Book Description

The purpose of this project was to investigate the Student Study Team process as an intervention model at the elementary level. The researcher collected data over a two year period at Vail Elementary School. The procedure included examining the data to see if any patterns existed in the following areas: *Number of students who went through SST process, *Gender differences of students participating in the SST process, *Length of time the student referred had attended the school, *Number of referrals to SST by teacher, *Number of referrals to SST by grade level, 100 *Number of referrals to SST by track, in year-round schools, *Number of referrals to SST by month, *The resulting action of the referral (i.e. testing, RSP), *Number of Limited English Proficient (LEP) students referred, *Number of follow-up meetings held per SST case, *Number of students recommended for additional services. (e.g. Title 1 and/or the After School Reading Program) Results of the data showed a total of one hundred and five students went through the Student Study Team process during the two year period. Twenty-four of the students enrolled at Vail the year they were referred. The majority of students referred were in first through third grade with the majority of refernils in March, April, and May. The results of the meetings varied with over two-thirds of the students being referred for a special education assessment or being monitored by the Student Study Team. Results indicate that Student Study Teams act as "gatekeepers" to regular education. The goal of the Student Study Team is to strengthen the regular educator's ability to assist students. A wide range of strategies and interventions must be developed. Teachers should try a variety of interventions and document which strategies worked and which ones did not before referring a student to Student Study Team.