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Issue Areas
Child Welfare
Cultural Competence
Families
Juvenile Justice
Mental Health
School Violence Prevention and Intervention
Schools and Special Education
Alternative Schools
Miniwebs
Functional Behavioral Assessment
Prevention Strategies that Work
Prevention and Early Intervention
Promising Practice in Children's Mental Health
Strength-Based Assessment
Wraparound Planning
Strengthening the Safety Net
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Students with severe emotional and behavioral problems are often served in segregated, alternative settings that often have poor attendance rates and focus on behavioral controls, to the exclusion of academic engagement and learning. In Lane County, Oregon, efforts are in full swing to assist local school districts in educating children and youth with emotional and behavioral problems. Operated by the Lane Education Service District (an intermediate education unit), the Lane School is an alternative program for students who require intensive, targeted intervention programs and consultation. There are two major components to the Lane School program; a teacher consultation service and a self-contained day school. Teacher Consultation Program This program serves the 16 school districts of Lane County with six teacher consultants. The consultants empower teachers by providing training in classroom management and effective instructional practices and problem solving. Consultants also work directly with students to teach them appropriate skills (e.g., social problem-solving skills) to replace behaviors that are keeping them from learning. Lane School, A Self-Contained Day School The Lane School is an alternative setting for students ages 12 and above who have the most serious behavioral problems. The small school of only four classrooms generally serves between 25 and 42 students per year. The size of the program is kept small to provide a positive, safe and structured environment, in which the students can receive the kind of attention that is necessary to help them improve their behavior and academic performance. The comprehensive individualized interventions provided by the Lane School help to emphasize open communication and positive social interactions that is found to be helpful in improving student performance. Students participate in a level system in which they advance according to their attainment of highly individualized academic and behavioral goals emphasizing the importance of communication and problem solving. Expectations are kept high yet realistic and students are rewarded for personal growth through a system that involves parents and community agencies. Discipline problems and acts of aggression are dealt with early to deter violent behaviors. When a problem does occur it is treated as an opportunity to learn. In fact, when students are "sent to the office" they engage in problem solving with the school supervisor (principal) and reflect on what behaviors they need to change and how they can go about making those changes. Using this clear system of rules and rewards for positive behavior, the Lane School has created an efficient structure that promotes a caring, respectful, and civil learning environment. Outcomes The Lane School program is making a difference in the lives of many students in Oregon; typical outcomes for students completing the program include:
Once the students are ready to return to their home schools, there is an extensive transition process to not only prepare the student, but the receiving school itself. Over 90 percent of the students who complete the program are successful during their first year of transition back to their neighborhood schools, and of those, 74 percent continue to be successful a full twelve school months after leaving Lane School. Once the students are ready to begin their return to their home schools, there is an extensive transition process to not only prepare the student, but the receiving school itself. This gradual process usually lasts about one year, with the student beginning by taking only one or two classes in their neighborhood school while continuing classes at Lane School. Over 90 percent of the students who begin the transition process successfully complete it and are fully transitioned, officially "exiting" the Lane School program. Of those 90 percent, 74 percent are still successful one calendar year later without having received any follow-up support from the Lane School staff. |
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| © 2001 The CECP is part of the American Institutes for Research (AIR), and is funded under a cooperative agreement with the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), U.S. Department of Education (ED), with supplemental funding from the Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). | ||||||||
