Curriculum Philosophy and Outline
Nashoba Learning Group (NLG) operates a center-based private special education
day program for male and female students with diagnoses of Autism and related
disorders from 3 to 22 years of age. NLG does not discriminate in admission, administration
of its policies, or application of its curriculum on the basis of race, color,
religious affiliation,
sexual orientation, or national or ethnic origin. Nashoba Learning Group strives
to provide state of the art education and intervention services to children with
autism and related developmental disabilities. Our services are designed to allow each student to achieve their potential
so that they can participate as fully as possible in their families, local schools,
and communities. At Nashoba Learning Group we believe that no child, including
no child with autism, should be left behind.
Students are referred for admission to NLG by their local public school district.
Each student has an Individualized Education Program (IEP) developed by a Team
that includes the local school district, the family, and NLG. The Team develops
annual goals and objectives for the child’s education that are based on evaluations
of the child’s: developmental level and skill level; history of progress; the
nature of the child’s specific symptoms of disability; and, the school district’s
learning standards, as adapted for the child.
NLG develops an individualized curriculum for each student that is designed to
allow the child to achieve the IEP objectives set by the team. This curriculum
maps the IEP objectives to the corresponding learning standards contained in the
Massachusetts curriculum frameworks and to specific NLG Learning Programs, or
lesson plans.
All NLG Learning Programs include the gathering of daily data on the student’s
progress and specific standards for assessing whether the student has mastered
the program. These data are summarized periodically and presented to the Team,
so that the child’s educational progress can be assessed. NLG Learning Programs
utilize the rich array of teaching techniques developed through Applied Behavior
Analysis and validated by scientific research as effective for the education and
treatment of individuals with autism.
In creating each child’s individualized curriculum, NLG strives to give each child
access to as many strands of the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks as is appropriate
for the student and consistent with the student’s IEP. For academic subjects,
NLG defers to the local school district’s curriculum in the selection of learning
standards and where appropriate, in the texts and materials to be used.
Consistent with their diagnoses of autism and inability to be served in a regular
education placement, the majority of the students admitted to Nashoba Learning
Group lack access skills required to achieve the learning standards in the Massachusetts
Curriculum Frameworks and participate in regular education. The majority of NLG’s
Learning Programs are designed to teach these fundamental access skills.
These learning programs are grouped under the following categories;
- Language and communication;
- Appropriate behavior;
- Social skills;
- Pre-academic skills;
- Community and daily living skills;
- Motor, leisure and play skills.
These skills correspond most closely
to the preK-K learning standards of the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks. The
access skills map to all the Subject areas of the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks,
with the majority relating to learning standards in the English Language Arts
and Health Curricula.
When a student gains sufficient access skills to participate in grade level academics,
they would generally be included in regular education programs at their local
public school, with the level of inclusion and supports provided determined by
the IEP Team. NLG provides support for students whose IEP plans call for appropriate
amounts of supported inclusion in regular education programming. When the student
is included, NLG follows the curriculum of the regular education classroom, modifying
and/or pre-teaching lesson plans as needed by the child. If the student is able
to participate in regular education without NLG support, the student graduates
from NLG and returns to their local school district.
NLG works with the local school district to determine how the child will participate
in the MCAS assessment process. If the student does not sit for MCAS examinations
at their local school, then NLG prepares an Alternate Assessment Portfolio for
submission, when those are required.
