Prior to placing a student in a special education program, a full and individualized evaluation of the student’s educational needs must be conducted. The Student Success Team process was first established in the early eighties in California by the Special Education Resources Network. It is now implemented in most districts in California. The Student Study/Success Team (SST) is a group of people at a school who utilize a problem-solving approach in an attempt to help students to be more successful in school, at home, and in the community. The team meets at the school and thoroughly reviews individual student’s strengths and weaknesses. The SST often includes the family, classroom teacher and principal. Others who may know the student, who can support the team, such as the student advisor, resources teacher, speech and language specialist, school psychologist or mental health specialist, may also be present.

There are several important functions of the SST. The SST can support students, their families and the classroom teachers. In addition the SST accesses resources and services in the school, the district, and the community, such as parent organizations, academic tutoring, after-

As a social worker and Marriage and Family Therapist intern working with children in foster care in Compton and Watts, I often see children failing in school. They are frequently punished for disobedient behaviors, resulting from their stressful circumstances. There are several factors that lead to a child’s psychological and academic improvements; such as foster parent involvement/investment, foster parent support and affection, the teacher’s positive perception of the student, and the student’s sense of self-worth and self-respect. I attend several SST meetings at several different schools. I have witnessed SSTs help a despondent child transform into a respectful and cheerful child. This experience only signifies the urgency to provide students with support by engaging in the SST process. School psychologists have a wonderful opportunity to assert a strong leadership position within the problem-solving approach. SSTs are extremely beneficial for students with causes for concern.

There are several possible strategies to improve the SST process. Interventions should be based on data and research. Interventions should be creative, individualized, and closely monitored to ensure their usefulness for the student. Parents should be informed of all conferences being held or planned. In addition, parents should also be contacted regularly by teachers and school staff to report students’ strengths in addition to the areas the students needs assistance. Final

Some topics in this essay:
Compton Watts, SST SST, Thirdly SST, Team SST, Process Prior, Family Therapist, Success Team, Resources Network, problem-solving approach, sst meeting, sst process, , special education, foster parent, direct instruction, school staff, barbour 2002, education program, intervention plan,