Parent Resources

Information and Referral:
Chartwell receives many calls each week from parents who are trying to understand their child's learning challenges. As a free service to our community, Chartwell provides information about diagnostic-prescriptive instruction and other educational strategies that can greatly improve language and literacy acquisition. Chartwell offers professional guidance based on years of experience and the most current available knowledge to help parents achieve the best for their child and to enable educators to consider how their schools can access new opportunities for literacy development. Chartwell also offers referrals to qualified professionals for further assessment. If you have any questions or would like additional information, please contact Kristen Atkins, Director of the Center for the Advancement of Language and Literacy, at 831.394.3468 ext. 1012 or katkins@chartwell.org.

Community Workshops:
Launched in 1996, Chartwell community workshops provide a forum where parents, educators, health care professionals and community members can learn more about language-based learning challenges and related literacy solutions. The workshops serve as a vehicle for increasing awareness and providing pertinent information to the larger community. The series is offered free to the public throughout local communities in Monterey, Santa Cruz, San Benito, and Santa Clara Counties. Presenters include pediatricians, therapists, educators, authors and other experts in their fields. Please click here for a schedule of upcoming workshops. Directions to Chartwell can be found on the contact page of this website.

Extended Learning Program:
Chartwell is pleased to offer a series of afterschool classes to local students ages 11 to 18. The Extended Learning Program is designed to empower students by teaching them the fundamental skills they need to prepare for tests and complete assignments independently. Students receive individual assessment and personalized instruction. Classes reflect the students’ current school curriculums, and reinforce lessons taught in the general educational setting. Please click here to see the Extended Learning Flyer, with class details.

After School Tutoring:
Various members of Chartwell’s specially trained, experienced staff are available to tutor students in reading, writing, math, science, art and technology. Please contact Nora Lee to discuss tutoring opportunities at nlee@chartwell.org, or by phone at 831.394.3468. Many members of the Chartwell staff also tutor adults. Please contact Kristen Atkins at katkins@chartwell.org or by phone at 831.394.3468 to learn more about adult tutoring options.

Psycho-Educational Referrals:
A PsychoEducational Evaluation is a comprehensive and systematic group of tests given by a licensed professional such as a school psychologist. The evaluation investigates a variety of cognitive functions, and helps us understand the way a child learns. A PsychoEducational Evaluation can tell parents and teachers which types of academic settings will be most successful for a child, and which will be least successful. The evaluation also considers learning variations and learning strengths, and can be very helpful when planning a child’s education. It can assist in identifying the best learning techniques to employ, both at school and at home. Chartwell also uses third-party PsychoEducational Evaluations as one way to help parents objectively track student progress independent from his or her current school placement.

Tips for Preparing for PsychoEducational Referrals:
#1 Tip: Focus on collaborative efforts. Educators, parents, administrators, and other key players in the student's environment should be included in the discussion of what happens next. Consent alone is not considered to be collaboration. Remember that the PsychoEducational assessment:

  • is administered on one day of the student’s life at a specific time and place. A test provides a snapshot or sample of the student’s behavior on that given day so that educators, parents, and other key players who plan for a student’s intervention are able to generalize from the observed behavior what might happen for the student in a non-testing situation.

  • is most predictive when there are multiple evaluations over multiple school years so that results are observable over time and allow a trained professional to see the long-term trends affecting a student’s educational progress.

  • is to assist in ongoing assessment of the student’s needs and strengths. The document will be a lifelong reference for student services and for accommodating the student’s needs when he or she mainstreams, requires more time for test-taking (e.g. SAT), or attends college.

  • might suggest skill level areas (e.g. decoding) of weakness or strength in the sub test scores. Be sure to inquire about the sub tests listed for those and other areas of achievement.

  • must describe the problem in observable measurable terms.

  • should be linked with goals. The data and hypothesis develop the goals for the intervention. Goals and interventions should be planned so that they can be implemented and have a high probability of success. The areas of intervention and goals must be consistent with regard to the problem identified. The goals should be stated in explicit, measurable terms.

  • should be as current as possible, and updated roughly every two to three years. This way, all program recommendations can accurately reflect up-to-date changes in the child’s learning profile. The evaluator should:

  • focus on describing the presenting problem or referral question.

  • provide error pattern analysis and not just score analysis. The evaluator thus makes recommendations based on the meaning of assessment results that are most relevant and likely to benefit the student.

  • briefly describe the current level of performance and the expected level.

  • describe data as it directly relates to the identified problem. A baseline of data and the outcome data should be collected and compared by the evaluator.

  • summarize the assessment methods used. The summary should provide additional, clarifying information about the identified problem. It should be directly related to seeking answers to the identified problem.

  • discuss hypotheses of the possible reasons for the problem and its occurrence. The evaluator should present reasons about "why" the behavior happens and consider factors contributing to the problem. Interventions can only be developed when hypotheses are developed.

  • as much as possible be independent of the program placement recommended.?

1. The information above is drawn, in part, from: National Association of School Psychologists, (2000), Preparing your case study for the NCSP application: Tips for applicants. Retrieved January 15, 2003 from http://www.nasponline.org/certification/casestudy_tips.html

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