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Our Philosophy
Educational Philosophy
We believe that a sound educational program must meet the needs of the population it serves. It is therefore important that educators identify and examine students' needs carefully, as they determine the methods for meeting them. Educators must take into account not only the academic and vocational skills necessary for survival and productivity, but also the social and emotional needs the students bring with them.
It is the responsibility of educators to foster an environment in which students participate and involve themselves in the learning process. Thus, a partnership of learning between teachers and students develops. Within this partnership, teachers continually evaluate, shape, and develop methods that best meet the students individual learning modalities. Students work to develop their own formulas for success through a concentration on the processes that spark social, emotional, and academic understanding. In this way children who have typically struggled educationally "learn how to learn" and consequently, learn how to find meaning.
We believe that educators must serve as models for their students by demonstrating that learning is a process, that questioning is essential and that a wide variety of learning strategies and modalities are all acceptable. In order for students to learn, they must feel that learning is relevant. Nearly all students have the desire to learn. It is the educators responsibility to learn how to spark it, by providing students the opportunity to consistently participate in authentic learning tasks, and by encouraging an interest and investment in the learning process.
"I think integrity is honesty, self-respect, responsibility, not falling into peer pressure, morality, and understanding that my words matter." -Darien
Engaging Students with Disruptive Behavior
The survival skills of at risk youth are well developed. Many have long histories of abuse and neglect. In an attempt to manage their pain, these students typically develop elaborate sets of coping skills. Although their coping strategies are often quite effective for managing themselves and their pain in past environments, they are generally ineffective for managing difficulties in mainstream society. Therefore, at-risk youth are often confused and frustrated in their attempts to get their needs met and to cope with random and less emotionally charged difficulties successfully. They also may struggle to differentiate between the causes of their pain and the situations that trigger memories, but may not be, in fact, abusive. Thus, these students may become extremely skilled at diverting, distorting, and avoiding reality if they deem it potentially painful.
Consequently, we believe that behavioral problems are opportunities for teaching and learning. Given that all behavior is purposeful, we see unacceptable behavior as a misguided attempt to meet one's needs. The goal of our staff is to help troubled students differentiate between the defenses that protected them as victims and the strategies that can help them now. Therefore, we see our role as educators as a means to assist our students in identifying the coping skills and learning strategies that are ineffective for them, and to help them build a more effective set of skills and strategies that they may use in their place, and upon which they may independently rely.