Casco Bay High School welcomes Special Education students! Our faculty is highly skilled at differentiating curriculum and instruction to meet diverse learners’ needs, and our percentage of special education students is reflective of the district; however, we do not currently have the resources to staff selfcontained behavioral or academic programs. Many of our freshmen and sophomores with IEP’s do access the courses described below and some may access our Learning Lab for specialized support. Additional academic support is available for juniors and seniors as well (Supported Study), but the focus is less on skill development and more on helping students be successful in core academic classes (and this support is not credit-bearing). Note: In accordance with their IEP, some special education students (with academic achievement at grade level 2-5) may work toward modified course standards in mainstream core courses (e.g.: Foundations in Biology).

Academic Strategies One and Two
This two UPs elective course is designed for freshmen and sophomores with IEP's who need to develop further the organizational talents which are often called “Executive Skills,” from time management to goal setting. Under the guidance of a special educator, students develop the key executive skills and habits of work that will help them be successful in rigorous, mainstream core classes, especially humanities and math. Students also have an opportunity to receive additional academic support. Each trimester, students must meet all executive skills standards in order to demonstrate proficiency. The executive skills standards include: goal-directed action, task initiation & completion, flexibility, time management, work organization, emotional management, using an agenda, and thinking before acting.

Math Foundations
This two UPs course is for students with IEP's who need additional support and skill development to meet core math standards. The course focuses on building up math confidence and competence through developing numeracy skills, problem-solving, and lagging skills. Math foundations will include a close study of whole numbers, fractions, decimals, percentages, integer operations, inequalities, linear models, exponents, polynomials, and basic algebra.

In the 2014 book Deeper Learning by Monica Martinez and Dennis McGrath, Casco Bay High School was featured throughout as one of the “eight innovative public schools” that are “transforming education in the twenty-first century.”