Executive Summary. Copper Hills Youth Center. Elizabeth Loy, Principal 5899 West Rivendell West Jordan, UT 84088

Transcription

1 Elizabeth Loy, Principal 5899 West Rivendell West Jordan, UT Document Generated On March 23, 2015

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1 Description of the School 2 School's Purpose 4 Notable Achievements and Areas of Improvement 6 Additional Information 7

3 Introduction Every school has its own story to tell. The context in which teaching and learning takes place influences the processes and procedures by which the school makes decisions around curriculum, instruction, and assessment. The context also impacts the way a school stays faithful to its vision. Many factors contribute to the overall narrative such as an identification of stakeholders, a description of stakeholder engagement, the trends and issues affecting the school, and the kinds of programs and services that a school implements to support student learning. The purpose of the Executive Summary (ES) is to provide a school with an opportunity to describe in narrative form the strengths and challenges it encounters. By doing so, the public and members of the school community will have a more complete picture of how the school perceives itself and the process of self-reflection for continuous improvement. This summary is structured for the school to reflect on how it provides teaching and learning on a day to day basis. Page 1

4 Description of the School Describe the school's size, community/communities, location, and changes it has experienced in the last three years. Include demographic information about the students, staff, and community at large. What unique features and challenges are associated with the community/communities the school serves? is a therapeutic residential treatment center that specializes in working with adolescents aged 12 through 17 with behavioral, emotional, and mental health disorders. We offer academic and social opportunities for our residents to learn, grow, engage, and form appropriate relationships. At we believe in the ability of an individual to change. Each youth has the opportunity to engage in treatment that will help them accept responsibility, make appropriate decisions, and maintain healthy relationships and boundaries. Our highly trained clinical staff provide structure, direction, and modeling for our youth. Our adolescents are on a journey to learn the skills necessary to live a productive and satisfying life. The Education Department at Copper Hills is committed to meeting the individual educational needs of our diverse student population. We currently have a staff of 11 certified teachers, an education assistant and a licensed school administrator. We also have a comprehensive staff of professional consultants that work closely with our students. We work with a licensed school psychologist, speech and language pathologists, an occupational therapist, and a physical therapist. Our facility also employs a comprehensive treatment team for our students including licensed therapists, recreational therapists, psychiatrists and a 24 hour nursing staff. Due to the unique circumstances of our facility, approximately 98% of our students are from states other than Utah. We serve students from across the country. Our largest referral sources include Alaska, California, New Mexico, Arizona, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, and North Dakota. Having a student body comprised of students from multiple states poses a number of challenges that make it necessary for our team to find creative and flexible accommodations for our students and their families. We work closely with students' home school districts to ensure that students are taking appropriate coursework needed for them to graduate within their state. We also maintain open lines of communication with home school districts, families and therapists to help prepare students as they transition to a less restrictive setting when they discharge from our program. Due to the overall success of our program, Copper Hills has significantly increased our student referrals from California over the past year. We now have contracts with 29 school districts/selpa's in California. Each district has very specific requirements, reporting procedures, and special education policies and practices. California requires that students have a placement IEP, a 30 day IEP, a 6 month, often a 9 month IEP and an annual/triennial. This has greatly increased the amount of work required for special education teachers in our program. Our special education department has worked together to streamline the IEP process for California students and have taken trainings on using the various versions of on-line IEP system for different California school districts. Over the past three years, our program has experienced a dramatic increase in our student population. Over the course of six months in 2014, our student population increased by nearly 30 students. This dramatically impacted our class sizes and our ability to effectively meet the diverse needs of our student population. Due to this increase, we were able to add an additional two special education teachers to our program. This allowed us to create new school tracks for our students, reducing class sizes and creating new opportunities for students to be placed in classes with students of similar academic functioning levels. Despite many changes within our program, our student achievement scores have continued to be the highest within our nationwide corporation, Universal Health Services. The Education Department experienced numerous staff changes in The two new special education positions we added were for an Page 2

