Special Education

The Hamilton-Wenham Regional School District provides individualized educational programming that is accessible and meaningful to students requiring special education services. The district’s core belief is that all students can learn and that the purpose for special education is to minimize the impact of the disability and maximize opportunities for students with disabilities to participate in all aspects of our school community.

Intensive Learning/Academic Skills Program (IL/AS)

The Intensive Learning/Academic Skills Program is a district program located at the Miles River Middle School and Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School. 

The Intensive Learning/Academic Support (IL/AS) Program provides intensive instruction for students who have been identified with disabilities that impact their ability to access curriculum and independently navigate across all content areas. The IL/AS Program incorporates related therapy supports, positive behavioral strategies, daily small group and/or individual instruction tailored to academic skill acquisition, social/pragmatic skill development, vocational and employability skills, and activities of daily living.

Students access the curriculum through modified content and participate in a flexible inclusion model based on their individual strengths and interests.  A variety of strategies and methodologies including principles of Applied Behavioral Analysis, systematic teaching and positive behavioral supports are utilized for skill acquisition.

Language-Based Learning Disabilities Program (LBLD)

The Language-Based Learning Disabilities (LBLD) program is a district program available at all school levels, Grades 2 through 12. The LBLD Programs are located at the Cutler School, Miles River Middle School and Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School.

The Language-Based Learning Disabilities (LBLD) Program ensures a high-quality continuum of programming and services that remediate challenges in reading and writing, teach compensatory strategies, foster self-awareness and promote learning skills that prepare students for success and independence. The program provides services individualized to students’ needs allowing access to grade-level standards aligned with the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks. The goal is for students to use strengths and compensatory strategies to transition to a less restrictive environment and access grade-level curriculum with independence. 

The LBLD Program provides intensive instruction for students who have been diagnosed with a significant language-based learning disability. The LBLD Program places strong emphasis on decoding and encoding skills through diagnostic, prescriptive, explicit instruction that is individualized to address each student’s specific challenges in the areas of sequential phonological processing, automaticity, fluency, and comprehension. Instruction also focuses on explicit teaching of language structures, including phonetics, sound/symbol relationships, syllabication, morphology, and the organization of written language. Executive functioning skills are emphasized and explicitly taught.

The LBLD Program incorporates small group and/or individual reading and writing instruction. Speech/language services and occupational therapy services are provided through direct service and consultation, as indicated within each student’s IEP.