Colegio Bolívar’s Mission and Quality Policy, especially principle number 5: The school has the responsibility to meet the needs and support the talents of individual students, are fully supported by the Learning Support Services teachers, who assist students on both sides of the spectrum: those who have specific learning needs and those who exceed expectations.
Consistent with the Response to Intervention (RtI) model, a multi-tiered approach, the learning resource team uses, accommodates, or modifies the general curriculum to provide the required remedial instruction and to target the students’ individual needs.
Student Support
Colegio Bolívar´s educational focus comes from the principle that each student has a different rhythm and learning style. The institution is committed to providing an education, which includes all facets of growth, from academic performance to emotional and spiritual development.
In conjunction with the homeroom and area teachers, the Learning Support Services professionals identify the strengths and weaknesses of the students referred and then design an intervention plan which offers strategies in order for the student to acquire the learning skills necessary to meet the curriculum goals and objectives. The following services are offered:
Enrichment Program in Spanish
Emphasizes the usage and stimulates the acquisition of skills in the areas of speaking, reading and writing in Spanish for children in the First grade. It looks to fine tune the development of the mother tongue with the usage of different activities.
NES (New English Speakers)
A program designed for students who have come from non-bilingual (English – Spanish) schools and who require the support which will allow them to integrate into the regular academic program at the Colegio Bolívar.
English Reading and Writing Support
Support is offered in reading and writing in English for students in the different sections who are below the expected level for their grade or who have presented any learning difficulties which affect their performance in this area.
English as a Second Language Support
The Colegio Bolívar offers support to students in pre-primary, primary and secondary in strengthening their English as a second language. The emphasis is on oral skills as a means of communication.
Internal Reinforcement/Tutoring
Middle School and High School tutoring is offered. These are extra classes given by the LSS teacher or the subject area teacher after school hours.
AP (Advanced Placement) and Honors Classes
The advanced courses are offered to high school students with high academic motivation in different subject areas, which are taught at a college level.
Optimal Match (OM) Enrichment Program
Support is given to those students who have special abilities and talents. This program allows students to channel these talents in an optimal way, offering a broad range of research activities, independent work and project elaboration, which in turn promotes creativity, problem solving skills, and decision making. Some of these students participate in “Destination Imagination” which promotes the development of the before-mentioned skills and utilizes group work to resolve situations.
College Placement
High school students receive individualized support by a counselor who is specialized in getting to know the student´s aptitudes and interests, guiding students to explore different professions, choosing a major and the most appropriate university options, complying with admissions requirements; the students are also advised about obtaining academic, athletic and/or artistic scholarships.
Our Team
The Learning Support Services (LSS) team offers a non-threatening and welcoming environment to students. Taking into account that each student faces a different challenge, respect towards different learning styles and rhythms is constantly being emphasized.
To ensure that maximum learning occurs, individual plans are carefully designed, followed, and adjusted accordingly. Ongoing progress measurement and assessment of goal achievement guide the strategic intervention in the different academic and cognitive areas.
The partnership of the LSS team, classroom teachers, counselors, section principals and parents is necessary to accomplish the goal of helping every student acquire the skills and abilities to grow, not only as an academic learner, but also as an individual..