Company working to empower special needs students through Action Driven Education
SOMEREST COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ) — Think of when you were a student in a class, frustrated when you didn’t understand something. Now, picture that being every day in every class. That is what some student go through.
The goal of Action Driven Education is in the name, use student’s strengths and weaknesses to recommend actions for teachers to help kids get the best education possible.
“A learning disability has very little to do with intelligence or innate ability. It’s just a particular area where a child is struggling,” Founder of Action Driven Education Tim Kretchman said.
Kretchman worked in special education for over 20 years. He said the company caters to the individual student and what works best for their learning in the classroom or at home.
When you can identify what exactly is the child’s need, what are they struggling with, then you can come up with ways to support them around their needs and that’s where the accomods come in,”
Accomods are the accommodations and modifications recommended based on a student’s customized plan.
Here’s how they work. Parents and teacher check off a student’s strength and weaknesses. They also add in the kid’s needs and prioritize them, low to high. Finally, accomods are suggested for the teachers to select, ranging from keeping their desk clean to giving oral exams rather than written.
High school math teacher and Tim’s wife’ April said the accomods are a helpful tool especially if teachers don’t have much experience with special education.
“To have that guide with the details on how to implement that accommodation or modification and what we should be doing in the classroom and to start that conversation is just invaluable to a student and their education,” she said.
Action Driven Education has contracts with schools in Somerset, Cambria, Bedford, and Fulton counties.
