MAS Inclusion Policy1

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MODERN AMERICAN SCHOOL ‫المدرسة االمريكية الحديثة‬ International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) American High School Diploma Program COGNIA for Schools (AdvancED)

Inclusion Policy

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Table of contents Mission statement of The International Baccalaureate

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Vision statement of The Modern American School

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The mission of Modern American School

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ASD Philosophy

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Inclusive Education

4

Aims and Objectives

5

Common Terminology

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Identification of learners in need for educational support

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Roles and responsibilities

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IEP plan

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Confidentiality

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Policy Committee

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References

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Mission Statement of the International Baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate aims to develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect.

To this end the organization works with schools, governments and international organizations to develop challenging programmes of international education and rigorous assessment.

These programmes encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.

Vision Statement of the Modern American School The Vision of the Modern American School in Amman is to nurture lifelong learners and global thinkers to become responsible citizens with leadership qualities and universal values while instilling pride in one's cultural identity.

Mission of the Modern American School The Mission of the Modern American School is to provide learners with an engaging and challenging blended learning environment within a diverse community while focusing on international programs, catering for learners’ well-being, fostering international mindedness, and offering various opportunities and experiences that contribute to learners’ growth.

Academic Support Department (ASD) Philosophy At MAS, we believe that all learners have the right to learn and excel. Our programmes are differentiated to cater for their individual needs, and address areas for improvement while identifying their strengths and celebrating them. We offer an environment where they feel safe emotionally, socially while supporting them academically. We strive to build confident learners who can have a voice and are engaged in the learning process, aiming to achieve their best.

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Inclusive Education • •

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Inclusion is an ongoing process that aims to increase access and engagement in learning for all students by identifying and removing barriers.

It addresses learning support requirements and questions the broader objectives of education, the nature of pedagogy, curriculum, and assessment. It is an educational approach that our school aspires to achieve.

Inclusion is facilitated in a culture of collaboration, mutual respect, support and problemsolving involving the whole school community.

We embrace and respect our students’ personal and cultural identities, home, and family languages, as well as their prior experiences and learning, as it contributes to our school community and inspires all of us to be more caring and open-minded.

Through multiple teaching strategies, we make sure that all our students have equal access to a broad, balanced, and relevant education.

The approaches to learning diversity and inclusion mirrors the school and the IB philosophy in promoting equal access to the curriculum for all learners.

Inclusion in practice applies the four principles of good practice as identified by the IB: •

Valuing prior knowledge: meaningfully assess existing knowledge, strengths, and interests; take account of prior learning when designing, differentiating and planning for new learning.

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Scaffolding: Assessing prior learning is crucial, so that smaller steps can be incorporated into the learning process, and students are scaffolded in working towards mastery. Modifications such as pre-teaching, demonstrations, experiential learning, chunking information, visual aids, templates and graphic organizers.

Extending learning: create the social and emotional conditions for learning, and promote environments that welcome, celebrate and embrace diversity.

• •

Affirming identity and building self-esteem: Students with a positive identity are better able to take the risks necessary for successful learning. All students are visible and valued.

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Aims and objectives • • • • • • • • • • • • •

To develop a sense of belonging and become better prepared for life in the community as children and adults.

To provide better opportunities for learning. Children with varying abilities are better motivated when learning in classes surrounded by other children.

To foster a culture of respect and belonging. It also provides the opportunity to learn about and accept individual differences.

To provide all children with opportunities to develop friendships with one another.

Friendships provide role models and opportunities for growth.

To encourage learning at all levels, realizing that students can learn given the appropriate program and teaching strategies.

To promote, within the whole school, a respect for the individual learner regardless of their level or ability.

To choose the best learning and instructional approaches for students through careful assessment using both standardized and curriculum-based assessments.

To challenge and motivate students to learn at their own pace within the context of high academic standards.

To support the school philosophy.

To have a common understanding and vocabulary to describe the students with individual needs.

To identify children’s needs as early as possible.

To monitor and evaluate policy, procedures, and practices regularly To ensure that parents are informed, involved and are an integral part of the student’s program and progress.

Common Terminology

Learning support

The term Learning Support is defined as follows: To support learners who have educational needs difficulty or challenges by devising a plan to address those needs. Learners have a learning difficulty or fall under the category of special needs if they:

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Experience a significantly greater difficulty or challenge in learning than the majority when not meeting age related expectations.

