2011: Year in Review - School

Stephen Perry

New Programs Ensure Quality Education

From an educational perspective, Heartspring is continuing to provide our students with excellent, educationally challenging learning opportunities. The classroom teachers, along with their paraprofessional staff, do a great job in implementing evidence-based methodologies and techniques to all students. For the 2010-11 school year, Heartspring has adopted and implemented the Houghton Mifflin Harcourt curriculum, which is designed to meet all National Educational Standards in the academic core areas and life skill management. The new curriculum is broken down into three components of delivery:

1. Grade Level. This component is designed to meet the student at his or her appropriate instructional level.
2. Adaptive Level. Allows the student to receive instructional materials that are designed to accommodate specific academic needs to help foster student success.
3. Functional Level. Helps to assist students by allowing the student to receive basic academic instruction in a more modified and practical format.

The new curriculum helps ensure that academic standards are being addressed and met for all of our students, regardless of the many different states or school districts that placed their students at Heartspring.

The Heartspring educational team is also pleased to announce the hiring of Carmen LaBarge, classroom teacher. Carmen comes to Heartspring with a master’s degree in the area of special education, and brings a great deal of experience and expertise in relation to students with special needs. Carmen is an extremely positive addition to the Heartspring teaching team and along with her staff, is doing outstanding work.

An exciting student program implemented in every classroom, is the scheduled time allowed for students to participate in Student Activity Based Leisure (SABL). The SABL program is geared to help create opportunities for students to participate in a variety of leisure activities that focus on teamwork, mobility and physical skills. Students are scheduled to participate in SABL activities twice a week. SABL has also been a fantastic avenue in creating more opportunities for staff and students to engage with each other in a more relaxed and recreational environment.

Overall, the educational program at Heartspring experienced another successful year. The Heartspring students, teachers, classroom paras and parents continue to work as a team to provide the best and most appropriate educational experiences to assure the greatest amount of success. During the 2010-11 school year, two Heartspring students earned the opportunity to attend classes in the Wichita Public School system. The student, along with a Heartspring staff member, attends school in a public setting as part of their path towards greater independence. This program helps to ease the transition back to their home school district.

The educational focus and mission remains the same. We will always do what is best for our students from an individual and team perspective. We will provide quality academic instruction that is researched and evidence based, and our professionals are committed to challenging our students by setting high, attainable academic and life skills expectations.

Alex vacuums the hall at a local hotel as part of a community-based job. The new employment program aims to create more relationships to better provide the students with more opportunities.

Thomas refills cups as he works his community-based job.

New Program Will Place Students in Community

John Santonil, Employment Training Coordinator

As I embark onto a new position at Heartspring, I have been fortunate to be surrounded with a knowledgeable and experienced group of colleagues to help me jumpstart this new program.

At this point, my main focus is to coordinate voluntary employment training opportunities for students as they transition into adulthood. I have begun this venture by organizing all current on and off-campus employment opportunities for our students. I have also started securing partnerships with local businesses and organizations. My first objective into the new year is to start identifying and placing students that can flourish in the off-campus employment positions.

I have truly found comfort in visualizing the outlying benefits and intrinsic rewards that our students will naturally receive by working on or off-campus to become better self-sustaining individuals.