Ep 50 | Is Hope Horizon a Solution for Your Child? [RELOADED]

SPEAKER_01 0:00

We help develop a plan for the student for academics, behavior, independent functioning, communication, health care, all the domains that can be covered in IEP. And then we bring the child and the family over to Hope Horizon to take a tour, to meet teachers, to sort of see the layout of the programming that we have so that they can be sure that it's something that they want to participate in.

SPEAKER_02 0:32

Welcome to the Voices United in Education podcast. Each week we showcase the teachers, administrators, and community members who go the extra mile to contribute to the success of every student in Escambia County. You'll meet the real people behind the titles and learn about the amazing resources to support every student's success. Nothing is more heartbreaking than not being able to help your child, especially when you see their potential. For many students with an IEP, that potential can only be accessed outside of the traditional school framework. That's where my next guests come in. They are the program specialist and administrator on special assignment at Hope Horizon, a center school that works with students and families individually to find holistic solutions. Today they're going to share what students are best served at Hope Horizon and the services that they provide. Family advocates, solution finders, Donna Perry, and Dr. Jared Stanley. Thanks for being here. Thank you for the invitation.

SPEAKER_00 1:41

Thanks for having us.

SPEAKER_02 1:42

So, Donna, can you help listeners visualize how the center school works? Maybe describe the student journey up to the point where they would engage with Hope Horizon?

SPEAKER_01 1:51

Okay. So typically a student is referred to Hope Horizon by their traditional neighborhood school. A student or family may be experiencing a lot of behavioral or mental health challenges in the school setting. It could be a variety of mental health conditions causing this, whether it's depression, anxiety, PTSD, even we see that in students a lot. And so when children are struggling to be their best self in the traditional schools, if they're being served in the special education department and they have an IEP, as you referenced earlier, then either the school will reach out to us to try to connect the family, or sometimes the families will reach out to us themselves. And then we hold an IEP meeting at the child's neighborhood school, and the people that know the child the best will participate in sharing key information with either myself or Dr. Stanley about what the needs of the student really are. We help develop a plan for the student for academics, behavior, independent functioning, communication, health care, all the domains that can be covered in IEP. And then we bring the child and the family over to Hope Horizon to take a tour, to meet teachers, to sort of see the layout of the programming that we have so that they can be sure that it's something that they want to participate in. Coming to Hope Horizon is a choice. It's a family's choice to be there. Students aren't sent to Hope Horizon, and that's really important. In order for mental and behavioral health to be successful, families and children have to be willing to do the hard work. And behavior is hard work. So we take them on a tour and talk with them about the programming. And then if they want to come on board, we take care of registration and consent and things like that.

SPEAKER_02 3:56

Right at the beginning of that, you said PTSD is something you see a lot in kids. That kind of uh struck me because uh PTSD in kids. Yes. What's causing PTSD in kids? Trauma.

SPEAKER_01 4:09

Um we hear the word trauma more and more these days, whether children have been abused, neglected, um, exposed to trauma vicariously through family members, if they're in the foster care system and have been moved frequently, that creates a real sense of distrust in their world. And so more and more we see children come in with the mental health diagnosis of PTSD. Wow.

SPEAKER_02 4:37

And so a family who is fostering a child would still be able to potentially connect with Hope Horizon as a resource, even though the the it's a fostering situation. Correct. And not a legal guardian.

SPEAKER_01 4:51

Correct. We get phone calls from foster parents or sometimes case managers that might be involved in the child's uh team of service providers. It's not uncommon for case managers or therapists through private providers who know about Hope Horizon and the services that we provide to reach out to us and and want to get us to weigh in on a student that they might be working with.

SPEAKER_02 5:19

That's interesting how there's so many uh people there for the kid. It right right when you said, and then we get the people who know the kid best, and we get the the parents and the you know former teacher. I mean, that's that's a lot. It's a team. It is but that's it sounds like a pretty uh robust process.

SPEAKER_01 5:38

It really is. It isn't as simple as a parent enrolling their child at a charter school or enrolling their child at a magnet school, because we are the most intensive school placement really that a parent could choose. We are what's called a center school, which means that we only serve children with disabilities. So our students have either emotional behavioral disability or one of the other exceptionalities, such as autism, spectrum disorder, even specific learning disabilities. But if they're not in the emotional behavioral disability program, then they have to have a major mental health diagnosis that's interfering with their success in school. So that's where the depression, the anxiety, those other types of mental health diagnoses come in.

SPEAKER_02 6:28

And what kind of um how would a family know if their child is eligible?

