Middle School Intervention 

September 7, 2011

Dear Parent/Guardian:

We believe all TPCA students can and will be successful. We recognize that some students may need more support and time in order to reach the level of academic success they are capable of achieving. For this reason we must be proactive in our efforts to support students. As part of Twin Peaks Charter Academy's commitment to supporting students in achieving academic excellence, we are providing intervention periods at the middle school level that allow a student to receive extra instruction and support under the direction of a classroom teacher. By embedding intervention during the school day and providing students with more time to gain skills needed for academic success, we can ensure students have a strong foundation from which they can build on as they move forward in their academic careers.  

The goal of intervention is to catch students early on before they fall significantly behind, and implement a narrow focus of support that remediates a student's skill deficits while supporting their strengths. Intervention is targeted, intensive, and based on a short timeline so that students can rejoin their elective period and have greater success in their academic endeavors. Intervention periods offer a small student to teacher ratio, along with support from classroom teachers and interventionist specialists. Intervention is offered during one of two elective periods for each middle school grade level. 

Each content area teacher (math, science, language arts, and social studies) has identified a "red flag" in their grading process that identifies students who may be at-risk for failure. This "red flag" prompts the teacher and student to engage in a dialogue that identifies the area the student is struggling, develop an intervention plan that outlines what the student's responsibilities are to improve their performance, and what the teacher's role is in supporting that student, lays out a timeline for measuring whether the intervention plan is working, and specifies the consequences the student faces should they not follow through with the plan.

            We know by providing intervention early on students can be successful. Intervention in the middle school years can deter failure now, and in high school. We know with parental support at home, combined with systematic intervention at school your child will thrive and flourish during their middle school years. They will have built the foundational skills that will serve them well now, and in their future academic endeavors.

            In the coming week letters will be sent out to parents whose children have been identified (or "red flagged") for intervention. Intervention will begin September 12^th. A follow up communication from the teacher directing the specific intervention will be sent to those parents to inform them of their student's plan and timeline for intervention. Should you have any questions regarding intervention for your specific child, please contact one of your child's grade level teachers. General inquiries and questions about TPCA's middle school intervention can be directed to Danielle Feeney, Assistant Principal.

 Sincerely,