Penquis Valley
Learning Alternative Program
MISSION
It is the mission of MSAD #41 to provide opportunities for students to experience personal growth by providing programs and services to all children based on individual learning styles and needs. Differentiations of curriculum scope and sequence, as well as instructional techniques are essential to assure high levels of engagement and academic achievements.
The district recognizes that all students have unique needs and is dedicated to providing support designed to help all students become thriving members of society. Choices they make now will determine their future. Providing programs to those students with behavioral and emotional difficulties with limited flexibility and low frustration tolerance allows each student to become a successful part of our community of learners. The PV Learning Alternative Program uses a social skills curriculum that provides opportunities for students to better understand and manage behavior; as a result, giving them the skills to accept responsibility for their own actions and interactions. Often such difficulties prevent students from taking advantage of educational opportunities available in the general education setting.
Adaptations for these complex students must be delivered in a short term, more intensive, emotionally and educationally supported program of study. Within the Learning Alternative Program students are given opportunities to participate in social/peer interaction skills instruction, group behavior analysis, individual and/or group counseling; as well as small group and individualized instruction. All academic instruction is aligned with the Maine Learning Results and district grade level curriculums in core content areas. Each student is provided with an individualized behavioral and academic program in a self-contained small group setting.
The goal of the Learning Alternative Program is to provide students with the necessary skills to restore and enable positive feeling towards self, school, and life; to help students develop appropriate patterns of social behavior, understand how their behavior impacts others, accurately interpret social cues, develop self regulation skills, and assume responsibility to guide their own learning. Following successful completion of the Learning Alternative Program students return to the general curriculum with the essential skills to inspire life long learning and with a positive sense of self worth.
Program Philosophy
We believe that given proper guidance, structure, and opportunities, all difficult behavior can change. The Learning Alternative Program is an intensive behavior modification program for adolescents with a documented history of difficult behaviors that place them “at risk” for academic failure. Students are placed in a more restrictive self-contained small group setting outside the general curriculum. This more restrictive setting increases opportunities for individualized student support and attention. After being taught skills and strategies to effectively deal with the every day stressors inherent in the learning environment; students are given the opportunity to make better choices and become more successful.
While certain social and peer interaction restrictions are placed on program participant activities, each PV Learning Alternative Program student is given the same opportunity to achieve academic and emotional success.
As students progress through the program they will acquire the essential executive function skills for self-regulation, social and emotional competence to assume the responsibility for their own learning.
Once a student has acquired these necessary skills a supported positive reinforcement reintegration plan is developed to transition students back into the general population setting. Clear, concrete, realistic behavioral goals will be developed to insure that each student has a successful reintegration:
1. Students have consistently displayed skills critical to being flexible and are able to tolerate frustration.
2. Students demonstrate an awareness of the consequences of personal actions.
3. Students will identify and explain behavioral alternatives that are socially acceptable.
4. Student demonstrates a sense of personal responsibility for learning.
5. Students will attend school on a regular basis and continue to progress academically in the general education setting.
6. Students demonstrate success at each behavior level.
Admission /Identification Process
Referrals to the Learning Alternative Program can be made through the SAT process, IEP process, teacher, parent, or administrative referral. The IEP- Team meeting must be held for recommendation and placement as determined by the State of Maine Chapter 101- regulations. The IEP Team will include district administrator, teachers, guidance, social worker, parents, student, and if appropriate, all outside providers working with the family. The IEP team will review documentation and reports to determine if the student will benefit from the Learning Alternative Program. The documentation required includes, but is not limited to:
1. Statement of need describing the problems (antecedents/maladaptive behavior) being encountered in the general school environment.
2. Most recent evaluations; academic, psychological, behavioral, attendance, teacher/parent reports, receptive/expressive language to identify pragmatic skills etc.