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Have a medical issue which prevents or hinders them from accessing use of educational facilities of any kind, generally provided for learners of the same age in school.

Learning difficulties: Any condition that affects and hinders the learners’ learning, understanding, and or their academic improvement. Learners who have a learning difficulty learn differently from their peers, and they might find certain aspects of learning to be challenging. There are many different types of learning difficulties, some of the more well-known are dyslexia, attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dyspraxia and dyscalculia. A person can have one, or a combination of more than one learning difficulty. A learning difficulty could be detected during childhood and can cause a person to experience problems in a traditional classroom setting.

Major types of learning difficulties are: Hearing problems: any decrease in hearing, whether fluctuating or permanent, that interferes with a child’s ability to perform in an educational setting.

Speech or language impairment disorders is a condition in which a person has problems creating or forming the speech sounds needed to communicate with others. This can make the child’s speech difficult to understand.

Dyslexia: a general term for disorders that involve difficulty in learning to read or interpret words, letters, and other symbols, but that do not affect general intelligence.

Dysgraphia: a specific learning disability that affects written expression, can appear as difficulties with spelling, poor handwriting and trouble putting thoughts on paper.

Dyscalculia: a specific learning disorder, an impediment in mathematics, evidencing problems with: Number sense, memorization of arithmetic facts. Accurate and fluent calculation. Accurate math reasoning.

Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD): is a neurological disorder that causes a range of behavioral problems such as difficulty attending to

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instruction, focusing on schoolwork interaction, keeping up with assignments, and ability to complete tasks Auditory processing disorder (central auditory processing disorder): Individuals with this condition may have difficulty recognizing the differences between sounds, understanding the order of sounds, recognizing where sounds have come from, or separating sounds from background noise.

Visual perceptual disorder/ visual motor deficit: Which can impact the way a person understands visual information, the ability to draw and copy, hand/eye coordination, and the ability to follow along in text or on paper.

Dyspraxia- is a condition affecting physical co-ordination. It causes a child to perform less well than expected in daily activities for their age, and appear to move clumsily.

Gifted and Talented According to National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC), “the term gifted and talented means students, children, or youth who give evidence of high achievement capability in such areas as intellectual, creative, artistic, or leadership capacity, or in specific academic fields.

Learners who are gifted demonstrate an advanced ability or potential in one or more specific areas when compared to others of the same age, experience, or environment. They excel in their ability to think, reason and judge, making it necessary for them to receive special educational services and support to be able to fully develop their potential and talents.

Identification of learners with need for educational support A predefined process is administered reflecting the procedures and practices that are followed:

School admission Policy In adherence with the school admission policy. The Head of the admission, in consultation with the different stage Principals, reserves the right to refuse admission or readmission of a learner if: •

It is determined that the learner would not benefit educationally from the school’s support possibilities.

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The learner’s needs cannot be met by the school, including additional support provided by the parents in conjunction with the school’s own provision.

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Learner’s parents/guardians fail to provide accurate academic and behavioural history during the application process.

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The main considerations in admitting learners with special needs are that: • •

The school has a high degree of confidence that it is able to meet the academic, social, and emotional needs of the learner.

Those needs can be met largely, if not exclusively in a mainstream environment with differentiation of instruction and interventions by the main classroom teacher(s).

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The child’s learning differences, and needs do not impede achievement of the overall learning objectives of the class(es) she/he is placed in.

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There is a high degree of parental involvement and support for the school’s programme offered to their child.

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If a decision is taken that a learner requires an IEP (Individualized Educational Plan) ASD department will devise an educational plan that targets learners needs in collaboration with teachers or educational centre drawn IEP provided by parents.

The student affairs, in consultation with the ASDC, Principals, teaching staff and/or an outside educational testing facilitator/ centre will continue to evaluate the learner’s needs. Learner’s enrolment will always be dependent on the school’s ability to meet those needs by continuously monitoring progress and evaluate it.

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MAS Educational support Diagram

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Referral of existing learners In accordance with the school’s mission and the IB philosophy of inclusion, the school recognizes that some of its learners’ will have special learning needs or differences that require learning support throughout their learning journey. Appropriate services and programmes for those learners will be provided within the limits and capacity of the school’s resources and staff, including the school’s Academic Support Learning Department Coordinator (ASDC).