SPEAKER_00 6:34

So uh as Donna mentioned before, it it really comes back to working with the school that you are zoned in. Um one of the biggest things that we do beyond just the work that we do at HOPE is supporting the schools to try to put preventative measures and interventions in place before we even have to consider HOPE. Because it's such a restrictive setting, if we bring students there, we want to make sure that it's really truly to that level, because then they also might be missing out on other developmentally appropriate experiences in their elementary, middle, or high school. So we try to jump in on the front end to try to say, okay, let's exhaust all of our resources. Let's make sure we've really tried everything. Um, because sometimes we can come into schools and do an observation and make a couple recommendations that people might just be missing because not because they don't know or they're not good at what they're doing, they're just in the thick of it every day, right? Um, even sometimes we have people come in to look at it from an outside perspective and they go, have you tried this? And we're like, wow, I feel dumb right now. Um, we haven't tried that, but let's try it tomorrow.

SPEAKER_02 7:37

And but I think that speaks to like everyone coming together to help the kid succeed.

SPEAKER_00 7:43

Right. And that's the big thing. Um, being a part of of an in an IEP team at Hope, it looks a little bit different. And um, I often get phone calls from parents a lot about what even is an IEP. And some parents who have them don't know, which is kind of scary. Oh. So um when we say IEP, an individualized education program or plan. Um, and so I used to work in a in a regular elementary school, and some of my IEP team meetings were four people. It was the administrator, the parent, um, the teacher, the gen ed teacher, and the special ed teacher. And that's that was the party. Everybody was there. Um, for us, we've had IEP meetings as big as 30 people. Um it can be very comprehensive, and we look at every angle of their life, not just within the six-hour school day, but you know, how does this connect to what's going on at home or in the foster home or even in a group home? And how can we all work together to move forward?

SPEAKER_02 8:41

That really is a lot more thorough than I had imagined. So what you're saying is eligibility is decided on a case-by-case basis.

SPEAKER_00 8:51

Yes. Yeah. And it sometimes we have a reputation um in the district for keeping an ironclad gate in the front of the program. Um and that's kind of an internal joke, but it we really want the right kids to be in the program and the right and the wrong kids to be in their home schools. Because like I said earlier, I don't want to take away opportunities to a kid just because the school might not know what to do if we can give them the tools to do it.

SPEAKER_02 9:18

So what kind of uh services would or support services would families and kids have? It sounds like that's a it would probably be a laundry list, but can you think of some off the top of your head that are particularly unique and adapted to kids who are right for the school?

SPEAKER_00 9:35

Yeah, absolutely. So um some of our bread and butter at Hope Horizon, whenever when you come in, um, the two staples to our program are applied behavior analysis and cognitive behavioral therapy. So we have a team of Lakeview counselors on our campus. Um, so we contract Lakeview services. We have a licensed clinical social worker, a licensed mental health counselor, and then three counselors. So all of our kids get some type of therapy throughout the week. It's individualized, of course, but there's usually individual and group therapy, and then some kids need it as often as daily. Some kids get a weekly check-in. Um, and then beyond that, most of our kids have a positive behavior intervention plan in place, which is that behavior analytic piece. So we're really addressing things from that behavioral lens, which is more extrinsic, and that internal lens, that mentalist mentalist lens, which is more that intrinsic piece.

SPEAKER_02 10:29

And what was the first thing that you said, the the therapy? What was the first one? Cognitive behavioral therapy or applied behavior analysis. The applied behavior analysis, thank you. Uh can you explain that more? Yes.

SPEAKER_00 10:42

So it is a a science-based approach to um systematically changing behavior through interventions. So um we're lucky enough that we have a board-certified behavior analyst that's designated just for our school. But then um, Mrs. Perry actually oversees a team of four other BCBAs throughout the school district. And even though I'm not hired in that capacity, I'm also a BCBA. So it really helps with decision making at hope in that regard. Um, so everything we're doing, we're making sure that, you know, if we're struggling with academics, how can we change it from a behavioral approach? Is it a behavior problem or is it an academic problem? Is it both? They're not always mutually exclusive. So we're constantly bouncing between what, you know, what lane are we in? Are we in multiple lanes, and who do we need to help us figure it out?

SPEAKER_01 11:31

And I think as well, one of the things that is unique to the ABA approach is function-based interventions. So when a child's engaging in a challenging behavior, the behavior analysts come at it not from a bag of tricks. Well, let's try this, let's try this, let's try this. They first come in and do a functional behavior assessment and really try to drill down what's the function of that behavior? Why is the student doing it? Are they doing it to escape a task that's difficult? Are they doing it to get to a preferred person or a preferred activity? And once they determine that, then they tailor the interventions to that function. How do they teach the student to get the function, get their need met, but in a pro-social way? So that's the science piece of the ABA.

SPEAKER_02 12:22

So it's different than behavior modification.

SPEAKER_01 12:24

It is very different.

SPEAKER_02 12:25

Because when people think about like any sort of alternative schooling strategy, um, at least like the old school, right? Is like my mom was a behavior mod specialist and she tells some stories. Uh, you know, and those stories don't sound anything like what you're talking about. It was basically like a prison for children. Um so with this approach, what kind of behavior change do you see, even though that's not the, you know, not using those old school strategies?

