Milton M. Somers Middle School

Departments

Special Education

The Special Education Team at Milton Somers is a highly trained group of teachers whose first priority is the education of the student. Individual students are evaluated by a team of professionals to ensure that their individual needs will be addressed in their yearly programs, placement, and classes. The Special Education Team works closely with the other departments to provide for the student's success.

We believe that all students can be successful regardless of the challenges. While meeting the state standards for curriculum, each student is nurtured for self-advocacy and self-determination so each can one day be independent adults. We also believe that the student's success is highly dependent on parent support and guidance. The parent plays a vital role in our team effort in providing the best possible education and opportunities for the student.

The following programs are provided at Milton Somers:

Direct and Inclusion Services

Special education services involve both direct and inclusion instruction. Direct instruction is a small group taught by a special education teacher. The curriculum is broken down to meet the needs of the students with disabilities. Inclusive education means that all students in a school regardless of their strengths or weaknesses in any area, become part of the school community. At Milton Somers we have a variety of inclusion settings. The regular education teachers work closely with our special education teachers and instructional assistants. This collaboration creates an environment for the student to be able to be placed in the least restrictive environment. Here we use co-teaching (special education and regular educators) as well as having instructional assistants assigned to classrooms. All students in the classroom benefit from the additional support.

The Life Skills Program

The Life Skills Program at Milton Somers is a regional county program.  The students participate in a functional academic and life skills curriculum that is enhanced with weekly community trips. Functional academic skills are taught along with skills in the following domains: personal management, communication, community, vocational/ career and recreations/ leisure.  Each student's Individual Educational Program reflects these areas and may also include related services such as Adapted Physical Education, Speech and Language, and Occupational Therapy.  Although this is a small program, one of the goals is to include the students is as many activities and classes as possible with their peers in regular educational settings.

The students are required to participate in the Alternate Maryland State Assessment (ALT-MSA) for 6th, 7th and 8th graders.  The ALT-MSA assesses mastery on 10 reading and 10 math goals that are on the student's ability level.  Both reading and math goals come from the Voluntary State Curriculum, and are taught on the 6th, 7th or 8th grade level.  Data indicating student achievement, and other educational information is compiled in the student's ALT-MSA portfolio that is sent to the state for assessment in early March.

The Emotional Adjustment Program

The Emotional Adjustment (EA) Program is designed to meet the needs of the student who is experiencing emotional and behavioral problems that affect their ability to meet the expectations of the traditional classroom setting. These difficulties may be related to a variety of causes and significantly impact their academic progress. The EA Program provides a highly structured behavior management setting with therapeutic support to assist the student in identifying and changing behaviors that have hindered their academic progress. The primary goal is to help students return to mainstream classes.

Visit the Charles County Public Schools Department of Special Education