Language Support
Introduction to the Language Support Program
Cathedral High School has pioneered services in the city for bright, college bound students with specific language processing disabilities. Founded by Elizabeth Barnard in 1980, the Language Support Program at Cathedral began to embrace such students so that they could learn to their highest potential and prepare for college and life's demands. The challenges of dyslexia, or reading comprehension or written expression disabilities, or non-verbal disabilities, are sometimes accompanied by Attention Deficit Disorder. Because any ofthese challenges reduces the learning efficiency of these motivated learners, so specialized instruction enhances their language skills. Throughout the long history of this program, thousands of Cathedral graduates have attended and graduated from hundreds of colleges and universities.
Today, Cathedral and the Language Support Program are more strongly committed than ever to exceptional learners. Here, our department members teach classes of twelve students for their English courses at each grade level, thus specialized direct instruction is provided while students earn their English credits. In the freshman and sophomore years a second required course is provided; composition/writing. This course offers written expression strategies and practice, along with study and organizational approaches. Many students in language support elect to take Latin I within our department, then go on to subsequent years in the World Language Department. Other LSP students study one of the other languages at Cathedral, while some students take a foreign language waiver when their disability significantly impacts language ability. In the junior and senior years, our students follow the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme and participate in the assessments that can lead to the IB certificate. After meeting eligibility requirements through a psychoeducational evaluation, students are also provided, through this department, the accommodations, such as extended time testing, etc.
Families apply to the Language Support Program at the same time they apply to Cathedral. Additional information in the form of the psychoeducational evaluation (provided by either a public school psychologist or private practice psychologist) must be submitted in advance or with the Cathedral application. This must be current (within three years of evaluation date) and have both full cognitive and academic achievementinstruments as part of this battery. This testing, the placement test, and a student/family interview guide us in the selection of students for the Language Support Program, where they generally remain throughout their years at Cathedral.
Once accepted into the program, students follow their individual schedules of Cathedral requirements for the Core 40, Honors, or IB diploma. They are taught to apply the strategies from our instruction to all other course work. We also expect students to utilize appropriate accommodations for school testing and high-stakes testing: ISTEP, AP, IB, college entrance tests, etc. We provide documentation of this eligibility and utilization for testing agencies and colleges, and help guide the college application and selection process. Visits from hundreds of individuals, as well as surveys document the success of Language Support students after graduating from Cathedral. This affirms our belief that our approach is highly beneficial for many students. These testimonials from former students and parents assist us in preparing our present students for their future learning and adult life needs.
For additional information about the Language Support Program at Cathedral, please contact Marcia Reynolds, Director of Language Support, at (317) 542-1481, ext. 342 or via email at mreynolds-reyman@cathedral-irish.org.
