St. André Bessette Program
“Do not seek to have these trials lifted from you. Instead, ask for the grace to bear them well.”
-St. André Bessette
As a Catholic School, we are committed to doing whatever it takes for our students to experience success in and out of the classroom. St. André Bessette is a great example of someone who persisted, despite his academic difficulties, to become a man of God who always put others before himself. He was known as the “Miracle Man of Montreal” as he persevered through every obstacle, with miraculous results.
St. André showed us that despite having diverse learning needs, he could still be successful, and he was ultimately canonized as a Saint. The St. André Bessette program provides students needing minor educational adjustments the ability to be successful at Archbishop Hannan High School. Currently 1 in 10 students at Hannan are on an Individual Needs Plan. These plans, written individually for each student, provide accommodations in the regular classroom setting.
Archbishop Hannan High School has committed every possible resource toward providing an environment where each student can:
- Develop holistically to the best of his/her ability.
- Learn to utilize strengths as well as develop strategies to compensate for weaknesses.
- Become a motivated learner who assumes responsibility for learning and behavior.
- Develop social and emotional independence, and
- Learn to advocate for oneself.
To accomplish Those goals, we strive daily to:
- Develop an environment where each child is acknowledged as a gift from God.
- Identify, develop and utilize individual student strengths.
- Pinpoint challenges and keep them from becoming obstacles to achievement and success in the classroom.
- Establish an environment that fosters self-efficacy, self-advocacy, and personal intelligence, and
- Create an environment that celebrates diversity.
Individual Needs
Each school year, an individual needs committee reviews the diverse needs of each child by garnering information and recommendations from the psycho-educational evaluation and designs a menu of minor accommodations for the teachers to utilize in the classroom. Minor accommodations include such things as extended time, copy of teacher notes, front row seating, repeated directions, or academic lab placement.
This program is designed for:
- Students who have documented learning needs which require minor adjustments in the regular classroom setting. (Individual Needs Plan)
- Students needing more individualized academic support through our academic lab.
Archbishop Hannan High School’s St. André Bessette Program currently supports students with a variety of diverse learning needs including:
- ADHD
- Autism Spectrum Disorder
- Language Disorders (speech, processing)
- Orthopedic Impairment
- Specific Learning Disability
- Traumatic Brain Injury
It is quite clear from our daily experience that ALL students in an inclusive general education setting gain valuable benefits:
- Meaningful friendships.
- Increased appreciation and acceptance of individual differences.
- Increased understanding and acceptance of diversity.
- Respect and empathy for all people, and
- Preparation for adult life in an inclusive society.
