Academic Resource Center

Special Needs Learning Program

Name of School: Southside Christian School
Location of School: Greenville, SC

Summary of Program:

Southside Christian School recognizes that each individual has been uniquely created by God and that learning takes place in a variety of ways. Thus, the school’s Academic Resource Center (ARC) attempts to meet the special needs of students who have learning differences. The goal is to equip students with a Christian worldview. The ARC encourages students to recognize their talents and abilities, helping them obtain their fullest potential as vital members of their families, society, and the body of Christ. The ARC also strives to aid students in developing good workmanship qualities and in committing to lifelong learning. To encourage spiritual, academic, social, and physical growth, the ARC focuses on students’ strengths.

Through the ARC, students can benefit from a variety of programs that supplement and reinforce classroom instruction for those who have been diagnosed with a learning disability, processing deficits, ADD, or ADHD by a physician or licensed school psychologist. In addition, ARC personnel work with teachers and parents to suggest educational modifications for use in the classroom. They are also responsible for monitoring students’ achievement and communicating with parents on a regular basis.

To help students receive the maximum benefit from programs and services, ARC faculty recognize the importance of fostering a close relationship with the parents of students receiving ARC services. This partnership includes regular communication, parent training, and support. Diagnostic testing enables the ARC to determine students’ specific needs so that the proper remediation can be administered. Testing includes educational screening, and it addresses academic levels and learning gaps.

Elementary students meet with a trained instructor for individual or small-group tutoring. Multisensory methods address spelling, reading, writing, and math difficulties. ARC tutoring focuses on remediation of subject skills, reinforcement of classroom teaching, guidance for classroom modifications, and coordination of home and school efforts.

The ARC also includes an intensive educational therapy designed by the National Institute of Learning Disabilities to stimulate areas of weaknesses in perception and thinking. Techniques focus on improving academic success in the classroom. Students meet one-on-one with a therapist twice a week. In addition, children who have speech and language difficulties can receive speech therapy through an outside contract with a speech pathologist. Students in grades 1 through 12 who struggle with a course in the traditional classroom may also benefit from individualized instruction in the ARC.

The multi-age classroom of the ARC is designed for children in grades 1 through 8 who need an individualized instructional program throughout the school day. Personal abilities, classroom demands, and social/emotional concerns determine placement. Students receive teacher-directed instruction in the areas of language arts, reading, spelling, and math. Elementary students are assigned a grade-level “buddy” and participate with their peers in elective classes.

Students in grades 6 through 12 can attend Tutorial Study Hall. During this class, an ARC instructor provides assistance in study skills, test preparation, homework assignments, and reinforcement of classroom instruction. In addition, close communication takes place between the study hall instructor, the classroom teacher, and parents. The instructor monitors the implementation of classroom modifications.

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