3. A copy of most recent Behavior intervention plan or goals
4. Health Records
5. Current IEP (if applicable)
6. Parents will be made fully aware of the Learning Alternative Program and its expectations prior to entry.
Once all documentation is reviewed and the Team determines the student will benefit from participation in the program, the team will identify specific behavioral triggers, social/emotional needs, communication and academic needs to develop the Individual Behavior and Education Plan goals. Parents will sign the Learning Alternative Program Agreement Form. Parents, staff and student will complete the program inventories to determine whether additional evaluations are necessary for development of an appropriate education plan.
The Individualized Education Plan will include:
Ø Modifications and/or adaptations for classroom
Ø Behavior plan and goals
Ø Regular education staff differentiation
Ø Mentorship for personalized programs
Ø Grade placement and credit requirements
Ø Consideration of counseling needs or social skill instruction
Ø Established measurable goals and objectives
Ø Assessments and progress reviews at regular report card dates
Ø Quarterly review of students’ present level of academic performance and ongoing program planning
Ø Weekly team reviews as student progresses through levels.
Academic Curriculum
It is the goal of the Learning Alternative Program to provide instruction to all students appropriate for the individual learner while encompassing the fundamental principles of the Maine Learning Results. Students will meet the academic and behavioral goals outlined in the Individual Education and Behavior plans that the IEP has developed based on their individual needs. Students will be provided hands-on and minds-on instruction that connects real situations with opportunities to use newly acquired skills. Students are grouped according to individual strengths and needs. All goals are to be mastered before students are transitioned out of the program.
Behavior Management Curriculum
The Learning Alternative Program was developed to give students the opportunity to learn socially acceptable ways for acting and reacting to situations in social and educational settings. Positive behaviors are reinforced, while negative behaviors are identified and corrected. With the leveled behavior management system, students are given the opportunity to move through each level and earn privileges by displaying appropriate behavior. Unacceptable behavior will result in loss of privileges and remedial action.
Defining Acceptable Behavior:
Self and Community:
1. Making the appropriate effort and accepting feedback in a positive manner
2. Effort in tasks outlined in IEP to provide learning opportunities and work towards personal behavior goals
3. Accepting feedback, redirection or assistance with specific tasks
4. Maintaining a safe, clean, healthy environment (ie: organization skills)
5. Respect Differences of others without criticism
6. Respecting the rights of others to feel safe from harm or danger
7. Respecting the rights of others to participate in the program without distraction or delay
The Learning Alternative Program is broken down into four tiers or levels, based on the concept that students are able to make choices in order to achieve desired outcomes. Levels are reviewed weekly:
Level 1 Cognitive Discovery: (approximately 4 weeks)
This beginning Level is intended to help students start to develop Cognitive Flexibility Skills by identifying thoughts, feelings and behaviors that created problems for them in the school setting using a Collaborative Problem Solving Approach. Topics covered include problem solving, anger/frustration management, and aggression, identifying antecedents/triggers, physical signs of escalation, boundaries and personal space.
Supports: Social worker individual therapy session (Length and frequency to be determined during the intake IEP team meeting)
Identifying self-concept and needs during escalation to unacceptable behavior.
Peer group/social skills activities
Academic support and small group instruction
Level 2 Cognitive Awareness: (approximately 6 weeks)
At this secondary level, students are beginning to identify signs of frustration, and how to use emotional regulation and coping skills. Using these cognitive awareness skills, students are better able to manage thoughts, feelings and behaviors. Patterns of problem behavior, self-awareness, positive feelings of self, and conflict response to unpredictable circumstances are identified through empathy and reassurance.
Supports: Group social and peer problem solving skills
Daily problem solving modeling and role-plays
Peer group/social skills activities
Academic support and small group instruction
Level 3 Cognitive Empowerment (approximately 6 weeks)
Students will use executive function skills, which involve organization, planning, shifting cognitive sets, and separation of affect. These skills provide students with an organized, structured, predictable framework for solving problems. Students demonstrate a greater ability to anticipate social/emotional outcomes using alternative solutions in peer and school settings. Students are able to label their emotions, identify and articulate their frustrations, and think through possible solutions. They have accomplished all goals outlined in an IEP Behavior Plan successfully for a minimum of 4 consecutive weeks.
