Special Services / Overview

Joshua ISD provides a number of special services, including:

Dyslexia services are provided to assist students in acquiring skills needed to read, write and spell. Students with dyslexia may receive accommodations in the general classroom, may be served through any of the special programs the district offers, or may be served through a pull-out intervention program that provides an intensive, multi-sensory method that addresses grapho-phonemic knowledge, linguistic instruction, and comprehension.

The Gifted and Talented program is provided for students from kindergarten through twelfth grade who excel in a specific academic field (language arts and social studies, math and science, and/or creative and productive thinking). In order to prepare students for real world experiences and to promote achievement and self-esteem, gifted students are place in heterogeneous classroom settings and provided with opportunities to work in homogeneous arrangements with other gifted students. High school students have an option to take Pre-Advanced Placement and Advanced Placement courses to count for their Gifted and Talented participation.

The program is designed to develop and expand problem-solving and critical thinking skills, provide creative outlets for expression, excite curiosity in the quest for knowledge stimulating a life long desire for learning, develop and expand confidence in one's own abilities and the abilities of others to face personal and social problems as a team and individually, and the develop the student's understanding of the significance of a continually expanding knowledge base. A differentiated curriculum inclusive of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills allows for a variety of learning opportunities leading toward the development of advanced level products and performances.

Students may be nominated at any time by staff, parents, self, or others. All nominated students will be assessed after receipt of parent permission. Testing may be completed in small group or individual settings at the discretion of the staff. Final selection is determined by a committee of three educators trained in gifted education. Students must requalify at the end of the sixth grade. Students are expected to maintain grades of 85 or better in the areas of qualification in order to remain in the program.

Identified gifted students transferring into the district and who have records of comparable testing may be eligible for provisional placement in the program. A selection committee will review the results and observe the student's performance prior to continued placement or recommended exit from the program.

Parents or students may appeal any final decision of the selection committee regarding selection for or removal from the program. Appeals are first made to the campus selection committee. Subsequent appeals are made to the Directors of Instruction at Central Administration.

Bilingual Education Two-way dual language classes are offered at Caddo Grove Elementary School for Pre-Kindergarten through grade 6. Native Spanish speakers and native English speakers learn in two languages via a language enrichment model. Students learn grade level academics and linguistic proficiency in two languages while developing positive cross-culture attitudes and biculturalism. The program goal is for the students to be literate and fluent in English and in Spanish by the end of the fifth grade.

English As A Second Language is designed to enable limited English proficient students the opportunity to become competent in the English language through the use of second language acquisition techniques. Pre-Kindergarten through twelfth grade students are served through the ESL program. All campuses offer ESL instruction and support.

Special Education services are available to students who have been assessed and diagnosed with a disability that hinders educational performance. Services are available to students between the age of three and twenty-one and from birth through age 21 for children with a severe vision impairment or a severe hearing loss. For information, contact a campus principal or the Director of Special Populations.

The Legal Framework for the Child-Centered Process, an electronic format that summarizes state and federal requirements for special education, the Guide to the Admission, Review, and Dismissal Process and the Notice of Procedural Safeguards can be accessed through http://framework.esc18.net/.