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Early identification, assessment and intervention are key to meeting the needs of the individual learner. If an existing learner who has not been previously diagnosed with special learning needs and still faces difficulties in accessing the curriculum, and there is a belief that it may be linked to some form of special educational needs, it is in the Learner’s interest that the teacher approaches the ASDC and stage Principal.

A joint meeting with the learners’ parents may take place to judge whether it is appropriate to proceed with either doing a classroom observation or administering further diagnostic assessment by an outside specialized centre.

Upon receiving the report and recommendations, the school start with the implementation of the plan and proceed with the support for our learners.

Assessment Assessment is an important process. Teachers assess the ASL learners’s achievement and progress through providing modified exams. Subject and support teachesr work together to prepare an assessment that is suitable to the learners’s ability and level in a tailored way.

Assessment allocations: All the school sections use the same assessment allocations depending on the learner’s case.

Inclusive Assessment Arrangements a. According to International Programs guidelines (American/ IB) b. According to MOE (Ministry of Education)

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Assessment allocations used by the school are: • • •

Use of standardized assessment tools Non-standardized assessment tools Modified or accommodated assessments.

Further information about assessment, kindly refer to the school assessment policy

Roles and Responsibilities ASD team: ASD Coordinator, support teachers, and Counselors are responsible for supporting and helping learners to improve and reach to the maximum of their capabilities.

The ASD department work is divided into several areas: • • • • • • • • •

Create the Individual Learning Profile in collaboration with the classroom teachers, parents, and based on results obtained from diagnostic assessment.

Work cooperatively and collaboratively with core subject teachers and homeroom teachers Provide support for learners in the classroom for all listed core subjects.

Establish scheduled meetings working collaboratively with core subject teachers, Homeroom teachers, documenting progress and areas of concern.

All accommodations and modifications for learner needed resources will be provided by the support teacher.

All assessments will be reviewed and if modification is needed, it will be provided by the support teachers.

Maintain ongoing communication with parents regarding learner progress.

Produce quarterly review of IEP with coordinators, division heads, principals, and parents.

Assist with the creation of individual ASD portfolio for each learner in the program.

ASD teachers • • • •

Coordinate and plan learner support with the HR/subject teacher on a regular basis.

Plan lessons for pull-out and push-in support sessions and assigns homework if necessary.

Screen and assess learners and highlight their strengths, needs, and some suggested recommendations.

Share assessment findings with classroom/subject teacher and parents.

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Cooperate with the classroom/subject teachers (and ASDC) to discuss the intervention plan with parents and have their approval, in addition to obtaining their signature on the form committing them to pay the additional fees for the support periods.

Continuous assessment of the learner’s performance and progress through the screening and use of various assessment tools.

Communicate with the classroom/subject teachers, the ASDC, Student Counsellor and subject coordinators, to discuss progress and concerns of ASL learners and share intervention strategies.

Maintain frequent and positive communication with parents by sharing information pertaining to learning support.

Keep a record for each learner that states the number of support periods he/she has actually been provided with during each semester.

Keep learning support records current and filed as appropriate.

Prepare and discuss learning goals set for each learner to share with parents during the parent-teacher conferences.

Contact ASDC for informal advice and further information or support if needed in any aspect.

School Counsellors’ The counsellor nurtures, guides, and supports the social and emotional wellbeing of learners, providing guidance in social skills one-on-one, in small groups, or with the larger classroom in conjunction with the teacher.

While addressing the academic, social, and emotional needs of learners, the counsellor also acts as a bridge between teachers and parents, working to create an environment where every learner is equipped with self-management tools, he/she needs. The curriculum in nature is preventative, collaborative, developmental and remedial.

The school counsellor’s role is to provide.

• • • •

To provide social, emotional education and support To provide opportunities where students can express their voice.

To help the student deal with any changes occurring at home or at school The counsellor can be involved in the learner’s academic/behavioural meetings.

Homeroom Teachers/ Subject Teachers Every teacher is responsible for every learner in his or her class. The expectations of class teachers and subject teachers are:

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• • • • • • • • •

To be aware and follow the referral procedures as seen in the diagram page( ) To observe learners and record observations.

To liaise with parents of learners with individual educational needs and with ASD department.