5 English and math teacher. The new math position that we added did not have a stable teacher for a period of nine months. This instability was due to two new teachers deciding that Copper Hills was not a good fit for them. They resigned their positions after only teaching for a few weeks. The third teacher to fill this position left on an extended leave due to a medical condition. The position has now been filled with a permanent teacher for the past four months. Another change that impacted our department was that our education assistant resigned her position to pursue the Alternative Routes to Licensure Program with the Utah State Office of Education. Additionally, one of our teachers who had been employed with us for six years left our program to pursue a Ph.D. in education. Before these changes in 2014, the Education Department had maintained a stable group of core teachers for many years. Our program also experienced a change in our leadership in Our CEO accepted a position with another company. The education department had formed a close working relationship with him. We worked closely with him as our program grew. He supported us in hiring additional teachers, giving us more planning/training days, and in purchasing new curriculum for our students. We are now working with an interim CEO to enhance our culture of continuous learning and achievement for our school. Despite the many changes our program has faced over the past three years, our Education Department has continued to foster a culture that promotes high academic achievement among our student population. We have also formed a cohesive educational team that strives to meet the individual learning needs of our diverse student population. Page 3

6 School's Purpose Provide the school's purpose statement and ancillary content such as mission, vision, values, and/or beliefs. Describe how the school embodies its purpose through its program offerings and expectations for students. OUR MISSION: The Education Department at is dedicated to providing the highest quality education to our students. The staff is committed to ensuring that each student receives individualized instruction which promotes creativity, critical thinking skills, and an appreciation for diverse ideas, cultures, and people. The program provides a positive, safe, and meaningful classroom environment which ensures that each student has an opportunity to succeed and practice skills which will lead to a smooth transition as they move on to a less restrictive setting. OUR VISION: 1. Build trusting, supportive, and co-operative relationships with other staff, parents, and agencies to enhance personal growth and further the participation and re-integration of our students into a less restrictive environment. 2. Provide an individual assessment (WRAT 4) for all students upon admission and continuation of an Individualized Educational Program for each applicable student. 3. Ensure that students earn school credits and increase skill levels while at. 4. Develop and reinforce appropriate classroom behavior and job-related skills for each student. 5. Provide consistent communication of student progress through the use of monthly progress notes and report cards. 6. Work in partnership with the therapeutic community at Copper Hills to bring about successful outcomes for every student. OUR VALUES We believe each student -has the potential to be successful. -is valued as an individual. -has something unique and meaningful to offer others. -has the right to express their ideas and opinions in a safe, non-threatening environment. We believe each teacher... -has the right to be treated as a professional. -is capable of positively influencing a student's life. -is an important member of our educational team. -has the right to feel valued and respected. OUR STRENGTHS School's Strengths and Successful Practices -Certified special education teachers who meet the individual needs of our students. Page 4

7 -Expertise of teaching staff - highly qualified in specialized subject areas. -Low student to teacher ratio. -Remediation of student deficits through program such as Reading Horizons, Score 4, Brainbuilder, Solo and Co-Writer. -Cooperation and support among teachers from all disciplines. -Support from Mental Health Associates in our classrooms. -Support from our CEO and leadership team. -Implementations of multiple teaching strategies to meet the diverse needs of our students. -A behavioral support system based on the 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens. The Education Department at attempts to create an authentic school experience which prepares students to integrate back into a public school setting. Our education program differs from many treatment centers in that we are not a "packet based program." Our students transition to different classes every 50 minutes. We help them learn to effectively transition between classes and learn to effectively work with different teachers. Our class sizes are typically 8 to 14 students. We make every attempt to ensure that we are meeting the unique learning needs of each of our students. We work closely with each student's treatment team and family to help our students experience success in school. We recognize students each quarter who make the honor roll. They receive certificates of recognition, as well as a treat. Students who make the high honor roll are able to select a book of their choice for us to purchase for them. For many students, this is the first time that they have experienced success in school and their first time to ever make the honor roll. Our teachers take students on numerous field trips to expose them to local community events and activities. Students have been to local art museums, businesses and libraries. Students have also gone to places such as The Clark Planetarium, The Living Planet Aquarium, Kennecott Copper Mine, Timpanogos Cave, The Apple Store, and the Hill Air Force Base Museum. Students also attend numerous outings with our Recreation Therapy Department, including hiking, skiing, rock climbing, river rafting, and camping. Our department also invites guest speakers from numerous groups within our local community to enhance our students' educational program. Page 5

