Offering a safe, supportive learning environment for K–12 students.
COMMITMENT TO EDUCATIONAL EQUALITY
Services for Students with IEPs
TEC Connections Academy (TECCA) Commonwealth Virtual School is committed to providing equal access to its online education program to students with disabilities in accordance with federal and state law. TECCA is committed to providing its students, regardless of disability, with an equal opportunity to participate in, and benefit from, the school’s education program. TECCA proudly offers special education services, providing students access to resources tailored to their individual abilities and needs, including, but not limited to, assistive technologies, direct instruction, and related services.
TECCA offers virtual special education services to certain students who have Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) and Section 504 Plans (504 Plans). These services include consultation, curriculum accommodations and modifications, collaboration with Learning Coaches and general education teachers, direct instruction from certified special education teachers, and substantially separate special education classes. TECCA also provides students with IEPs a wide range of related services, as appropriate. When an eligible student enrolls in TECCA, the IEP Team or Section 504 Team convenes to develop suitable interventions for the virtual environment.
TECCA engages with parents and Learning Coaches through the Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC). The Council serves in an advisory capacity to the TECCA administration and includes the special education manager. The SEPAC bylaws are available at TECCA SEPAC bylaws. If you would like to participate in the TECCA Special Education Parent Advisory Council, please contact the TECCA office at 774-315-5123 Ext. 361.
The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Special Education (DESE) provides a range of resources related to students with disabilities. These may be found at this link. Parent’s Notice of Procedural Safeguards may be found here.
Records Process
TECCA strives to provide students with a high-quality, innovative, virtual public-school experience through access to education that empowers students to demonstrate respect, life skills, growth mindset, critical thinking, communication skills, and application of knowledge to prepare them for the next stage of their life's journey. To help make that process quick and straightforward, we have three links below that can be used to support the records process.
If you are a current or former Caretaker/Student at TECCA, please use this link to submit your request.
If you are a School System requesting to receive a student's records from TECCA, please use this link to submit your request.
If you are a School System, Caretaker, or Student wishing to submit a student's records to TECCA, please use this link to send us your records.
For any questions or concerns, please email sped-staff@teccaschool.org. (All emails will be answered within two business days of submission.)
Students with 504 Plans
Section 504 Plans at TECCA
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (“Section 504”) is a federal statute designed to prohibit discrimination and to ensure that students with significant impairments have educational opportunities and benefits comparable to those of their non-impaired peers. A “504-Eligible Student” is a student who either (a) has, (b) has a record of having, or (c) is regarded as having a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity. Section 504 Plans are written for students who are impaired as defined in § 504 of the Act, and who require accommodations, services, and modifications to their instructional program (which may include services and/or assistive technology) to receive a free appropriate public education. Caretakers of students with Section 504 Plans seeking to enroll in the school are asked to submit a copy of the Section 504 Plan during the enrollment and academic placement process. When a student enters the school with a Section 504 Plan developed by a prior school, the school will review the plan and supporting documentation and modify the Section 504 Plan to the online setting, if necessary.
For more information about 504 Plans at TECCA, contact the Director of 504s and Student Analytics at 774-335-5228.
Support for Multilingual Learners (ML)
TEC Connections Academy (TECCA) is committed to upholding a policy of educational equality. TECCA welcomes multilingual learners (ML) and is responsible for providing an education program to ensure ML students achieve the same high standards as native English speakers. TECCA takes immense pride in the diversity of its student body. We recognize that we are much stronger for the variety of cultural, ethnic, racial, and linguistic perspectives that our students bring to our virtual school community. As a member of a multilingual family, your child has tremendous life advantages that are clearly established. ML students often demonstrate above-average skills in many academic areas.
Title III of the No Child Left Behind Act states that all multilingual learners must attain English proficiency while simultaneously meeting the same academic standards as their English-speaking peers in all content areas. To meet this goal, TECCA provides ML students with curriculum support and instruction to develop academic proficiency in all domains of communication, including listening, speaking, reading, and writing. All ML students at TECCA have an opportunity for additional support through direct instruction with an ML teacher or sheltered support through a collaboration model with the ML teacher and a content specialist.
Every student at TECCA must complete a Home Language Survey so we can identify bilingual students and provide language support in academic English if necessary. Students are first screened using the WIDA ACCESS Placement Test (W-APT) to determine an English proficiency level in order to craft an individual instructional plan for each learner. All ML students are assessed annually using the WIDA ACCESS for ELLs exam administered yearly in January.
For additional information on our multilingual learners programs and placement, please contact the Supervisor of Multilingual Programs at 774-335-5267.
Mrs. Berkowitz
Director of Special Education
Phone: 774-335-5383
Email: mberkowitz@teccaschool.org
Ms. Arieta-Heaney
Director of 504s and Student Analytics
Phone: 774-335-5228
Ms. Anthony
Supervisor of Multilingual Language Program
Phone: 774-335-5276
Email: janthony@teccaschool.org
COMMUNITY
Connecting on the Local Level
Want to stay connected to Connections Academy and learn more about our local families? Join us on Facebook. Whether you live in one of the small towns or big cities of Massachusetts, your local community is a part of who you are. And that makes it a part of who we are, too. Across the state, our community coordinators, Learning Coaches and students volunteer and participate in community events.
Joining us on Facebook is also a wonderful way to learn more about the role of Learning Coaches, including how families just like yours make Online School work for them.
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