A Public School Dedicated to Academic and Artistic Excellence
PVPA is a regional public charter school serving 400 students grades 7-12, from over 60 towns throughout Western Massachusetts. We seek to connect the creative process with critical thinking to inspire a love of learning. As a charter school, the work we do informs educational policy at local, state and national levels.
At PVPA, we want each of our students to be successful in school and to go on to a fulfilling college experience.
The Academic Support Department contributes to these goals by:
- establishing a positive learning environment,
- identifying and implementing services that address each student’s individual learning style, strengths, and challenges
- fostering feelings of empowerment that help students advocate on their own behalf and assume responsibility for their own learning.
Students who have IEP’s and 504 Accommodation Plans are provided, according to their needs, classroom accommodations that include style of presentation and modification of assignments, one-on-one and group academic and organizational support, or specialized instruction as set forth in an IEP. Students may schedule themselves for academic support up to the amount of time called for in their IEP.
It has been surprising the number of students who come to us with plans who have learned that they can only be successful when they are being told by an adult what to do and how to do it. Unfortunately, much of what passes for special education in public education does a disservice to the capabilities that students have by telling them that they are disabled. We believe that this can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. Our guiding mission at PVPA is to help students become more independent. We work with students to assume responsibility, not avoid it.
During the Academic Support period, the academic support staff work with each student in a personal way to ensure that the student is getting the exact support he or she needs. It is our belief that through this individual approach our students feel respected and are empowered in their learning.
Does PVPA have a special education department?
What is the difference between a 504 plan and an IEP? How do you decide which one is best?
My child needed support in the earlier grades, but I’d like to give him a chance to make it on his own at PVPA. Can I do that? What if it doesn’t work out?
Please contact Dr. Charles Hopkins, Director of Academic Support, with any additional questions or concerns. He can be reached by phone at 413-552-1580 or by e-mail.
Does PVPA have a special education department?
PVPA is a public school and follows the same laws that all public schools follow. Our Academic Support Department provides special education services as required by law. It is important to realize that an IEP is not a guarantee of passage through a course or through school. PVPA requires all students, including those with an IEP or a 504 plan, to demonstrate that they have mastered the standards of a particular class. A student may use the accommodations given them in an IEP or 504 plan to do this, however, just as with the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS), the student must demonstrate both content knowledge (knowledge of facts, processes, and information) as well as be able to use the content knowledge independently.
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What is the difference between a 504 plan and an IEP? How do you decide which one is best?
It is important to decide first what the student needs, and what services will be necessary to meet those needs. A Team of teachers, parents, and the student makes the decision about how best to meet the student’s needs.
If it is decided that the student needs specialized instruction because of a disability we write an IEP. If the student needs accommodation in the regular education classroom, or a small amount of organizational support, we write a 504 Accommodation Plan.
Either way, we focus on the student, and try to never lose track of what will make that student feel – and be – successful.
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My child needed support in the earlier grades, but I’d like to give him a chance to make it on his own at PVPA. Can I do that? What if it doesn’t work out?
Every year we have some parents who decide to have their child go it alone without academic support. Sometimes all goes well and the student succeeds without support. Other times the student slowly falls behind. In some instances, a student who is struggling can be in serious jeopardy by the time it is clear that he or she needs an offer of help from the Academic Support Department.
We do not usually know which incoming students have an IEP or 504 Plan because the school previously attended does not automatically send us these plans. If parents do not share this information before school starts, we have no way of knowing about past learning problems.
We hope parents will let us know of their child’s needs, so that we can offer help at the first sign of difficulty. If the student has an IEP we will follow it as soon as we know it exists, as required by law.
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