The Monarch School’s dynamic, hands-on, collaborative team approach infuses educational and therapeutic practices and principles throughout a student’s day to increase his/her highest level of independence. Students at the Monarch School of New England (MSNE) have the same high standards and expectations as those of their peers in the public schools. Regardless of their disability, students will participate in the curriculum that is in alignment with the New Hampshire Frameworks. In addition to academics, educational programming encompasses teaching functional life skills with a focus on transition back to a student’s community, school or to adult life.
Read about the team's collaborative partnership with the Raymond School District.
Teaching Team
Teachers, Program Assistants and Educational Technicians work to implement a student’s individual program. For a teacher, responsibilities are to ensure that the activities are hands-on, functional and meaningful, yet remain individualized to the student. Teachers are case managers. In addition, they are also responsible for supervising the educational technicians and program assistants in each classroom. In collaboration with the full team of teachers, they develop a curriculum and complete the New Hampshire Alternative Assessments and/or NECAP.
As part of this team, educational technicians both implement and follow-through with the recommendations of the therapists, teachers and behaviorist for each child. Accompanying students each day from his (or her) arrival to departure, the “ed tech” tracks, records, and communicates changes to professional colleagues, to providers and to the family. Ed techs spend the most one-on-one time with each student ensuring that all the needs and goals of the student are met – they bring the student ‘to life’ for the team.
Program assistants are unique to the MSNE, working as an assistant to the teachers, educational technicians, therapists and behaviorist. Their role is to have the appropriate equipment, materials and space to implement programs, whether it be within or outside of the school. They provide assistance in the daily, weekly and monthly planning of each student, ensuring that individual goals and objectives are being met. Bridging the gap between educational technicians, teachers and the therapeutic staff, program assistants ensure that IEP goals are communicated and realized why they are important for a student’s growth.
Behaviorist
Positive and proactive behavioral support is an important framework for the educational program at the Monarch School of New England. The application of behavioral strategies meets two primary goals: 1) increase positive interactions in the learning environment and 2) facilitate an environment for learning to occur. Prevention is a critical component within the behavioral context and is accomplished through understanding the purpose of student behavior and providing direct reinforcement of positive interactions before negative behavior can occur. This reinforcement removes the behavioral barrier to the overall learning process by teaching students that their needs can and will be met through their appropriate actions. Direct support and training is provided to staff at all levels which sets the stage for a team approach to plan development. With every member of the team thinking about functions of student actions, prevention and intervention strategies are clearly targeted. This collaborative approach provides differentiation between behavioral concerns and the student’s sensory, motor or communication needs while providing a forum to ensure that all needs are met.
Occupational Therapists
Working seamlessly together with the team, MSNE occupational therapists model and teach strategies to improve students’ fine motor, sensory processing and visual perceptual motor skills to increase independence in school-based occupations such as academics, prevocational/vocational, self-care and leisure activities. These skills are worked on during functional tasks such as handwriting, self-feeding, grooming, learning a job, playing on the playground, or operating a computer with a switch. Using the curriculum as a unifying guide to student programming, academic concepts are also carried over into occupational therapy sessions. Specific program responsibilities include therapeutic horticulture, hippotherapy, handwriting, sensory integration, prevocational/vocational, The Listening Program, and assistive technology/adapted equipment.
Physical Therapists
Movement is a keystone of all learning. The physical therapists at MSNE identify and shape a student’s motor abilities so that each student is able to reach their maximal potential in academic, non academic, extra-curricular, and recreational activities. Physical therapists address the areas of gross motor developmental, strengthening, movement and mobility, tone management, motor learning, balance and coordination, recreation, play and leisure, equipment design and fabrication, orthotics, cardiopulmonary endurance, use of assistive technology and adaptive equipment, and safety and prevention programs. These skills are worked on during functional tasks, whether in the classroom or out in the community. Physical therapy is responsible for hippotherapy, aquatic therapy, and adaptive recreation activities such as canoeing, kayaking, hiking, and fishing.
Speech Language Pathologists
At the Monarch School, Speech-Language Pathologists (SLP’s) are better described as “communication specialists.” The team role of the SLP is to bring the child with all his/her abilities to a place where he/she is able to understand and interact with others. This learning then generalizes to all aspects of school, home and community. All forms of communication involve motor movement, whether it be to hand over a picture, press a voice output switch or to speak out. It is the critical integration of the entire team and motivation to communicate that contribute to the child’s success with communication at the Monarch school. In addition, the SLP, along with the team, is responsible for helping to develop and carry-out safe feeding plans.
Example of an Immersion Experience
During each curricular unit the Monarch school team works together to develop an immersion experience. A recent unit on the American Revolution incorporated the following:
- Classroom debate on King George, the Loyalists and the Patriots. Every student participated in the debate, using either their voice, picture symbol, eye gaze, or voice output system;
- Pre-vocational activities included sewing colonial quilts. Adaptations included switch access, modified sewing needles and other custom adaptations to ensure all students participated;
- Computer-based learning continued this theme with programs on Colonial life using regular keyboard, touch window and switch access;
- Sensory motor groups focused on Colonial games – students also dressed in colonial clothing;
- Soap making and cooking colonial recipes;
- Language arts focused on reading books on the American revolution;
- Planting an herb garden.
For more information on the Collaborative Team, contact:
Diane Gagnon, Executive Director at (603) 332-2848