Innovation Academy Charter School

District Curriculum Accommodation Plan (DCAP)

District Curriculum Accommodation Plan (DCAP) A school district shall adopt and implement a curriculum accommodation plan to assist principals in ensuring that all efforts have been made to meet the student’s needs in regular education. The plan shall be designed to assist the regular classroom teacher in analyzing and accommodating diverse learning needs of all children in the regular classroom and in providing appropriate services and support within the regular education programming, including, but not limited to, direct and systematic instruction in reading and provision of services to address the needs of children whose behavior may interfere with learning, or who do not qualify for special education services under chapter 71B. The curriculum accommodation plan shall include provisions encouraging teacher mentoring and collaboration and parental involvement. Massachusetts

General Laws, Chapter 71, Section 38Q1/2

The Innovation Academy Charter School DCAP has four main objectives:

To assist general education teachers in analyzing, assessing, and accommodating diverse learners
To increase support services and instructional delivery options available within

general education settings, as defined herein

To recommend instructional interventions for struggling learners
To delineate resources available to teachers in the areas of student support,

mentoring, professional development and coaching

General education provides a rich educational experience for all students. Innovation Academy is committed to developing the general education classroom so that all students can find success in that learning environment. With the District Curriculum.

Accommodation Plan (DCAP) as described, Innovation Academy Charter School believes that it has taken important steps toward assisting teachers in analyzing and accommodating diverse learning styles and providing students with appropriate services and supports. In this way, the general education program is strengthened, referrals to special education are reduced, and all students are provided with the opportunities to participate in the fullness of the general education curriculum.

To that end, the following identifies structures, programs, and general school supports that assist students in being successful:

Instructional Support Interventions

This list is representative of suggested strategies for accommodations to the classroom instruction, student responses, teaching strategies, teaching environment or materials. It is not inclusive of all strategies that may be successful with individual students:

Instructional Strategies

strategies to support and facilitate the delivery of instruction

● Provide multimodal presentation of instruction and materials

● Provide preferential seating/flexible seating arrangements

● Arrange partner or small group instruction

● Provide “wait time” or “think time” for responding to questions or formulating

discussion thoughts

● Repeat and/or clarify directions

● Preview or provide an overview of the lesson before beginning

● Repeat or reteach concepts with an individualized approach

● Offer a copy of teacher or peer notes, exemplars, reference guides, and/or note-taking

templates

● Visually or orally highlight critical material

● Provide access to word processing software

● Provide calculator or multiplication chart when math fluency or computation is not being assessed

● Incorporate incentives and reward systems, including student graphing of own progress

● Monitor student progress frequently and provide regular and timely feedback to students

●Instruct students in study skills and note-taking; model these skills during instruction

● Utilize technology and computer-assisted instruction

● Teach students to use graphic organizers

● Provide manipulatives

● Use checklists, teacher check-ins, calendars, and project organizers to break down long-term assignments

● Break down tasks into manageable steps

● Offer weekly extra help sessions in all academic areas

● Utilize peer buddy systems for study groups or homework check-ins

● Provide study guides

● Offer extra help through after school extra sessions or Student Hour (HS)/WIN block (MS)

Attention/Executive Functioning

refers to the ability to: 1) analyze a task; 2) plan; 3) organize; 4) develop timelines; 5) adjust/shift steps; and 6) complete the task in a timely way

● Allow additional time and/or assistance for organization/packing at start and end of

each day

● Use of timers

● Provide verbal and/or visual cues

● Provide transitional cues

● Provide frequent check-ins

●Provide checklists for assignment comprehension, progress tracking, and completion

● Implement individualized organization systems - binders/folders/materials

● Allow for movement or sensory breaks (structured or as needed)

● Give directions and information in small units

● Break down long term assignments with interim due dates and check-ins

● Provide daily schedule and agenda

● Utilize flexible groups or cooperative learning strategies

● Provide organizational strategies to families

● Choose and use graphic organizers with students

● Utilize homework boards

● Utilize planners

● Create a system of initialing planners between teacher and caregiver

● Provide reference tools, web sites and textbooks for homework support

● Post homework and course resources on Google Classroom

● Provide strategies for families to support homework completion

Support for Student Engagement:

help students to initiate and persist in academic tasks

● Determine and make connections with student strengths & interests

● Create and monitor student work production contracts

● Provide positive and concrete reinforcements

● Offer choice when possible

● Preview or cue student prior to transitions within the classroom

● Partner student with appropriate peer models

● Utilize a subtle (nonverbal or verbal) communication system to support student’s

needs (on task behaviors, managing anxiety, frustration tolerance, etc.)

● Preview expectations

● Provide “in the moment” coaching/problem solving support using Plan B conversation strategies

● Identify good choices

● Maintain clear and consistent expectations across class settings

● Post classroom expectations

● Arrange seating to encourage productive participation

● Develop student contracts or individual behavior improvement plans

● Utilize charts and graphs to monitor expectations

● Contact families/facilitate family support, strategies and communication

● Consult with school social worker, school psychologist, and/or student services staff

● Include movement breaks and energizers during instructional periods

● Incorporate stress-release activities

Assessments

● Allow predetermined extended time for tests that determine a student’s knowledge and mastery of content (typically 50% or longer if working productively)

● Read/clarify test directions

● Repeat test directions as needed

● Ask the student to repeat directions in his or her own words

● Have the student highlight keywords in the directions and/or questions

● Allow the student to take the test in a small-group setting or use noise canceling headphones or desk dividers or individual testing, when needed.

● Allow the student to mark his/her answers directly on the test form

● Break up the testing into several sessions

● Break the test into small parts per page

● Read specific parts of the test to the student

● Provide student opportunity to verbally explain thinking when posed a short answer or

open response question when writing is not being assessed

● Allow student to show knowledge in a variety of ways (ie. project, slideshow, essay, poster, etc.)

● Provide a scribe when needed to assess student knowledge

● Utilize alternative assessments (oral, multiple choice, computer-based, read aloud, etc.) as appropriate

● Instruct students in study skills, note-taking; model these skills during instruction

● Utilize technology and computer-assisted instruction

●Provide study guides

● Provide strategies for families to support homework completion

Visual/Motor integration

the ability to control hand movement guided by vision

● Provide graphic organizer

● Access sensory diet strategies: frequent movement breaks, fidgets, strategic or

alternative seating, gum, heavy work (pushing, pulling or lifting)

● Provide handouts to minimize copying demands from board in the classroom

● Access to keyboard for written output

● Allow extra time for written output

● Have student verbalize expectations before beginning task

● Enlarge font on presented material (16 standard recommendation font)

● Provide learning materials and tests that are well spaced and organized in a linear

manner to avoid visual confusion

● Reduce amount of written/visual information on a page

● Provide access to low assistive technology tools (i.e., line markers, highlighters,

whisper phones, alternate lined paper, slant boards, alternate pencil grips, etc.)

Language processing

refers to the way we use words to communicate ideas and feelings, and how such communication is processed and understood

● Provide written directions to supplement verbal directions

● Slow the rate of verbal directions/presentations

● Keep statements short and concise - offer paraphrasing

● Avoid the use of abstract language such as metaphors, idioms, sarcasm and puns without clear explanation

● Reduce the amount of extraneous noise when possible

● Secure student's attention before presenting key points

● Pair visual aids such as charts and graphs

● Allow extra time to respond to questions/formulate responses

● Support requests for repetition or clarification

● Highlight key information - verbally and visually

● Provide a scribe when needed to assess student knowledge

Revised July, 2023