Supports: Group social and peer problem solving skills
Daily problem solving modeling and role-plays
Peer group/social skills activities
Academic support and small group instruction
Level 4 Cognitive Emergence (as determined on an individual basis)
Students consistently display socially acceptable ways to manage frustration and can articulate their needs; have met the criteria at Levels 1-3 and all bench mark IEP academic and behavioral goals, including target behaviors.
Supports: After Care Activities:
Continued individual therapy sessions (as needed)
Peer group/social skills activities (as needed for reinforcement)
Academic support and monitoring
All PV Learning Alternative participants are expected to progress through Level 4 prior to a full reintegration into general school curriculum.
Anger Management Individual/Group
Anger is one of the most difficult emotions to control because it has a sudden onset and escalates quickly. Anger, in and of itself, is not dysfunctional. Anger is an emotion, which, like anxiety, affects many systems (emotional, cognitive and physiological). It is typically activated when a person believes he or she has been deliberately provoked. In terms of survival, anger can be looked at as a necessary driving force when "fight" as opposed to "flight" is required. Some people, however, have "anger control problems". Even when nothing really appears to be provoking them, these people are feeling incited, taken advantage of, belittled, or abused in some way. Sometimes their perceptions are accurate; other times perceptions extremely distort their experience.
1. Cognitive Deficits: Students with anger control problems have an insufficient number of adaptive skills to apply during provoking events. When asked how they would solve provocative situations, students with low flexibility and frustration tolerance have fewer ideas/solutions than people without anger problems; most ideas/solutions tend to be hostile.
2. False reading: Students with anger control problems often misconstrue events such that they feel provoked even when they are not. People with anger control problems tend to believe that people are deliberately hassling them. Therefore, due to only seeing part of the picture, they tend to misinterpret harmless events.
3. Rigid Beliefs: People with anger control problems often possess steadfast beliefs as to the legitimacy of hostile retaliation. Some examples include: "Hostility is okay if someone does something to provoke it." or "The best way to get your needs met is to demand it." or "People are, for the most part, stupid and need to be dealt with forcefully." It is not difficult to imagine how adhering to such beliefs might lead to some volatile encounters.
4. Difficulty Anticipating Outcomes Before Action: Students without anger problems are able to control how they respond to anger and actually keep it from getting out of control by predicting what "could" happen if they "lost it." Students with anger problems tend to be black and white thinkers and respond impulsively without such forethought.
Using the Collaborative Problem Solving Approach, Anger Management Therapy builds on the Level 1 Cognitive Discovery to help students recognize their internal anger control cycle. Students gain control of their anger by learning how to step back in an anger-provoking situation and evaluate accurately. This requires learning skills to alert themselves to the subtle signs of increasing anger by identifying physical signs (body cues). The essential skills taught through anger management groups include information processing, identifying triggers of anger, controlled/uncontrolled anger sequence, and positive self-statements. Students will be able to answer:
1. WHERE IS THE EVIDENCE? (Is there sufficient evidence to back up the interpretation you have made of the event that is making you angry?)
2. IS THERE ANOTHER WAY OF LOOKING AT THIS EVENT? (Is there one or two other explanations for what is interpreted as "deliberate provocation?")
3. SO WHAT? (Rarely are things as catastrophic in reality as they seem in the heat of the moment.)
4. WHAT WILL THE OUTCOME BE? (Thinking of potential outcomes of our actions is not easy, much less when you are in a state of anger.)
Empathy Enhancement Group
What are the characteristics of a capable, successful learner? Successful learners are knowledgeable, self-determined, strategic, and empathetic. In addition to having knowledge, including critical and creative faculties; motivation to learn and confidence about themselves as learners; and tools and strategies for acquiring, evaluating, and applying knowledge; successful learners also have insight into the motives, feelings, and behavior of others and the ability to communicate this understanding-- empathy.
Successful students recognize that much of their success involves their ability to communicate with others. They can view themselves and the world through the eyes of others. This means.... examining beliefs and circumstances of others, keeping in mind the goal of enhanced understanding and appreciation.... Successful students value sharing experiences with persons of different backgrounds as enriching their lives.