Innovations Academy’s master-level therapists work collaboratively with teachers to address a wide spectrum of emotional and mental health issues.
Therapeutic services are provided with the goal to help each student find hope for healing and achieve greater personal growth and wholeness. Each student receives 60 minutes of individual, group and crisis therapy within the Innovations Academy as part of the therapeutic program.
The Innovations Academy team believes pulling a student out of his or her normal educational environment for extended times to receive individual therapy may be counterproductive to appropriately addressing identified social or emotional issues while in school, as well as increase transitions potentially causing overstimulation and increased anxiety for the student. As a result, Innovations Academy provides a “push-in” model of therapeutic services that includes various levels of therapist-student contact in the school milieu in addition to individual therapy that includes:
- classroom observation
- individualized classroom support
- psycho-educational groups
- crisis response
Within this model, therapists provide support throughout the academic day within the natural school milieu including hallways, outside or the student’s classroom.
Within our PBIS Level One interventions of Universal Expectations and Trauma-Informed Care philosophy, school learning teams provide regular lessons about which behaviors are expected and how they will be positively encouraged. School staff members also employ positive role modeling to students and will honor them through various incentives such as increased points to make school store purchases or group motivators such as class outings or school wide reward lunches or activities.
Innovations Academy utilizes a verbal de-escalation model in order to most appropriately respond to potential student crisis and keep all individuals safe within the school environment. Physical Management is used as an intervention only if students present direct harm to self or others. All school staff members are properly trained in the Crisis Prevention Institute (CPI) method. All school staff members are also trained in CPR.
The extended day Vocational program will provide unique opportunities for school therapists as well as our Speech Language Pathologist and Occupational Therapist to observe, assess and supportively train students in guided vocational lessons and natural work environments. The collaborative team can more comprehensively address emotional, behavioral, and physical challenges and provide necessary social, language and skill development to encourage successful workplace behavior and performance.