Occasionally students need additional assistance or a special program to make their educational experiences more successful. Some of the programs St. Bernard Regional Catholic School offers are listed below.
Title I
Title I, Part A (Title I) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended (ESA) provides financial assistance to local educational agencies (LEAs) and schools with high numbers or high percentages of children from low-income families to help ensure that all children meet challenging state academic standards.
Under Title I, LEAs are required to provide services for eligible private school students, as well as eligible public school students. In particular, section 1120 of Title I, Part A of the ESEA, requires a participating LEA to provide eligible children attending private elementary and secondary schools, their teachers, and their families with Title I services or other benefits that are equitable to those provided to eligible public school children, their teachers, and their families. These services must be developed in consultation with officials of the private schools. The Title I services provided by the LEA for private school participants are designed to meet their educational needs and supplement the educational services provided by the private school.
At St. Bernard Regional Catholic School, students are screened for Title I Language Arts and Math services based on recommendations from teachers or parents. If a student qualifies for services, a permission form is sent to the parents to have their child attend one-on-one or small group remediation to assist the child in catching up with his or her classmates.
Act 89
Pennsylvania Act 89 provides Intermediate Units with funds to provide auxiliary services to students who are parentally enrolled in the nonpublic schools. Students who are enrolled in kindergarten through grade 12 and who are Pennsylvania residents may be eligible to receive services. These services may include remedial reading and math, speech and language therapy, counseling, and psycho-educational testing. Types of services provided in the nonpublic schools are based on student enrollments and consultation between DCIU and nonpublic school administrators. These are not services that would carry an individualized entitlement for students but, rather, are provided subject to limitations of funding appropriated annually in the state budget.
Auxiliary services include guidance, counseling and testing services, psychological services, services for exceptional children, remedial services, speech and hearing services, services for the improvement of the educationally disadvantaged (such as, but not limited to, teaching English as a second language), and other secular, neutral, non-ideological services of a supplementary and remedial nature.
At St. Bernard Regional Catholic School, students are screened for Act 89 services based on recommendations from teachers or parents. If a student qualifies for services, a permission form is sent to the parents to have their child attend one-on-one or small group remediation to assist the child in catching up with his or her classmates. Speech students are screened and instructed by a certified speech teacher.
Remedial Reading and Math
St. Bernard Regional Catholic School is entitled to state and federal funds to be applied towards remedial instruction in reading and math. The ARIN Intermediate Unit #28 administers these funds by collaborating with Catapult Learning Inc., to provide teaching services in these areas.
Guidance Services
Individual, small group and large group counseling is provided through a guidance counselor provided by Catapult Learning Inc., using state funding. Counselors work with students to resolve personal, academic and group-related issues.
Psychological Evaluation
Classroom observation, team consultation, and possible full battery academic testing by a school psychologist, are available to students with an identified need for testing.
Speech Services
Speech services are available to students who have been identified by a teacher, parent or speech clinician. These services are provided by the ARIN Intermediate Unit #28.
Elementary Student Assistance Program (ESAP)
ESAP includes a team of teachers and administrators who have received special training to help identify students who experience serious mental, emotional, or other problems that endanger their well being or success in school. The team does not diagnose or treat students, but meets with parents and directs them to resources that will help in assisting their child. All records are confidential.