To understand the learning needs of their learners and implement the proper strategies to align with the teaching and learning objectives.

To differentiate teaching materials, learning engagements and modify assessments if and when necessary.

Ensure any assessment modifications in the school are in line with the IB and American guidelines.

To liaise, and collaborate consult regarding any concern with the ASD teachers /department.

To share feedback and reflection on learner’s progress on regular basis with coordinators, counsellors and ASD team.

To develop and evaluate an intervention plan in conjunction with the ASD department teachers and in consultation with parents.

1) Teachers: The school stipulates that all its teachers are teachers of students with learning difficulties and that these should be considered when planning, assessing, recording, and reporting. Mainstream teachers are thus required to: ● Differentiate instruction and set appropriate learning challenges according to individual educational needs as defined by the ASLC or the relevant outside specialist ● Apply teaching and learning strategies for success as outlined by the relevant outside specialist and the internal school Individual Education Plan where relevant ● Review, record, and report on progress at appropriate intervals as determined by the school or the relevant outside specialist The ASDC in consultation with homeroom teachers provides support for students operating below and above grade level.

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● Seek out professional development opportunities which would help them with specific learning needs they are encountering in their class(es) and cascade new information, knowledge, and skills to other teachers.

2) Parents/Carers: •

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Sign the ASDC acceptance form signifying acceptance of their child receiving the additional support from the ASD and that they will fulfil the role assigned to them and will pay the additional fees required for intervention.

Signify acceptance of conducting diagnostic testing, when needed, at school or take responsibility to conduct it outside the school and providing the written report from the diagnostic centre to the ASDC. Parents are the first source of information about the learning difficulties of their child.

They are required to provide the school with any previous diagnoses, reports, medication etc. related to these cases in order to ensure that we are able to address and support students to the best of our capabilities and their diverse needs.

They should be fully aware of the nature and severity of their child’s difficulty and the strategies which will help and should collaborate with the school on working to ensure progress and success.

Collaborate with teachers and participate in all meetings to discuss learners progress, strengths, and weaknesses.

Parents will be updated regularly on their child’s progress and will work actively with the school at providing the best adapted learning environment for them.

Attend all meetings held to discuss the performance of their child.

3) Outside specialists The school will work in close liaison with specialists (psychologists, speech or occupational therapists etc.) to maximize the strategies they have recommended for students with diagnosed learning difficulties.

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Individual Educational Plan (IEP) Purpose of implementation The purpose of Implementing the IEP goals is to help and support the learners improve and integrate fully within the classroom and beyond.

The one who is responsible for implementing the IEP goals is the ASD team, in collaboration with all stakeholders.

Definition It is the Modification of the curriculum which is achieved via an individualized education plan.

The IEP is based on observation of learners who are already enrolled in school and during observation it was noticed that the student further requires an IEP to address those particular needs which is decided upon after applying a full range of regular teaching strategies that showed further support is needed to overcome the gap. As for learners who enrolled newly to school, the placement testing results shows that there is a necessity to provide further academic support and an IEP is required. It includes a detailed report of the learner’s abilities and needs and is used to plan for development according to the child’s pace and needs. The ASD coordinator, classroom teacher, and other relevant team members meet and plan for differentiation in specific academic areas. The classroom teacher, and in some cases, the ASDC provides tips for helping at home, and may request information that aid in planning instruction.

In some cases, the classroom teacher may meet additionally with psychologists or other professional personnel. The child’s learning should continue to be framed by the school curriculum and the child should transition through the phases. The IEPs must be approved by the parents, and in cases of older students, by the learner as well. Progress on the IEP is reported quarterly.

Who eligible for the IEP • •

Learners who are officially diagnosed and may face any learning difficulty that affects and hinders their performance, improvements, and understanding.

Learners who have differentiated academic goals compared to their peers.

IEP goals After the initial processes, ASD teacher sets goals depends on the student’s academic skills and level.

Goals will address the following: •

Learner ’s academic development, and functional needs that result from the disability;

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Learner’s progress across the curriculum.

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Learner’s other educational needs that result from learning difficulties.

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Leveled Arabic Learners As a school we welcome learners from different cultures and nationalities whom their Arabic language is not their mother tongue. We also embrace Jordanians who have been living abroad for a long time and hence the level of their Arabic proficiency is relatively weak.

