Student Learning Services (SLS) is a program designed to support classroom accommodations and specialized interventions for students with mild learning differences in Kindergarten-12th grade.

The goal of SLS is to equip our students with the tools for a lifetime of learning, and to partner with families, students, and school staff as we seek to embrace God’s truth about the uniqueness God has placed within each of us.

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SLS Specifics

Beginning five years ago with one dedicated SLS teacher in the Grammar School, the program has grown to include five teachers, including a Director, serving all areas of the Academy. This growth is in part due to the funding provided for the Center for Student Learning Services in memory of Karen Cunningham which serves as a unique place for students in our Academy to receive specialized services. Part of those services includes building self-advocacy, self-efficacy, and executive functioning skills through modeling and scaffolding of support.

Early Intervention

Proven to be highly effective, Early Intervention can positively change the academic course for a struggling student and build positive social-emotional skills for our youngest learners. This level of support works very well in our Kindergarten, First, and Second grades and provides for push-in or pull-out support including research-based curricula, multisensory approaches, and small-group instruction.

Strategic Intervention

PCA recognizes that some students may need a more in-depth type of intervention. That is why we offer Strategic Intervention for students in grades 3-12 with a qualifying psycho-educational evaluation. Research-based accommodations are made within the classroom according to individual needs and strategic support is given using small group instruction.

On Watch Support

At this level of support, students in grades K-12 are maintaining their academic load with very little consistent support from SLS. However, in the background SLS is regularly monitoring grades, projects, assignments, and providing consultation to teachers. SLS conducts quarterly or monthly check-ins with students. This is suitable for new students transitioning to PCA, students transitioning out of SLS, or students who need support for a temporary cause (i.e. injury, trauma, academic overload). No psycho-educational documentation is required for this level of support.

Steps to SLS

Students are referred to SLS by their grade level teachers based upon assessment data, classroom observations, and parent input. Once the referral is made, the SLS team performs more assessments and observations to determine the level of need. After that, an Academic Support Team is formed which includes the parents, classroom teacher, Head of division, and SLS team member to determine the next steps.