College Station Independent School District

Success, Each Life...Each Day...Each Hour

Specialized Programs

In order to meet the unique needs of students with disabilities, College Station ISD provides a continuum of instructional services throughout the district. College Station ISD is committed to providing special education services alongside students who do not have disabilities to the maximum extent appropriate. In addition to inclusive and pull-out services at each campus, a variety of specialized programming options are also available. These programs are more intensive in nature and placement is determined by a student's ARD committee when a more intensive level of support is required to achieve adequate progress towards mastery of goals. Below you will find a description for each of these unique programs. If you have specific questions about any of these programs, please contact the Educational Diagnostician at your student's campus or the Special Services Department.

Adaptive Behavior

The Adaptive Behavior program provides specially designed instruction for students with disabilities who have significant emotional, behavioral and social learning needs. Services are provided along a continuum of support from the general education classroom to instruction in the AB classroom for portions of the instructional day. The program focusses on teaching pro-social replacement behaviors through positive behavior supports individualized behavior plans and explicit instruction. As determined by their ARD committee and based upon individual needs, students may receive any combination of general and special education services.

BRIDGES

The BRIDGES program is designed for students who are at least 18 years of age and have completed all credits required for high school graduation. This extension of service beyond high school allows students who require additional instructional opportunities to grow and learn in environments that are more closely aligned to adult life. Located at College View High School, this program is intended to serve as a bridge to the future. Students in BRIDGES have an Individual Education Plan (IEP), which emphasizes the acquisition of skills including recreation and leisure activities, independence, involvement in the community, growth of job skills and everyday living skills needed for success throughout life.

CASL

The CASL (Communication, Academics, Social Learning) program provides a highly structured learning environment designed to provide specialized instruction for students who have significant communication and social learning needs. This program focuses on teaching students to use language and engage in appropriate social interactions in order to meaningfully access and participate in the school environment. Typically, students supported through CASL access the general education curriculum through accommodations, modifications or a combination of both. As determined by their ARD committee and based upon individual needs, students may receive any combination of general and special education services.

LIFE Skills

Students who receive services through the LIFE (Learning in Functional Environments) Skills program require an alternative curriculum that focuses on prerequisite skills in order to access grade-level Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). Typically, students in LIFE Skills have cognitive disabilities and require explicit instruction to learn functional skills such as communication, self-care, and daily living skills. LIFE Skills programming provides extensive support for skill development in age-appropriate functional areas to succeed in the least restrictive environment and generalize new learning across environments. As determined by their ARD committee and based upon individual needs, students may receive any combination of general and special education services.

STRIVE (Structured Teaching to Reach Independence Through Varied Experiences)

Students who receive services through the STRIVE program require an alternative to grade-level curriculum that focuses on prerequisite skills to access grade-level Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). Typically, students receiving STRIVE supports exhibit significant deficits in cognitive abilities and meet eligibility requirements for alternative statewide assessments (i.e., STAAR-Alt 2). STRIVE programming provides extensive supports for skill development in academic areas to promote success in the least restrictive environment. Students in the STRIVE program demonstrate minimal needs for support with independent living skills such as navigating the building, communicating with peers and adults, toileting, eating, and engaging in socially appropriate behavior.

ECSE (Early Childhood Special Education)

This early childhood program is designed for children ages 3-5 who are eligible for special education services. ECSE services are provided along a continuum ranging from specific services such as speech therapy to daily intensive interventions in a special education or general education preschool setting. Initial recommendations for ECSE services are based upon the child's Full & Individual Evaluation (FIE) and determined by the ARD committee.

Students who participate in the ECSE special education classroom program demonstrate a need for intervention in one or more of the developmental areas (e.g. social, emotional, cognitive, communicative, and/or motor).

Student goals are aligned with Texas Preschool Guidelines and address academic, developmental and/or functional needs. Individualized Education Plans (IEP's) are chronologically age-appropriate, functional for the learner, and address the skills necessary to facilitate meaningful inclusion in the general education setting.

  • Speech therapy services are available for students with identified Speech Impairments and focus on the development of language, articulation, voice, or fluency. The frequency and duration of these services are determined by the student's ARD committee based upon individualized needs. Speech Therapy is considered an instructional service and may be provided as the only service or in conjunction with other ECSE services if needed.
  • ECSE classes typically meet for 3 hours per day, 5 days per week with morning or afternoon sections available. A continuum of services based on the student's Present Levels of Academic and Functional Performance (PLAAFP) and IEP will be considered for students receiving ECSE classroom programming. Students may receive a combination of any general and special education services, as determined by their ARD committee.
  • Students with disabilities who are also eligible for College Station ISD's Head Start or Pre-Kindergarten programs may receive a combination of inclusive and/or pull-out services, as determined by their ARD committee and based upon their individualized needs.

Project SEARCH

Project SEARCH is a school-to-work program designed for students who are at least 18 years of age who have completed all credits required for high school graduation. Project SEARCH originated at Cincinnati Children's Hospital and now has program sites throughout the U.S. and the United Kingdom. This cooperative effort is designed to help prepare students with disabilities for competitive employment by providing real-life work experience as they transition from school to adulthood. Project SEARCH is a year-long internship program where students work towards a goal of full-time paid employment by the end of the internship year.

Through collaboration with Baylor Scott & White Hospital, Brazos Valley Center for Independent Living (BVCIL), and MHMR Authority of Brazos Valley, program participants experience total immersion in the workplace to facilitate the teaching and learning process, as well as the acquisition of employability and marketable work skills.

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