Admissions Options

School and Boarding (Residential) Enrollment

The Heartspring School is open 12 months a year, with a seven-hour school day, Monday through Friday. Each student has a team of professionals that work together to develop the student's plan, called the Individualized Educational Program (IEP). A student’s team includes the parents and Heartspring specialists, including a certified special education teacher, house manager, board certified medical doctor, two additional consulting doctors, a nurse, PhD-level psychologist, masters-level behavioral specialist, physical therapist, occupational therapist, and speech language pathologists. Small class sizes and low student to teacher ratios, combined with our expert staff, create an environment ideal for each student’s growth. Also included on each student's team is a special education music teacher, adapted physical education teacher and an art instructor.

For boarding (residential) students, Heartspring offers on-campus and off-campus housing. Therefore, the educational program extends beyond the seven-hour school day, into the group home environment and in the community. House Managers supervise additional staff members called, para-educators, who provide continued instructional programming in home living, community living, personal and recreation/leisure skills, often tied to skills the students learned in class during the school day. These skills are taught in the group home and community setting, and help generalize skills sets across different environments. All students living on-campus reside in one of our six group homes. Students living off-campus, reside in a supervised home, in a nearby neighborhood.

The Lead Program

International students will probably be most interested in the Lead Program. This program provides a learning opportunity for students who need additional help and support in school, that may not be available in their own country. 

The Lead Program provides small classroom sizes and low student to staff ratios in both the classroom and residential setting. The average class size is 8-12 students, with a certified special education teacher and several teacher assistants, called para-educators. To be eligible for this program, students must be 14 – 22 years of age, with only mild behavioral problems interfering with their home and school life, and maintain mostly independent self-care skills. Diagnosis may include mild/borderline developmental delay, moderate to high functioning autism, Asperger syndrome, Nonverbal Learning Disability, mild mental retardation, speaking difficulties, low vision or blindness, deaf/hard of hearing, cerebral palsy, or other disabilities. Students will have the opportunity to obtain their diploma through the Lead Program.

The Traditional Model

For students who require additional academic supports, beyond the capacity of the Lead Program, and have more intensive behavioral support needs, the Traditional Model will provide a more expansive program. Teams of specialists develop child-specific programming using a multidisciplinary approach in both the classroom and residential setting. Heartspring professionals work with parents to create a comprehensive program that best focuses on the needs of the individual student. Every program is IEP driven, allowing for students to make gains on all goals and objectives. The average class size is up to 8 students, with a certified special education teacher and several teacher assistants, called para-educators. The student to staff ratio is more intensive than the Lead Program, therefore providing additional supervision. If appropriate, the day only option is available.

Day Only Model

Heartspring's Day Only Program includes a seven-hour school day and operates Monday through Friday, following Heartspring’s school calendar. All Heartspring day only students have access to the same IEP team members and resources our residential students have access to (see above). Day only students do not receive residential services from Heartspring, and return to their own home at the end of every school day. As an international student choosing this model, this would require a family member to re-locate to the Wichita community for the duration of the enrollment in the day only program.

The Program Development Model (12-24 months)

This enrollment model follows the student's IEP and identifies a set of limited goals and objectives for the student to achieve during the span of 12-24 months based on needs determined by the parents, and agreed upon by Heartspring. It is anticipated that once the specific goals and objectives have been met, the student will transition back to his or her country of origin. Frequent meetings with the Heartspring team and the parents will be scheduled to help assist in monitoring the student’s progress. If appropriate, the day only option is available.

Short-term Diagnostic Placement (3 months)

A short-term diagnostic placement is for students who may need a formal diagnosis, and/or who need additional assessments and evaluations in the areas of health, education, vocational skills, speech, behavior, and occupational therapy.

Heartspring specialists will collaborate with one another to evaluate the student’s needs and will develop a comprehensive report, as well as design an appropriate exit plan, outlining the support needs relevant to the community where the student is returning.

The components of this evaluation model will include:

Medical

An assessment by Heartspring’s developmental pediatrician (a licensed medical doctor), will include the following: 

• A complete physical exam with findings dictated into a report.
• Participation with the Psychologist for any developmental testing the child may need for diagnostic purposes.
• A referral for a thorough hearing evaluation, if this has never been done.
• Recommendations and referrals for any other medical diagnostic testing(s), as necessary, for more accurate diagnoses. (If this is crucial to the student’s safety or well-being, immediate follow-up will be required under her care. If this is not urgent, she may allow further follow-up upon the student’s return home).
• Participation with the Psychologist in formalizing a treatment plan, if necessary.
•  If any medication management is necessary for behavioral purposes, and this can be sustained upon returning home, she will supervise medication trials and interpret data for results.

Speech Therapy

A speech language pathologist (SLP) will assess all areas of communication, as it is instrumental in learning and in gaining independence. 

The SLP will: 

• Determine what type of assessments should be utilized to gain the most pertinent, useful and functional information for the student’s implementation plan.
  • This might include standardized assessments, informal assessments, and observations.
• Conduct specialized assessments, such as an augmentative and alternative communication evaluations during this time, if appropriate and requested.
• Schedule and provide the student with up to 120 minutes of speech services per week. This will be broken down into direct and indirect minutes, as deemed necessary by the speech language pathologist.

Occupational Therapy

An occupational therapist (OT) will focus on the student’s activities of daily living (ADL’s), as these are the cornerstone of independent living.

The OT will:

• Determine what type of assessments should be utilized to gain the most pertinent, useful and functional information for the student’s implementation plan.
  • This might include standardized assessments, informal assessments, and observations.
•  Schedule and provide up to 60 minutes of occupational therapy per week. This will be broken down into direct and indirect minutes, as deemed necessary by the occupational therapist.

Psychology

A doctoral level licensed psychologist is instrumental in helping the student (and family) accomplish his or her behavioral goals. 

The psychologist will:

• Conduct a thorough review of available records, interview family members and cooperating agencies (and/or schools) as appropriate prior to admission.
• Conduct a psychological evaluation to include:
  • Formal assessment as appropriate
  • Informal assessment (functional analysis)
  • Classroom and Group Home observation and data gathering
  • Coordinate with Medical staff regarding developmental testing
• Coordinate the formulation of a treatment plan with the other Heartspring professionals.
• Provide 60 minutes per week of in-direct (consultative) services.
• Provide 60 minutes per week of group and/or individual therapy, as appropriate.
• Provide 60 minutes per week of parent training or family therapy, as appropriate.
• Implement and evaluate a treatment plan to address identified needs.
• Provide a summary report to include diagnosis, final recommendations, and the treatment plan.

School Tuition and Fees

Typically in the United States, funding is primarily provided through the student’s local school district upon reaching an agreement that a residential school placement is necessary. However for international students, funding is primarily provided by the parents, in which a private-pay contract outlines the tuition fees and payment responsibilities. We are willing to contract with any appropriate funding agencies in countries outside of the United States, if this is available for your student.

The tuition fees for educational and residential/boarding services can range from $397 to $789 USD per day.

For more details on our tuition, please request a “Tuition Fee Sheet” from the Admissions Office.