Study Support

STUDY SUPPORT DEPARTMENT- The St. Pius Study Support team consists of Ms. Dena Peck, Mrs. Lauren Chatelain, and Mr. Jon Osnowitz who assist students who need help with concept reinforcement and accommodation management, as well as advocacy, organization, time management or study skills.

STUDY SUPPORT PROGRAM- Any student who provides a psycho-educational evaluation or a letter from a medical professional recommending classroom accommodations is part of the SPX Study Support Program. As a private high school, SPX does not provide IEP or 504 plans. Instead we utilize a Formal Written Plan that is accessible by the teachers and is a summary of the student’s strengths, challenges, diagnosis, and recommended accommodations as indicated by psycho-educational testing. For students with a letter from a medical professional, we have a Medical Accommodation Plan, which provides teachers with the student’s diagnosis and recommended accommodations. Students and parents have access to the SSD Canvas course for information about accommodations on standardized testing and those available in the SPX classroom. Students who have made arrangements for permissible accommodations and have used them can view this documentation via Ecollect on PowerSchool. Any student who needs help is welcome to come to the Study Support room during his or her Study Hall or lunch period.

STUDY SUPPORT CLASS-  Some students take Study Support as a class. This is a separate non-credit, elective class that meets one period of the school day and requires current psycho-educational testing. Just because a student has testing on file does not automatically place him or her in a Study Support class. Having testing and/or utilizing the support services in middle school does not automatically place a student in the Freshman Study Support class. Placement in the Freshman Study Support class is determined by the Admissions Committee in conjunction with the Study Support Team. Placement in Sophomore, Junior, and Senior Study Support class is determined by the Study Support Team and is based on psycho-educational testing, need, availability and scheduling.  All students in the Study Support class will take at least 2 semesters of the class. The Study Support team will evaluate any student who has (or will be) meeting this requirement to determine if the student is ready to take an elective rather than the Study Support class. Although there is a discussion between the Study Support Team, parents, and student, students can only exit the program with approval from either the Study Support Team or the Dean of Academics who will determine if the student is prepared to be academically successful without this extra assistance.

CONTACT STUDY SUPPORT- Email studysupport@spx.org if you or your student:

1. Has Psycho-Educational testing and needs accommodations.
2. Thinks Psycho-Educational testing is needed.
3. Is struggling and would like assistance.
4. Needs to have teachers fill out teacher forms for testing (Please do not give them to the individual teachers).

PERMISSIBLE ACCOMMODATIONS- We provide individualized, classroom accommodations for which students may qualify. We do not, however, offer modifications to the curriculum. Accommodations will be determined based on individualized student needs, as identified in psychoeducational or additional evaluations, and in alignment with the curriculum established by the Archdiocese of Atlanta. In accordance with the student’s documentation, he or she may qualify for all or some of the following accommodations: 

• Time and a half (50%) or double time (100%) on classroom quizzes, tests, and/or exams
• Use of computer for written assessments, when appropriate
• Note taking assistance, as needed
• Preferential seating, as needed 
• Use of audiobooks (if approved by BookShare, access to audiobooks through SPX)
• Mark answers directly on test book instead of filling in a bubble sheet  
• Spelling consideration on in-class written expression tasks where the student does not have access to a computer or proofreader. This does not apply when taking spelling tests or on assessments where spelling is a part of the assessment/curriculum. 
• Use of a 4-function calculator    
• Testing environment with minimized distractions, provided in classrooms but on rare and specific occasions in the Study Support room
• Any accommodation that is not listed above is not available to students at St. Pius X.

ACCOMMODATIONS ON THE ACT OR COLLEGE BOARD TESTS- Any student who has psycho-educational testing on file and has been using accommodations on a regular basis can request accommodations on standardized tests administered by ACT or College Board (PSAT, SAT, AP testing). Detailed information is available on the Canvas SSD Course. Be aware that ACT and College Board are two separate companies and have different procedures and deadlines for their requests. Requests can not be made until the student/parent has completed a Google Form, submitted a signed parental consent form and provided all documentation that will be sent with the request (in electronic form). In order for SPX to meet the deadlines set by College Board and ACT, the student/parent must meet the SPX Submission Deadline. Below are the deadlines for both College Board (CB) and ACT

2022-2023 DATE

TESTING- SPX keeps testing for one year after the student has graduated or has left the school. After that year, if the student or parents have not picked up the testing, it will be shredded.

DOCUMENTATION FOR COLLEGE- Anyone who needs a letter or documentation from SPX for college or another school, must request that information by the last school day in April using the Google Form that is accessible on the "Senior Information" module of the SSD Canvas course. Please contact the support program at your college once you are accepted to determine if you need any documentation from SPX and request it early. All requests must be made during the school year. No requests will be done during the summer.