CHILD STUDY TEAM SERVICES 

The Child Study Team (CST) is a group of professionals employed by Hopewell Valley Regional School District who provides consultative, evaluative and prescriptive services to teachers and parents in regard to students who are experiencing school-related difficulties.

The members of the child study team, as determined by the New Jersey Department of Education, are a school psychologist, a learning disabilities teacher consultant, and a school social worker. Also, at times, the speech/language therapist may act as a member of the Child Study Team.

The school psychologist has expertise in determining a child’s level of cognitive and conceptual development. In addition, the psychologist is concerned with the emotional status of the student, and how both internal and external factors may affect behavior and performance in school. The school psychologist works with both general education and special education teachers and students. In certain circumstances, the school psychologist provides group and individual counseling to students.

The learning consultant (LDT-C) is trained to determine the learning styles of the students, to determine specific achievement levels in a variety of content areas, to recommend specific achievement levels in a variety of content areas, and to recommend specific teaching methods and strategies that may benefit the student. This professional is generally called upon to model specific strategies and methods that may benefit students.

The expertise of the social worker lies in assessing the student relative to the family, the school and the community. This professional generally gathers information concerning the student’s health, family, and school history as it pertains to the student’s current school functioning. The social worker also counsels students and assists in social skills development.