In such cases we adhere to the following admission procedure Upon joining the school learners will be assessed by the language teacher to check their level of proficiency • Learners will be enrolled into levelled Arabic classes based on the diagnostic assessment results.

• The Arabic language teacher shares the information and results gathered with the Arabic coordinator who then communicates to the stage principal to share her recommendations about each learner.

• Learners are either join the mainstream Arabic language classes and receive differentiated instructions or are place in Arabic leveled classes.

• Concerned educators devise an IEP plan addressing the learners needs.

• As for learners who move from Grade 5, a meeting is held with the Arabic teacher and coordinator and according to their level of proficiency and progress in the language, a decision is taken either to join language and literature classes or language acquisition programme.

• Learners are assessed on regular basis; recommendation is given by the end of the year on the level of proficiency and progress throughout the year.

• Specific statements and comments are written in the student’s academic report in order to describe the support that she/he is given.

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Parents are informed and a signed consent is documented in the file of the learner.

Language Acquisition in the MYP Academic support needed in languages is addressed through the opportunity of having Language acquisition in both Arabic and English languages according to the IB MYP program. Students are enrolled in the suitable subject group and receive the support based on the processes

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discussed earlier. The school's aim is to help students progress and be able to transfer from the Language Acquisition subject group to the Language and Literature subject group.

In addition, and as part of the support provided, students who are enrolled in language acquisition do not take French Language; instead, this subject is replaced by support classes of the LA subject they take.

Diploma Programme: Providing Learners with Inclusive Access Arrangements is offered to those who have been with us or enrolled to our school newly and received support during their enrolment at our school or have been referred for a psycho-educational assessment that recommends there is a need for supporting the learners further with those specific allocations in the academic part during their school years. The Inclusive Access Arrangements requested for a candidate must be the usual way of working during their course of study.

The school must submit the following evidence to the IB: 1. Psychological/psycho-educational/medical report from a specialized and certified centre in Amman that approves the following.

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Specific learning difficulties Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, Dyscalculia, Dyspraxia or information processing difficulties.

Physical challenges, such as: fine-motor skills.

Communication and speech difficulties; such as receptive and expressive language difficulties Auditory processing difficulties, fluency disorders (stuttering, stammering) or verbal apraxia or verbal dyspraxia.

Sensory challenges.

2. Educational evidence from the school. (Submitted by the teachers) Allowances given to our learners are.

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Modified paper (enlarged print and or change of font) Access to additional time • 10% additional time (6 minutes for each hour of the exam) • 25% additional time (15 minutes for each hour of the exam) • 50% additional time (30 minutes for each hour of the exam) A scribe or word processer Reader Writer Access to calculators

Professional Development The Role of the school is to ensure that SEN teachers are professionally trained, staff are hired based on their educational qualifications, and the stage principals/ SEN coordinator provide professional development and continuous support for staff.

Confidentiality: All the information, files, Minutes of meetings, and assessments related to the ASD learners are keptand saved at the ASD department. All reports and papers are dealt with utmost confidentiality without sharing them with anyone, unless they are related to the learner’s case.

A copy of the certificates are kept at the ASD department.

Policy committee The policy is reviewed and updated every year by the committee.

Ms. Shireen Dahleh HS Principal Ms. Raida Daoud ES Principal Ms. Dareen Hattar Director Deputy /MYP Coordinator

Ms. Shaheera Bustami Support program coordinator

References • IBO. “Learning Diversity and Inclusion in IB Programmes.” International Baccalaureate, Jan. 2016, inclusivepypclassroom.weebly.com/uploads/1/8/4/7/18470104/ib_inclusion_guide.pdf.

• IBO. “Meeting Student Learning Diversity in the Classroom.” International Baccalaureate, May 2013, www.thekfa.org.uk/wp/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Meeting-Studentslearningdiversity_IB-Continuum-.pdf.

• IBO. “The IB Guide to Inclusive Education: a Resource for Whole School Development.”

International Baccalaureate, 2018.

• IBO. “Using Universal Design for Learning in the IB Classroom.” International Baccalaureate ,Dec. 2016.

• IBO. “What Is an IB Education?” International Baccalaureate, Aug. 2013, www.ibo.org/globalassets/what-is-an-ib-education-2017-en.pdf.

• Making the PYP Happen • MAS policies: Language Policy, Admission Policy, Assessment