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GRASP CHOICE ACADEMY

Guiding, Remediating, and Accelerating Student Progress
Please read this important information. Click here to apply online for the GRASP Choice Academy. What is the GRASP Choice Academy? The GRASP Choice Academy will be a school of choice option for students in grades 2-6 located within RL Brown Elementary. The program incorporates project based learning and enrichment with prescriptive multi-sensory instruction and interventions. Eligibility will be based on meeting criteria that demonstrate a student has unmet potential and signs of dyslexia. It will be operated as a separate school with its own Principal, Guidance Counselor, Teachers, Interventionists, and Support Staff. The GRASP Choice Academy will have approximately 225 seats and 15 classrooms. This initiative is offered by Duval County Public Schools in partnership with Hope Haven Childrens Clinic. Why choose the GRASP Choice Academy? The GRASP Choice Academy is a unique learning environment designed for the dyslexic learner. Enriched programs, hands-on learning, and multi-sensory instruction are core components of the program. Each GRASP Choice Academy classroom has a maximum of 15 students and utilizes a General Education teacher, Para-Professional, Prescriptive Interventionist and ESE teacher as appropriate in order to maximize the individual approach for each student. The GRASP Choice Academy supports the special learning needs of the dyslexic student by utilizing Orton-Gillingham methodology. Will there be any other GRASP Choice Academy locations? The GRASP Choice Academy will continue to serve the three pilot locations at Loretto Elementary School, Hendricks Avenue Elementary School, and Hogan-Spring Glen Elementary School. Satellite locations will provide services for approximately 30 students (per satellite location) in grades 3-5 in two classrooms. Students at satellite locations will be classified as students of the GRASP Choice Academy and will be under the supervision of the GRASP Choice Academy Principal and support staff. Preference will be given to students in the attendance area of the satellite location. Transportation will NOT be provided to satellite locations for students not residing in the attendance area of the location. How are students chosen to participate in the GRASP Choice Academy? Applications for the GRASP Choice Academy will be reviewed to identify students that demonstrate signs of dyslexia, dyscalculia and/or dysgraphia. Teachers and schools may recommend the GRASP Choice Academy to parents. The application process begins when the parent completes the online GRASP application located at the top and bottom of this page. Will transportation be provided to the GRASP Choice Academy? Transportation will be provided free of charge to the GRASP Choice Academy at RL Brown through Duval County Public Schools. Transportation will NOT be provided to the satellite locations to students outside of the schools attendance zone. What are the future plans for the GRASP Choice Academy? The GRASP Choice Academy plans to continue expansion in 2015-2016, possibly adding other grade levels. How do I apply for the GRASP Choice Academy? Applications are initiated by the parent, by following the identified Click here links; you will get to the online parent questionnaire and student profile. Upon completion and once it is received by staff of the GRASP Choice Academy, they will send the students teacher an online rating scale to complete. Once all materials have been received, a committee will review each application and notify the parents of the students eligibility. Click here to apply online or download a hard copy of the application by clicking here, then click on the Arrow Icon to open the document in a new window to print it. Mail the completed hard copy application to Dr. Gayle Cane, Region 4 EE/SS Office, 3701 Winton Road. Jacksonville, FL 32208 or FAX it to 904.924.3455. Applications will be made available from April 1 - May 15, 2014.

Description of a GRASP Academy Candidate

Strengths Bright and highly intelligent, with strong verbal skills Challenges Basic reading, writing, spelling and / or math due to cognitive processing differences Knowledge and ability are not adequately measured through paper and pencil tasks; output is not commensurate with what the student knows Ideas may present as extremely unusual or bizarre and these ideas are misunderstood by others Student presents as a daydreamer Little internal dialog for sounds or words Misses the details or specifics; non linear thinker with difficulty following directions Learning of simple, basic rudimentary skills or activities; high frustration when not understanding

Appears to have a great wealth of general knowledge and ability

Creative in the generation of thoughts, ideas, actions and opinions; an innovative, imaginative, divergent and out of the box thinker Thinks primarily with pictures and feeling Holistic, global thinker - sees the whole picture

Learns through patterns, connections and similarities that others do not see; abstract thinker who grasps new concepts easily and displays a passion to know and understand What is difficult is easy Strong problem solving, critical thinking, decision making and reasoning skills; excels at solving real world problems Excellent long-term memory for experiences, locations, and faces; keen observation skills Extremely curious with strong questioning attitude

What is easy is difficult Meaningless busy work that requires rote memory and repetition Poor memory for sequence, facts and information that has not been experienced May present as disrespectful when questioning information or facts from teachers or authority figures Specific areas of strengths or talents, such as music, drama or art, may be masked by processing issues and therefore never be recognized or developed Unusual for a child to spend leisure time in this way; may further isolate child from peers May use humor to divert attention from academic difficulties Attention issues for deficit areas

Wide range of interests not related to school, as well as specific talents or consuming interests about certain topics Engages in self selected projects and uses leisure time to pursue these passions Sophisticated sense of humor

Persistent, intense concentration in areas of interest

Ingenious compensation strategies Excellent comprehension of stories read or told to the student, including content beyond grade level

Anxiety, low self esteem, lack of confidence Inaccurate and labored decoding affects comprehension; however since the student is bright he/she gets the gist Academic difficulties hinder the development of independence in the school setting Holds teachers and peers to same high standards

Sense of independence and leadership ability

Sensitive and highly critical of self ; strong sense of justice Ability to read people; intuitive

May not be accepted by peers and feels isolated or different Will not develop to full potential in traditional classroom

Learns best through hands on experiences, demonstrations, experimentation, observation and visual aids; thrives in a challenging, nurturing environment with a multisensory delivery

Does this describe your student or child? Would your student or child thrive in a unique learning environment? If both answers are yes, then parents should follow the link below and begin the process to join the GRASP Choice Academy. Click here to apply online or download a printable copy by clicking here, then click on the Arrow Icon to open the document in a new window to print it. Mail the completed hard copy application to Dr. Gayle Cane, Region 4 EE/SS Office, 3701 Winton Road. Jacksonville, FL 32208 or FAX it to 904.924.3455. Applications will be made available from April 1 - May 15, 2014.