Gateway Elementary

Guidance/Counseling

The school counselor advocates for students, working to advance their academic, career, personal, and social development. The counselor helps students work through problems that may be keeping them from reaching their potential at school. School counseling at Gateway is done on three levels: individually with students, small group counseling, and guidance lessons. School counselors also involved in:

• Helping to identify and meet the needs of the student
• Providing referrals to outside agencies and serving as a liaison with those agencies
• Serving as a resource for teachers and parents
• Collaborating with special education and administration
• Helping students recognize their own unique potential
• Helping students to develop coping, problem solving, and decision making
• Crisis prevention, intervention, and follow-up

Guidance Lessons

The guidance lessons are designed to promote the development of character and the academic growth of our students, using material from Second Step and Mind Up programs. We want all of the students at Gateway to grow into respectful, responsible citizens who are able to contribute in positive ways to their community. Because of this goal, we place a high priority on teaching children specifically what it means to be a person of good character. Lessons are done in each classroom throughout the school year by the school counselor to provide age-appropriate instruction on various aspects of good character.

Gifted and Talented

Gateway’s GT program serves not only students who are identified GT, but also students who need further advancement in the areas of literacy, math, and STEM. Our program is project-based with real life problems that focus on the Level 4 critical concepts. In this way the GT classes support and grow the critical concepts taught in the classroom. Students in this program work collaboratively to solve problems, to apply learning, and to create innovative and unique products.

Title I

Title I is designed to help students who are below proficiency in reading and math grow to their fullest potential. Gateway's Title I program is a targeted assistance program for students who are significantly below proficient on DIBELS and/or STAR in reading and math. Our targeted assistance program utilizes Project READ (an Orton Gillingham-based program) and AddVantage Math with great success to grow our learners. At Gateway, students receive Title I support each day for a minimum of 30 minutes in their target area.

MTSS

Response to Intervention/Multi-tiered system of support is made up of a team of staff members who work together on behalf of a student who needs additional support. The goal is to brainstorm, implement, monitor, and revise interventions to help that student be successful. Referrals are made through the regular classroom teacher.