the classroom as we strive to one day create an in-house gifted program just for them.
“Our long-term vision is to be able to provide Christian education to ALL families who seek it for their children, regardless of ability,” Mrs. Ames shares.
“No two students at CSY are treated the same. Here at CSY, we embrace students' God-given uniquenesses while recognizing that all are created in the image of God. For this reason, students are accustomed to differentiation in the classroom and support is provided for those who need it. Special needs or not, you can expect your child to be loved.”
Mrs. Jessica Ames, SSC Coordinator
A Parent Story
As parents, we want our children not only to be in a school with a strong, Bible-driven curriculum, but one that will cater to their exact needs. After one mom sought out Christian School of York for her ADHD-diagnosed daughter, she found our program was the perfect fit.
"My daughter’s problem is around English, or writing, and things that aren't black or white,” the mom shared. "Sometimes she can’t do things when teachers might think they are pretty easy. And the public schools around us, the class sizes are like 300, or 400. They’re good schools but that just wouldn’t work for her because she’d just get lost or hide by doing minimal work — and it would be hard for us to keep up with where we need to help her.”
Once CSY reviewed her daughter’s educational evaluation, she met with SSC Coordinator, Mrs. Jessica Ames and Instructional Support Teacher, Mr. Long Vo to talk about how they intended to implement our program to her child’s learning plan. And, in the time since, they’ve stayed in communication to ensure the plan is working — and to make any changes when needed.
“The school is just so supportive,” the mom stated. "Mr. Vo checks in and sends me a report of where she’s behind and he has worked with her individually to help her complete assignments. We worked out a solution that I think is going really well. It’s nice that I have flexibility. I can say to them, ‘This isn’t working. How can we make it work within the school rules?’ They’re always open to discussion. They’re always open to change."
Today, the student is doing much better as she begins to understand what is expected of her and where she’ll be held accountable. She’s also reaching out for help when she needs it. And because CSY has a smaller teaching staff, she’s gotten to know them quickly as they’ve done the same with her.
“They’re getting to know her and know how to support her,” the mom explained. "We see her maturing and growing out of her diagnosis and know she can because you can watch her get better every year. With CSY, I feel like I have the right structure for that. I’m really excited about it. She’s doing so much better. I’m thrilled with the change … We’re all very happy.”
“The school is just so supportive … We worked out a solution that I think is going really well. It’s nice that I have flexibility. I can say to them, ‘This isn’t working. How can we make it work within the school rules?’ They’re always open to discussion.”
- CSY Parent
Meet the Student Support Team.
What Special Needs Are You Ready To Address?
We support students who come to CSY with IEPs or 504 plans and can be successful in the general classroom with instructional support. We have students on the autism spectrum, students with learning disabilities in reading, writing, and math, and students with ADHD.
What Special Needs Are You Not Prepared To Address At This Time?
We are not equipped to handle more significant disabilities. We are working on meeting ADA compliance in our building in addition to working on beginning stages of how to grow our department to meet the needs of students outside of the general classroom.
We have four full time staff members in our Student Services Department. One instructional support teacher that is primarily lower school focused, one instructional support teacher that is middle and upper school focused, a guidance counselor, and our Student Services Coordinator.