When I was in my baccalaureate program at Buffalo State College, I had intended to be a Western, NY, Social Worker.  I had to fulfill two internships, and my first was at my place of employment – a group home for 14 children with developmental disabilities.   One of our children attended the Stanley G. Falk School in Buffalo, so as an attendee to his Special Education Team Meetings – when I was literally a teenager, I asked the Falk School if I could fulfill my second internship there, and they obliged.   There, I bounced around from classroom to classroom, assisting in lessons for children who were unanimously diagnosed with Serious Emotional Disabilities (back then, Disturbance). 

In all, 280 students attended the Falk Schools – mostly inner-city Buffalo students who were best educated in small learning environments, not in their public schools.  The physical restraint of students at Falk was commonplace – now called therapeutic holds, or by regular practitioners, having to go “hands-on for safety.”  Falk was a program like no other, with so many out-of-the-box characteristics that its success could almost only take place outside of a regular, public-school environment.  Notice that I wrote the word “almost.” 

Since I departed Falk in the late ’90s until now, I have come to learn, understand, research, experiment with, be trained in, and implement the critical concepts of many innovative programs for high-needs emotional and behavioral children in the general school setting.  With leaders who can implement programs with fidelity to a set of standards (like my friend Brian Wallace at the Devens School in Everett), the success of individual students, well-trained staff, and overall programs is guaranteed.  But I’ve also watched inept, untrained, inexperienced administrators talk a big game only to move most of their high-needs kids to private schools. Another story for another time…I promise.

So, let’s get this party started.  Some classrooms are called “therapeutic” in district after district, school after school.  Over the years, I’ve heard these spaces referred to by many names – often not good ones.  You know, the place for…” those kids.”  When done poorly, these classrooms are characterized by high staff turnover, student and staff injury, and high rates of absenteeism by staff, and I’ve even seen holes in walls – lots of them.  How is this possible?  Therapeutic programs that are missing the therapy? It all starts with the setup. 

There are characteristics of quality programs, and too many people think that simply finding the right person, a pied piper of sorts, settles everything.  But this is not the case at all.  A quality program starts with its own clearly defined Mission Statement that differs from the Mission Statement of the District and even the school in which the program is housed.  Why?  Simple.  Whatever was going on in that school wasn’t working…and doing things differently means…different.  So these are not “programs” at all. Calling them programs within a public school is WRONG.  Quality programs such as these are better called A School Within a School, even if only one classroom exists. 

The concept of a "school within a school" is an innovative approach to education that attempts to enhance student learning and engagement by creating smaller, more personalized learning environments.  It often revolves around thematic or specialized curricula, like Project Based Learning, the arts, career-oriented programs, or serious special needs, providing students with a focus and a sense of belonging that may be absent in their general education settings. These smaller learning communities aim to foster closer relationships among students and between students and teachers, promote more active and relevant learning, and encourage students to take greater responsibility for their education. This model seeks to balance larger schools' resources with the personal attention and cohesion of smaller educational communities.

The overall mission must be different when we implement the School Within a School model for kids at risk of harming themselves, peers, staff, and/or property – or for kids who disengage in many ways.  Simply put, these kids cannot learn when they are not well.  They can’t.  So, before all else, their wellness, connectedness, self-esteem, coping mechanisms, and social-emotional learning take a front seat to reading, writing, arithmetic, STEM, and the arts. 

Step 1

Start with a Mission Statement that will work for your students.  Base this on their needs.  Not yours.  Not their parents.  Not the Principal.  Not the School.  Not the District.  If you cannot see your way through this – In the interest of safety, stop here and look to pay a tuition fee and transportation fees for a school that can.