Child Study Team

Your child is referred to Child Study because there is a concern about his or her academic skills or behavior. Although anyone can make a referral, it is often the parent or classroom teacher that makes the initial referral. Teachers are asked to identify the specific concerns, and the team meeting follows these steps:

• Review your child’s strengths, interests and talents.
• Discuss the reasons for referral and data collected prior to the meeting.
• List interventions previously tried and the success of those interventions.
• Develop a plan to carry out new interventions.
• Schedule a follow-up meeting to discuss progress.

After 6-8 weeks of intervention, the team will meet again to discuss the success of the interventions. Did your child’s performance improve, remain the same, or decrease?

Generally, the team includes the parents, the child's Teacher(s), Principal, School Counselor, School Psychologist, a Behavior Specialist, Speech/Language Therapist, and a Special Education Teacher.  Not all staff will attend every CST meeting.  Staff are included based on the concerns presented by the teacher or parent.

Keeping parents involved and informed is so important. As a parent, you are a key member of our team. Parents are contacted by the child's teacher and will be invited to a meeting once the team has gathered sufficient data.

The child study team represents a proactive approach to supporting teachers in their efforts to accommodate increasingly diverse learners in the general education setting. Some possible outcomes of the child study meeting may be to:

• Implementation of additional intervention strategies with additional specialized staff
• Develop a behavioral plan
• Refer to the Student Assistance Program
• Request additional screenings and testing
• Request an evaluation for special education services