St. John the Apostle Catholic School strives to foster the growth and success of all children by providing assistance and specialized programs to serve military students with exceptional needs.   Over half of our students receiving extra support at school currently have at least one parent serving in the military.

At St. John the Apostle Catholic School, we have a full-time School Counselor and a Reading Resource Specialist on staff.  This support team meets with incoming and current families to offer assistance with navigating all of the various concerns related to their child.  The team has been trained in supporting military families and understands the unique challenges these families face with regards to getting support for their child with special needs.  The team provides reassurance and shares the various resources that we can provide to their child. 

We have a variety of resources available to meet the needs of exceptional children within our school. We have a Child Study Team that meets weekly to determine what each child may need, and how we can assist in helping each child reach their academic potential.  If it is determined that a child may need additional support, we offer in-house standardized diagnostic testing and screenings to determine the need for possible additional outside assessments or resources. Families will receive additional assistance with referrals for outside support on issues related to their child’s academic performance and/or social and emotional needs, information regarding and assistance with the educational testing process, tutoring service information, community-based workshops, and other community resources for military families.

Students with diagnosed disabilities at St. John the Apostle Catholic School will be provided a Student Accommodation Plan.  This plan will guide the appropriate and tailored accommodations that a child may need in the classroom to ensure optimal academic and social achievement.  Students may also receive academic support designed to help them flourish in the classroom.  St. John the Apostle Catholic School has several speech therapists and an occupational therapist that come on-site to work with students who qualify for these services. Students at St. John the Apostle Catholic School have the opportunity to meet with the school counselor who can provide support to military-connected students who may face frequent relocation or a deployed parent. Guidance lessons are also provided monthly in each classroom throughout the school. 

At St. John the Apostle Catholic School, we have found that one of the best ways to support our military families that have children with exceptional needs is through continued communication with families.  We include the deployed parent in all aspects of their children’s needs and successes through regular emails, as well as offering and providing meetings where the deployed parent can join in the discussion through video or conference calls.  Allowing the deployed parent to be a part of the conversation and decisions regarding the needs of their child is extremely important. If a family receives orders to serve in a different location, we partner with the family to provide all of the necessary documentation and support during that transition.  We help our families to find resources in their new location, reach out to the new school to share information about the needs of the child, and do whatever we can to provide the best support for that child through the transition.  St. John the Apostle Catholic School strives to fulfill our mission by working in partnership with military parents and their families to ensure the optimal achievement of each child in our care.