Support Services

List of 6 items.

• Does The Bush School offer IEPs or 504 plans?

  Unlike a public school we do not offer Individualized Education Plans (IEP’s) or 504 plans, but in order to provide equitable access to The Bush School’s curriculum, we coordinate and provide formal accommodations for eligible students which are:

  • specifically recommended by an outside professional through a comprehensive assessment which meets our documentation requirements, AND
  • approved by the Support Services Team as reasonable and appropriate as described through the signed Formal Accommodations Plan, AND
  • requested by the student.

   

  Formal Accommodation plans are developed together with the student, parent(s)/guardian(s), and learning specialist through an interactive and individualized accommodations process.

   

  Families may submit a pre-existing IEP, 504 plan, or psychoeducational evaluation to the Admissions Office during the admissions process or to the divisional learning specialist(s). Evaluations must be current within 5 years and completed by a licensed professional, to provide the most relevant information in supporting your student.

• What kinds of accommodations are available to students who qualify?

  An Accommodations Plan for a student with a diagnosed learning disability is created by the divisional learning specialist(s) in partnership with the student and family. The learning specialist will create a learning profile summary and accommodations plan that includes the student’s interests, strengths, areas of challenge and strategies for support. An accommodations plan will include those accommodations the school approves and can offer. Examples may include extra time on a test, quiet room testing, breaks as needed, use of computer for writing, and access to a notetaker.

• What is the social-emotional learning program?

  Students in the Lower School are introduced to the RULER approach to social emotional learning, developed at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. RULER offers students tools to Recognize, Understand, Label, Express, and Regulate their emotions as a means of developing emotional intelligence, resiliency, and community-minded social awareness.
  
  All Lower School classroom teachers are trained in Responsive Classroom, a student-centered, social and emotional approach to teaching and discipline. Responsive Classroom techniques aim to create learning spaces where all students feel a sense of belonging and purpose. Some elements in practice at Bush include morning meeting circles, team building experiences, and discipline practices that include reflection, meditation, and a focus on repair between students when conflict occurs.  

   

  Students K-12 are offered developmentally appropriate tools to deal with emotions, anxiety, depression, school stress, boundaries, and health peer relationships. This work is done in coordination with the counselors, classroom teachers, and faculty advisors.

• Does Bush have a study skills class?

  The Bush School does not offer a formal study skills class as part of a student’s academic program. Instead, self-advocacy, executive functioning, and organizational skills are taught across departments at all division levels. Additionally, divisional learning specialists work with individual students to increase their skills in these areas and meet specific goals. This support could be accessed as a short-term intervention or learning specialists will work with families to identify outside resources for ongoing study skills support.

• What is the Bush Therapy Dog Program?

  Bush has two therapy/facility dogs on campus.. The dogs, Starsky and Yoshi, work with the Middle and Upper School counselors to support students' emotional and mental well-being across all divisions. Research shows that therapy dogs in schools increase students’ self-esteem and self-confidence, build empathy, offer important socialization benefits, and provide physiological benefits such as lowering heart rate and blood pressure.

• What forms of support are available for neurodiverse learners outside of formal learning plans and accommodations?

  Affinity group spaces for neurodiverse learners are available to students beginning in Third Grade. These affinity spaces offer students the opportunity to be in the majority and celebrate their diverse ways of thinking, identify tools they find useful, and share strategies for success. The Upper School neurodiversity affinity group, Blazing Neurons, also offers mentorship and leadership to younger students. A family affinity group is also available for parents/guardians.