Student Services Team

The Student Services Department of Boston Renaissance Charter Public School oversees Special Education, English Language Education, Student Health and Related Services departments schoolwide.

Additionally the department ensures compliance with the 504 process. Supports provided through the Student Services Department continue to be aligned with the established regulations of the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA), the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and policies and laws for educating students with limited English proficiency.

Child Study Team

The Child Study Team (CST) is a general education initiative where students are referred by concerned staff members to discuss areas of need and develop strategies to support the student in the classroom. Boston Renaissance employs a comprehensive team of professionals (School Psychologists, Social Workers, Occupational Therapists, Speech and Language Pathologists, Physical Therapists, etc.) trained to support students in all areas. Working collaboratively with a focus on each student’s unique needs and strengths, the Child Study Team implements a multi-disciplinary team approach to provide the academic, emotional and social support necessary to support students. CST is a place for all of these professionals to collaborate and identify strategies that can promote student success.

Special Education Eligibility

Special education is a complex process which is highly regulated by federal (IDEA 2004) and state (M.G.L. c. 71B) laws and regulations. State regulations (603 CMR 28.00) provide mandates on how school districts are required to implement the requirements of the law. The cornerstone concepts of the law require that all public school districts meet the basic provisions of Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) within the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) for all eligible students. This Policies and Procedures Manual outlines the procedural requirements of the Boston Renaissance Charter Public School to ensure full compliance.

Programs to Develop Social and Emotional Competence

Social and emotional competence is a fundamental part of the Renaissance mission because we believe students succeed when they feel positively about themselves and have the skills to deal with conflict and difference in a variety of social situations.

Strategies implemented in this area include:

• Extensive professional development for teachers in character education, including Responsive Classroom, Open Circle, behavior management techniques to maintain a strong and safe classroom environment, and work on BRCPS core values.
• Social Emotional Learning Curriculums in Lower School (Zones of Regulation) and Upper School (Second Step)
• Explicit Teaching of PBIS (Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports) lesson plans around school expectations and Core Actions (Safe, Respectful, Responsible)
• With reinforcement system of star tickets for all students
• Development of a more unified, proactive approach to student discipline issues by BRCPS Student Support, focusing on prevention rather than punishment.
• Leadership curricula and mentoring programs, woven into the day and provided after school.
• Voluntary Skill based counseling services available to all students with parental consent
• Community based partnerships with the Home for Little Wanderers and Cartwheel Care

Social and emotional competence is a fundamental part of the Renaissance mission because we believe students succeed when they feel positively about themselves and have the skills to deal with conflict and difference in a variety of social situations.

Programs and Services to Develop the Whole Child

Core to the Boston Renaissance mission is a commitment to providing an extensive range of programs and services to support each student’s physical, emotional and social development. This includes comprehensive services for students with disabilities.

We maintain classroom structures to support this work, with co-taught classrooms, two resource rooms, and three substantially separate classrooms, all provided to meet the diverse learning, behavioral, and social-emotional needs of BRCPS students, particularly students with disabilities (SWD). The school schedule, staffing model, and hiring practices are all designed to ensure all students have the supports they need around them.

By integrating programs and services into the school, Boston Renaissance eliminates barriers to academic success, ensuring that each student is ready and able to learn. Our personalized, supportive model works to ensure that each student has access to the resources necessary to meet and overcome challenges, and to be prepared for success in school and in life.

Special Education

BRCPS provides a full continuum of special education services for eligible students. Services are designed to meet the individual educational needs of each special education student. For information regarding a student’s rights to special education services, specific special education services provided by the school or for a referral for a special education evaluation, please contact Sarah O’Connor, Director Student Services.

The BRCPS Special Education and SEI Program models are structured to benefit all learners. The models are described below and the various resources support and improve the general education program.

Special Education Services

The Renaissance school follows a full inclusion model for students who are not meeting grade level proficiency benchmarks or are identified with special needs. These inclusion classrooms grades 1-6 are co-taught with one special education and one general education teacher, accommodating all students with and without IEPs. In K2, there is one general education teacher, one special education teacher, and a highly qualified paraprofessional in each room. In K1, the special education teacher pushes into multiple classrooms to support students with IEPs for their service minutes and provides specialized instruction using evidence-based interventions for students requiring more academic support.

BRCPS also offers two resource rooms and three substantially separate classrooms. This placement is for students needing all day small classroom instruction to meet their academic and social/emotional development. These classroom settings are for students with a range of disabilities including Intellectual Impairment and Social/Emotional disabilities.

In addition to the full inclusion model BRCPS offers intervention services in and out of the classrooms. Reading and Math Specialists provide small group instruction daily in the classrooms, additionally, they provide targeted intervention, based on data, through our “What I Need” (WIN) Block, which is individualized academic support during a specific daily block of time.

SEI Program Model

The SEI Program Model integrates language instruction and content instruction. Sheltered English Immersion (SEI) classrooms are taught by licensed teachers, who have participated in RETELL or SEI category training and are SEI endorsed. SEI teachers understand and consider the Common Core instructional “shifts” and their implications for Multilingual Learners (MLs).

The SEI Program Model involves instruction that includes a range of techniques such as direct instruction, facilitation and modeling. SEI teachers provide direct support, encourage student engagement in group work, and cooperative learning activities aligned to grade level standards and learning objectives. All MLs receive daily small group English language instruction with a licensed ESL teacher.

SEI classrooms offer culturally responsive teaching, and SEI teachers encourage and respect diverse communication and interaction styles, as well as developmentally appropriate social and academic language to support English language acquisition. Language objectives posted in SEI classrooms stem from the linguistic demands of a standards-based lesson task, and academic vocabulary taught focuses on high-leverage language that will serve students in other content.

Speech and Language Therapy

Speech and language therapy focuses on receptive language, or the ability to understand words spoken to you, and expressive language, or the ability to use words to express yourself. It also deals with the mechanics of producing words, such as articulation, pitch, fluency, and volume.

Physical & Occupational Therapy

School-based physical therapy and occupational therapy plans are designed to remove barriers from students’ ability to learn, help students develop skills and increase their independence in the school environment, and educate school personnel about the different considerations required for students with disabilities.