LCHS: ACADEMIC SUPPORT TEAM

Liberty Common School’s excellent teaching methods, rich curriculum, and strong character education reaches the majority of students and helps bring about amazing learning, high achievement, and strong character. While students are expected to do all they can to reach the high bar, their parents are also asked to help at home. For most students, this is enough to achieve their academic success. When a student needs more than this to achieve at grade level, the school is required to intervene.

The mission of the Academic Support Team (AST) at Liberty Common High School is to collaborate with parents and teachers to provide targeted academic support and intervention to ensure all Liberty Common students have access to the contextual body of organized knowledge, the values of a democratic society, and the skills of learning taught at Liberty Common School.

The Academic Support Team supports students who are at risk academically by identifying and  addressing barriers to their success, focusing on early intervention. AST improves student success toward mature literacy and independence by providing specialized instruction. AST addresses concerns through many avenues: Response to Intervention, Multi-Tiered Systems of Support, English Language Acquisition, 504 plans, Advanced Learning plans, guided study, and special education. Support is given judiciously and only as needed, but a student does not need a documented plan in order to receive AST support.  AST intervenes while still ensuring that students receiving support continue to be educated with the Core Knowledge and classical/college preparatory curricula.  When difficulties arise, the following steps occur.  Students move to the next step if improvements are not seen.

  • General education teachers work with the student and his or her parent/s to alleviate the problem.

  • Through referral, the Student Teacher Assistance Team (STAT) – a group composed of general educators, administrator/s, and AST representative/s –brainstorms ideas and solutions in order to best support the student while simultaneously ensuring that the least invasive intervention is being suggested and subsequently implemented.

  • The student may be referred to AST for further intervention and support through the RtI process (RtI=Response to Intervention.) STAT monitors progress and may revisit to change the plan as needed.

  • If steps 1-3 do not remediate the issue, STAT may refer a student for further evaluation . Written permission from parents is required before further evaluation can take place.

Parents are apprised of this process along the way and are encouraged to support their children in any manner they can to bring academic success. Questions about this process are directed to the classroom teacher or the Academic Support Coordinator.

Projects and Tactics in Support of the AST Mission:

  • Liberty 101. Liberty 101 is an in-person meeting between the student, parents, and AST members. It usually lasts about an hour and is held after a school day. A student is often referred to Liberty 101 by a teacher who notices that the student struggles with one or more academic skills, but parents may reach out to the AST to inquire whether Liberty 101 might help their student. CLICK HERE for documents utilized in Liberty 101.

  • Study Skills. The AST Department works with students needing additional support to learn or practice study skills. The content of these strategy sessions includes test preparation, study techniques, and procrastination mitigation, and is available online for students and parents to use in collaboration. CLICK HERE

  • Note-taking. Good note-taking is crucial for test preparation, skill mastery, essay writing, context building, and overall success as a Liberty student. CLICK HERE for note-taking strategies and tips for struggling students.

  • Reading Comprehension and Annotation. Managing the volume of several reading assignments, staying focused while reading, and reading comprehension are critical components of achieving Moral Literacy and Wisdom. The Academic Support Team works with students struggling with reading to ensure access to the rich curriculum is sustained. CLICK HERE

  • Projects and Assessments Calendar. The faculty and administration at LCS recognize how the rigor and demands of the curriculum push students to reach their academic limits. To support students’ academic journeys, the school maintains a Projects and Assessments Calendar, which allows teachers an opportunity to schedule large assignments without overlapping due dates. CLICK HERE.

Liberty Common School perennially achieves the top academic scores in the state, not because the academic aptitude of the student body is exceptional on the whole, but rather because the AST professionals are committed to maintaining high expectations for struggling students, and helping them reach lofty academic goals.

Getting every student to graduation is the goal of AST at Liberty Common. Photo by Sarah Christine Martin of The Coloradoan.