Special Education Services
An important part of our programming at Riverbend Middle School are our special programs for students in grades six, seven, and eight. Special education teachers and associates go into regular education classrooms with special education students when appropriate. Riverbend special education teachers teach in small-group settings for those students whose IEP's indicate they need that type of program. All special education students receive regular education classroom experiences throughout the school day, to include science, social studies, and exploratories.
A Riverbend Midde School student can receive an array of services from one of our special education teachers, Mrs. Sheila Long, Mrs. Robyn Jackson, and Mrs. Mindy Held along with Central Rivers Area Education Agency (CRAEA) support. There is a special education program that can provide a wide spectrum of services depending on the team decision and on what would be least restrictive, while continuing to allow a child to progress toward their identified goals, both academically as well as behaviorally. The students we serve have been identified and qualify for special education services. Students can receive instruction in the classroom with the classroom teacher and the resource teacher working together. Instruction can take place in the classroom with support, which can include additional practice and/or instruction in the resource room. Instruction in academic areas can take place in the resource room setting. Services can be provided for academic areas such as reading, math, written language, speech, as well as behavior.
Gifted Education Services
Gifted education is a program designed to accommodate the learning needs of identified students by providing challenging higher-order thinking skills and enrichment activities. Students are provided opportunities in a variety of subjects and interests enabling them to develop and improve problem solving, decision making, and logical thinking. Group and individual projects allow for individual differences in learning rates and styles to develop students' talents to their fullest potential. Ms. Amanda Fjeld, TAG instructor, provides gifted education services to those students who qualify here at Riverbend Middle School.