When students and teachers need extra support for academic issues and social concerns, help can be found under one friendly umbrella, the LMCES Care Team, helmed by Resource instructor Lorie Loebach and elementary social worker, Kathleen Smart. While support services have always been available, they are now expanded and organized to permit more rapid, responsive intervention, and daily “on-call” assistance. The Care Team, which meets formally each first Monday, also includes teachers from upper and lower elementary, Kara Cullen, Stephanie Rugg, and Tracy Glotzbach, who contribute valuable perspectives from the teachers’ points of view, liaise with the rest of the teaching staff, and provide a sounding board for ideas.
Meeting with students one-on-one and in small groups, either in Mrs. Loebach’s new Resource Room or in Mrs. Smart’s office, allows more freedom for students to explore and practice differentiated academic and social-emotional learning techniques. With the Care Team partnering closely with the teachers, students can transfer those new skills to the classroom more naturally and successfully. The Care Team strives to provide innovative, positive and compassionate interventions to give our Laker students the tools for success in the classroom and beyond.