8 Notable Achievements and Areas of Improvement Describe the school's notable achievements and areas of improvement in the last three years. Additionally, describe areas for improvement that the school is striving to achieve in the next three years. was recognized by our corporate entity (United Health Services) for having the highest student achievement scores within our corporation. Our school had the highest student gains in reading and in math compared to any other facility within UHS. We were also recognized by our corporate office for devising a school schedule that allows us to place students in classes according to their abilities in both reading and in math. We have created a schedule that allows us to be flexible in finding classes that will best meet the needs of our students. Copper Hills has also been recognized by numerous out of state agencies as being their leading placement choice for their students. Over the past three years, we have made several achievements within our department. We hired a full time P.E. teacher, allowing us to provide a comprehensive P.E. program for our students. We also hired two new teachers which allowed us to add additional school tracks to our schedule. This greatly reduced our class sizes for our students. Additionally, we were able to develop a unique school schedule which allows us to offer three levels of different math classes for each unit during the same time period for students to attend. We can now effectively place students into classes to more specifically address their unique learning needs. Over the next three years, our program hopes to improve in several key areas. First, we would like to greatly enhance our use of technology in our classrooms. We will install a wireless network for our school and purchase tablets for teachers and students to use. We would also like to purchase some software program to use in our existing computer lab. Another area in which we would like to improve is in the types of vocational education and career exploration that we provide to our students. Our department would like to explore the possibility of hosting a "career fair" and invest in a program similar to Reality Town. We would also like to improve in our use of student assessment data to help guide teaching and curricular decision making. Page 6

9 Additional Information Provide any additional information you would like to share with the public and community that were not prompted in the previous sections. Class Size Copper Hills has a low to teacher ratio, which allows for small class sizes and individualized education. The average class size at Copper Hills Youth Center is 10, with the actual numbers varying from 6-14 students per class. Class size often varies throughout the month due to discharges and a range of admissions. Our Mental Health Associates attend classes with the students to provide additional assistance in the classrooms. The Education Department strives to provide personalized education plans with an emphasis on developing a student's selfesteem with social/emotional components. Educators cooperate with the therapeutic community to provide a positive and successful learning environment. Course Offerings Each of our courses is designed to meet the individual needs of our students while providing a safe, nurturing, learning environment. Social skills development, problems solving skills, communication skills, character development, and teamwork are essential components of each course offered at. Copper Hills emphasizes the core academic courses, which are taught year-round, allowing our students to earn an additional 1.5 credits toward graduation requirements. Students typically attend classes 240 days per year. During the school year, students are enrolled in four academic courses and one physical education course. The courses are conducted through whole class experiences rather than individualized study programs. Our department feels that this approach to learning best prepares students to effectively transition back into public school or to other treatment programs. Special Education The Special Education Department collaborates with the student's school and home district in order to meet the specific requirements of each state and school district. Teachers not only provide accommodations for all special education students in the classroom, but also adapt curriculum and use tactile kinesthetic means of learning for all students. Teachers provide learning opportunities for students with not only multi-sensory approaches, but also materials to learn with based on varied learning styles. Educational games, cooperative learning, role playing, simulations, exhibitions of learning and other varied teaching methods are applied to aid students in mastering concepts Accreditation and Credits Youth Center is fully accredited through the AdvancED (formerly Northwest Accreditation Commission). All credits earned from may be transferred to a student's home school district. Students have the opportunity to earn 1.50 credits per term. offers and extended school year, allowing students to earn an additional 1.50 credits during our Summer Term. A student may earn 7.5 credits in our extended school year. Behavior Intervention has a policy of keeping students in class whenever possible. Teachers and staff help students to identify triggers of stress and off-task behaviors and then help students to find acceptable replacement behaviors to promote success in school. Our school utilizes a behavioral support system for students based on the "7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens" program. All students receive ongoing instruction on the 7 Habits as a part of classroom instruction. Students are then awarded "habit bucks" throughout the school day when the Page 7

10 exhibit behaviors outlined in the 7 Habits. Students are then able to redeem their habit bucks to purchase incentives such as art lessons, music lessons, computer time, co-ed activities, books, treats, etc. Extended Learning Opportunities offers a summer term for all students. This allows our students to earn additional credits toward graduation and remedial skills as needed in all academic areas. Teachers are also available to provide individual tutoring to students based upon individual student performance in their classes. Individual students receive math tutoring on an "as needed" basis. At times, some of our more advanced students are allowed to take an extra class toward graduation. These classes are either facilitated by one of our teachers, or for classes such as art, we enroll students in a distance learning course. A teacher is assigned to provide individual support to these students as they complete their coursework. Page 8