Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Student Services topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Siloam Springs staff report 75 students identified under McKinney‑Vento; 357 show characteristics of dyslexia
Summary
District student services staff told the board about homelessness‑related supports, a behavioral health partnership serving 284 students, and screening and intervention for students with dyslexia characteristics.
Siloam Springs School District student services staff told the school board the district currently identifies 75 students who qualify under the federal McKinney‑Vento Act and is partnering with a community provider to deliver behavioral‑health services to hundreds of students.
The presentation said Arissa Health is currently serving 284 students across the district, and the district has identified 357 K–12 students who “exhibit characteristics of dyslexia,” of whom 193 received direct reading intervention last year.
The district official giving the presentation said, “McKinney Vento Act is federal law, and it was signed, into law by Ronald Reagan in 1987,” and added the district provides enrollment, transportation, school‑record transfers, immunization referrals and tutoring as part of its work to keep those students in school. The presenter described homeless or temporary living situations reported in the district as including shelters, cars, sheds and doubled‑up housing.
The presenter described the Arissa Health partnership’s caseload and listed the top diagnoses served. According to the slide the presenter read, 70 students (24.6% of clients listed on the slide) were identified with depressive disorder, 55 (19.4%) with anxiety disorder, 62 (21.8%) with behavioral disorders, 26 (9.2%) with trauma/PTSD, 27 (9.5%) with adjustment disorders and 14.4% with ADHD.
On dyslexia screening, the presenter said the district does not issue medical diagnoses but does identify students showing characteristics and provide interventions. “A diagnosis of dyslexia, there’s only a few places in the state of Arkansas that actually diagnose,” the presenter said, naming Schmieding and others and describing dyslexia as a neurobiological disorder that requires a medical diagnosis in most cases. The district uses K–3 screening tools (Atlas screener and testlets) and summative data for grades 4–12 to flag students for further screening, the presenter said.
Board members asked why 357 identified students but only 193 received services; the presenter said some students have completed interventions and been moved to monitoring lists, while others or their families decline services or choose other electives in middle and high school that conflict with the academic reading periods used for intervention.
The presentation closed with the presenter thanking district counselors, behavior interventionists and outside partners for their work.
Ending: The board did not take any formal action on the presentation; staff said they would continue to monitor program enrollments and report figures at future meetings.
