Student Support Services

At Des Moines Christian School, we desire to serve the entire family by providing support services that meet unique learning needs of each student. As a community in Christ, we know that God has created each child on purpose for a purpose; that He loves each child deeply and values each one of them. For us as a school, to truly know and care for each child excellently requires intentional collaboration and intentional support. We believe all children can learn; they may not learn in the same way or on the same day but they can learn. Each child is created with a unique learning profile that is built on the strengths and challenges of both the mind and the heart. 

Multi-tiered System of Support (MTSS) 

As a K-12 school, our student support services are designed to be cohesive as students progress through DMC elementary, middle school, and high school. Our Multi-tiered System of Support (MTSS) guides the way we work with students to help them achieve their best. 

DMC supports students within the classroom setting and also provides individual support, depending on the tier of service needed. Tier I provides access to essential grade level standards; supports can include differentiation in learning through co-teaching. Tier II  provides additional time and support to understand essential learnings. Tier III utilizes targeted interventions within small group settings to fill remedial gaps from previous years.

Assessment for Support Services 

DMC uses a variety of assessment tools to determine if support is needed for a student. All K-12 students take Star assessments and the Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress (ISASP). In addition, a variety of classroom formative assessments are utilized. By triangulating a variety of  assessment data, the school is able to determine which students may need additional instruction and intervene early. Skills are assessed throughout the year to determine academic support needs.  

Accommodation Plans

At times accommodation plans are needed to support a student to participate and succeed in the general education curriculum, without specialized instruction or related services. To determine if a student is eligible to receive an accommodation plan the school staff complete an evaluation. This may include additional testing to collect more data. Accommodations could include extra exam time, more breaks, fidgets, or preferential seating to help students participate in the educational environment. Accommodations are evaluated and adjusted over time as students grow in knowledge and increase independence.  

Academic Support 

Co-Teaching: Co-teaching allows for two teachers to work together in the same classroom, sharing the instructional responsibility for a group of students. Co-teaching allows each teacher to bring their strengths together to differentiate instruction, lower student-to-teacher ratios and increase student engagement. This leads to higher levels of growth for each student.

Certified Dyslexia Specialist:  DMC’s Certified Dyslexia Specialist provides quality services and intervention for students with dyslexia.  This teacher provides direct specialized instruction for students who are in need of dyslexia therapy and provides consulting, coaching, and professional development training to other DMC interventionists and teachers to ensure strong instruction for students with dyslexia. DMC is implementing a dyslexia screening for all PreK-1st grade students.

Reading Support Teacher, Math Support Teacher, and Educational Support Facilitator in Each School Level: The math  and reading support teachers provide quality instruction  and targeted skill intervention to maximize each student's potential. Through co-teaching and small group instruction, these two support positions provide expertise, intentional time and research-based strategies to students needing an additional system of support. 

The Educational Support Facilitator, who has a background in special education, focuses on working directly with students who have executive functioning, behavioral and/or academic needs. This includes direct delivery of instruction and research-based interventions in individual or small groups both within the classroom environment and individualized settings. The Educational Support Facilitator also coaches and equips other teachers to provide the necessary accommodations and differentiated instruction within Tier I and Tier II instruction. 

Special Education services through Urbandale Public Schools: Students with an IEP can receive special education services through Urbandale Schools while attending DMC. In fact, these services are provided on the DMC campus for K-8th grade students with a special education teacher from Urbandale Schools. High school students are able to receive special education services while attending DMC as well; services are provided at Urbandale High School and transportation is provided. If determined appropriate by the IEP team, reverse consultation can occur, meaning a qualified DMC teacher with a special education certificate provides the IEP services to the student at DMC. 

6-12 Testing Proctor

The testing proctor creates a quiet, structured, and encouraging testing and learning environment to meet the individual needs of learners. The testing proctor also ensures students have the opportunity to utilize their testing accommodations. (eg. extended time, note cards, reading tests aloud, etc.) 

Full-Time Associates in all K-2 Classrooms  

Full-time associates in our lower grade level classrooms provide another layer of support to strengthen the core classroom instruction.

Speech Services 

Through a partnership with Heartland AEA, DMC provides speech services for students who qualify.  Speech-language pathologists work with children who have a variety of communication needs. These needs are generally related to: articulation, language, voice, fluency and early literacy. Service delivery options range from consultation and training with the student’s educational team to one-to-one intervention with the student. 

Social-Emotional Support 

In addition to classroom faculty, resource and extended learning teachers, K-12 counselors provide social and emotional support to our students. The DMCS Counseling Program’s philosophy believes wholeheartedly in advocating for all students’ spiritual, academic, social and  emotional well-being. DMC also has an on-site partnership with Heartland Christian Counseling Services to provide short-term mental health consultation sessions with students, staff, and parents.