Overview:
St. Paul of the Cross is proud to offer high-quality education to students of differing ability levels. Students with Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) or 504 Plans through the public school or students diagnosed through a private evaluation receive support services through our program with an Individualized Catholic Education Plan (Student Support Plan).

Philosophy:
The Inclusion Team at St. Paul of the Cross is committed to student achievement by sharing knowledge and best practices to provide students with support and differentiated learning experiences in the general education classroom. At the heart of our Inclusion Team is a committed leadership and shared direction to ensure that each member of our school community can flourish academically, spiritually, and personally, secure in the knowledge that they will be treated with dignity and respect.

Evaluation Process and Criteria:
A Catholic Education Plan (Student Support Plan) is created for a student diagnosed with a disability that interferes with his/her ability to demonstrate understanding of the academic and/or social-emotional learning skills at the same level as his/her grade-level peers. The diagnosis must be based on a determination from the LEA (local education agency – public school district) and/or a neuropsychological report.

Evaluation through the LEA/Public School District:
For students to be referred for evaluation through the local public school district, they must first meet the criteria through RTI/MTSS (Response to Intervention/Multi-Tiered System of Support). The chart below illustrates the steps taken before referring a student for an evaluation.

Contingent upon individual evaluations, the following additional services may be provided:

• Push in inclusion support
• Pull out support in small groups
• Individual and Group Counseling
• Occupational Therapy 
• Speech and Language
• Hearing Itinerant 

In addition to general accommodations provided in the core curriculum,  the following services may be available in small groups.

• Wilson Reading System
• Orton Gillingham Multi-Sensory System
• Fountas and Pinnell LLi - Supplementary Literacy Intervention
• Learning Ally
• Read Naturally

Meet our Team!

Counselors:

Therapy Dog 
Meet Higgins, SPC's therapy dog.

For additional information about Inclusion Services at St. Paul of the Cross, please contact your grade-level Inclusion Team teacher or Director of Wellness & Student Support. We are here and happy to help!

INCLUSION AND THE ADMISSIONS PROCESS:
If you are interested in applying to St. Paul of the Cross School and your child currently receives support services, you will be asked to upload documentation (Evaluation, IEP, 504, or ICEP) in your application. The inclusion team will then contact you to set up a meeting to discuss your child’s needs.

Team Bios:
Ronda Quinn completed a Master of Social Work at the University of Illinois at Chicago with a specialization in School Social Work. She has worked as a school counselor for nearly two decades, providing counseling to children and adolescents ages 4-18 in a variety of educational settings. Mrs. Quinn serves as Director of Wellness Student Support Services and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker.  Throughout her career, Mrs. Quinn has developed expertise in supporting children and their families with a range of social emotional issues. Her clinical style combines warmth and authenticity with gold-standard clinical practices, including Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE), Social Thinking, Zones of Regulation, Executive Functioning Training, Responsive Classroom, and Conscious Discipline. Mrs. Quinn’s current specializations and clinical interests include evidence-based treatment of Anxiety Disorders, Mood Disorders, ADHD, Social Skills Challenges, Grief, and Adjustment Difficulties in children ages 4-18.

Dorothy Ross received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Special Education & Elementary Education
from Northeastern Illinois University. As a lifelong learner, she then gained a Master of Arts degree in Teaching & Leadership from St. Xavier University. Dorothy currently holds a license in Secondary Teaching & Elementary Teaching. She has an Endorsement in Learning Behavior Specialist I. She gained a Certificate 1 in the Wilson Reading Program. Dorothy has educated multiple age groups including newborns to adults. She enters her 24th year teaching at SPC as an Inclusion Specialist for grades 7 and 8

Megan Dietz received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education and is currently working toward a Master of Arts degree in Literacy Education from Northeastern Illinois University. Megan holds a license in Elementary Education and is endorsed to teach Middle School, English as a Second Language, and Reading. She is trained in the Orton Gillingham teaching approach. Megan started her career 13 years ago working with a Reading Specialist and has since taught preschool, kindergarten, 2nd grade, and 3rd grade. This year, Megan started her fourth year at SPC as part of the Inclusion team to service and support students in grades K-2.

Peggy Godley received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Special Education with a concentration in Learning Disability Educable Mentally Handicapped, and a certificate in Early Childhood Education from Northeastern University. She is trained in the Orton Gillingham teaching approach, a direct, explicit, multisensory, structured, sequential, diagnostic, and prescriptive way to teach literacy. Peggy has been an inclusion teacher at St Paul of the Cross for 18 years, working with students from Kindergarten to 2nd grade. Previously, Peggy was a special education teacher in Chicago Public Schools.

Molly Kennedy received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Elementary Education with an endorsement in Language Arts from Loyola University Chicago. While working in a language learning classroom in Elmwood Park, she completed a Reading Teacher endorsement through Dominican University. Molly has worked for the Archdiocese of Chicago for 16 years, previously teaching 1st, 3rd, 4th and 5th grades at Saint John Brebeuf and St. Benedict Preparatory School. This is Molly’s first year working at SPC where she engages students from K-2nd grade with enrichment opportunities in reading.

Carrie Gornik received her Bachelor of Arts degree from Illinois Wesleyan University in Elementary Education with minors in Spanish and Sociology. She then received her Master's degree in Literacy Education and is certified as a Reading Specialist. She has her middle school and ESL endorsement. She taught for ten years in the inner city of Chicago, working with grades 2-5. She was a Lead Literacy Teacher/ Reading Coach who worked with teachers on differentiating their instruction to meet the needs of all learners in their classroom, as well as working as an intervention specialist. This is Carrie’s second year at SPC. She is trained in the Orton Gillingham teaching approach, an explicit, multi-sensory approach to teaching literacy. This year, Carrie is servicing students in grades K-3 as part of the Inclusion Team and teaching STEAM for grades K-2.

Tina Bull received a Bachelor of Arts in Music Education and Elementary Education from Northeastern Illinois University. This is her 15th year teaching in the Archdiocese of Chicago. Previously, she taught first and third grade at St. Thecla School and went on to start their first Inclusion Program. She received her Master of Arts degree in Educational Leadership from Roosevelt University with an emphasis on curriculum and instruction. She joined the staff of St. Paul of the Cross in 2020, following the closing of St. Thecla School. She is trained in the Wilson Reading System and the Fountas and Pinnell Leveled Literacy Intervention program. Tina is proud to be supporting students as part of the St. Paul of the Cross community.