Jackson Prep | Support Services

All Prep students can learn and achieve!

However, within the Prep academic arena, students bring with them different aptitudes, strengths, weaknesses and needs. The Academic Support Department provides a variety of services for Prep students and parents purposed to help students maximize their intellectual abilities within the classroom.

List of 5 items.

Resource Program
- Resource Study – This class provides homework assistance and supplemental classroom instruction and reinforcement to students in grades 7-11, who qualify, based on Prep’s interpretation of psychoeducational testing results. All students who participate in the Resource Program must be in the Resource Study.
- Resource English and Math classes – These classes begin in the 8th grade. The classes are smaller and are composed of Resource students only. Material covered in these classes is consistent with material covered in College Prep classes; methods of instruction, however, may vary. Grading is consistent with grading in College Prep classes. Resource English classes are available grades 8-10. Resource Math classes are available grades 8-12.
Individual Testing Services
- Individual Psychoeducational Testing performed by Prep’s Psychometrist
- Interpretation of test results from private clinicians
Counseling Services
- These services are available to Resource students and their parents, as well as any Prep student who has received testing services, has a service plan, or needs guidance in dealing with academic obstacles.
Accommodations
- Service Plan – A service plan is a formal plan designed for any student with a disability based on a psychoeducational assessment and/or medical evaluation report. The plan is placed on file in the Support Services office. Extended time for test taking is offered to students with a documented disability who request a service plan. If requests are made for accommodations other than extended time for test taking, those requests will be considered on a case by case basis. Test results from a qualified clinician will be reviewed to determine reasonable and appropriate accommodations. A determination will be made as to the school’s ability to provide the reasonable and appropriate accommodations.
- Extended Testing Time on PSAT, SAT, ACT, and AP exams – Allyn Ray facilitates the petitioning for extended testing time on PSAT, SAT, ACT, and AP exams. A student must have a service plan and current test results (no more than 3 years old) documenting the need for extended testing time before he or she can petition. The test companies determine whether or not a student receives extended testing time.
Faculty
- Allyn Ray is the Director of Support Services at Jackson Prep. Additionally, she serves as the school psychometrist. She has taught at Prep for over thirty years, beginning as a classroom teacher of English and different science courses. She joined the Resource Program in 1987 and became the Director of Support Services in 1999. A graduate of Prep, she holds a B.A. from Millsaps and an M.Ed. in School Psychometry from Mississippi College. aray@jacksonprep.net
- Leigh Ann Purnell is a member of Academic Support Services at Jackson Prep. She joined Prep in 2016 after retiring from teaching mathematics for 27 years. She holds a Bachelors degree and Masters of Mathematics Education from Mississippi College. lpurnell@jacksonprep.net

Contact

List of 2 members.

Allyn Ray

Director of Support Services & School Psychometrist

Bio
Prep alum, parent, and teacher, Allyn Ray has been a part of Jackson Prep since the doors of the school opened in 1970. A 1974 Prep graduate, Allyn then attended Vanderbilt University for two years before transferring to Millsaps where she graduated in 1978 with a major in English and minor in Biology. She went directly from the classrooms of Millsaps to the classrooms of Prep…but this time as a teacher of English and various science courses. In 1987 Allyn began teaching in the Resource program. In 1991 she earned a Masters degree in school psychometry from Mississippi College and became the school’s psychometrist, as well as Resource instructor. She has sponsored the Pacers, coached tennis and cross country, and served as class sponsors. In 1999 Allyn became Director of Support Services. She is also the coordinator of special testings of PSAT, SAT, and ACT. Allyn has been married to S.T. Ray for 30 years, and they have two children. Their daughter Emily Ray Oswalt (Prep class of ’99) is married to Matt and is an administrator at First Presbyterian Day School. Emily and Matt have three: Thomas Hewitt, Andrew, and Matthew. Allyn and S.T.’s son Douglas (Prep class of '04) received his M.F.A. in creative writing from the University of Mississippi in May, 2010. He is a secondary English instructor at Western Reserve Academy in Hudson, Ohio.
Leslie Buckley

Director of Dyslexia Services