SPEAKER_00 12:57

I could actually give you an example. Um, I sat in an IEP meeting today, and this mother and I have a good relationship, so I think she would be okay with me speaking in terms generally about this. Um this student came into our program last year and she was really struggling. I mean, she she hit me multiple times. Um it was it was difficult, and it was very much a power struggle of where the boundaries are, who's who's running the program in a sense. Um and as we we worked with her, in in the back of our head, we're always thinking from that ethical lens of how do I want to be treated? And that's how I want to make sure I'm treating you. So that's the big difference between ABA and behavior mod, is I think the ethical dynamics there. So we're really trying to put in front of our students, these are the things that we're working for. We're an incentive-based program. You might not get access to things, but we're not here to punish you. Um so from that lens, this student today, we had a conversation already where we're talking about her transitioning out of the program next fall. Um, because we always tell people when they come in, you don't get sentenced to hope. This is not a prison. You don't come here and do your time, and you our hope is that you're not going to graduate from here. We want you to transition back out. So the goal is to bring kids in, give them the things that they need, have really intensive behavior therapies in place, teach them the skills and transition them back out.

SPEAKER_02 14:21

Yeah, completely different approach than my recollection of behavior modification stories. Parents find a lot of, you know, respite, I would say, it sounds like anyway, in knowing that their child has a place and can not graduate from Hope Horizon, but graduate back to their original school and advance academically, behaviorally. Are there any other aspects to the center that support parents specifically?

SPEAKER_01 14:54

So one thing that that comes to my mind when you say respite, um, a lot of our students, by the time they come to us, they're basically experiencing a really negative school experience. They're having a really negative school experience. They're being suspended, their parents are being called frequently, and again, like Ms. uh Dr. Stanley said earlier, it isn't that the schools aren't doing a good job or aren't trying, but sometimes the behaviors get so extreme that they don't know what else to do except keep calling, you know, the parents. So that's a frustration that we often hear. And although students can be suspended from Hope Horizon if the behavior warrants that, because we are in a Scambia County public school, we are under the same guidelines of other schools with the rights and responsibilities handbook, but we very much work individually with the student. So it is very rare that students are suspended out of school, and we don't typically call parents to come to the school. We're there, we're staffed to work through the behaviors. Very often, sending a child home from school for these challenging behaviors just reinforces the behavior. And so it becomes this trap, this cycle. So we work with them to keep the children at school, which then does become something of a respite for parents, that they can go to work, they can be assured that their students are safe, they're being taken care of, and people are doing the hard work to try to help their children learn to control their own behaviors and self-regulate when things happen. So that is something that we hear back from parents often is how supported they feel. We, our counselors, our Lakeview counselors do have the opportunity to do family counseling. I have seen that come up with a few families over the years. It isn't something that's required, but depending on what the counselor is addressing with the individual student and the dynamics in the home, that is something that they they could look into.

SPEAKER_02 17:01

That's really interesting. So if somebody is listening to this and they would like to explore, learn about this deeper for their student or you know, maybe a relative, right? Um, because sometimes it's the aunts and uncles that have the mental energy really to research another option. Parents are just like frayed out, they don't have any more energy to give. Where can they go to learn about that? How can they engage in a way to um just kind of start to self-assess a little bit if it's right?

SPEAKER_00 17:32

Um we have a couple of different options. So I I worked really hard over the last year to kind of beef up our website. Um we moved into our building, we were given a website, and I tried really hard to think from that frame of what do parents want to know about us that's appropriate for me to put on a public website. Um and what a lot of times we have new parents coming in that are going, I have a million questions, but I don't even know what to ask right now because I'm so overwhelmed with this process. So when they finally settle down and go, wait, I didn't even ask what time I need to pick them up from the bus, right? Like, or when did they go to lunch? All of those silly little things are there, but all of the serious things of the dynamics of our program, um, such as restorative practices, we talked about ABA. We all of our classrooms have some type of flexible seating integrated into it. So we have some major staples of the program that I don't always highlight in a three-hour-long intake, but uh they're important to understand about this is why this works.

SPEAKER_02 18:32

So what are the restorative practices?

SPEAKER_00 18:35

So restorative circles or restorative practices is something that we've integrated into the classroom more on the therapeutic end. Um, we try to encourage encourage our staff to use them for three different things. So they can use them in the morning during their social skills block to really just kind of hit the ground running with their class and get a pulse check. So there's a talking piece and um there's very specific guided questions that the teacher can ask in the morning. A lot of our teachers just start with something basic like, How are you feeling this morning? Or what's something fun that you did over the weekend just to kind of break the ice? And then um the next reason that they can be used is if there's a major incident in the classroom. So we really try to emphasize that while we, you know, Donna might have done something wrong in that moment, it impacted everybody here. We're a classroom community. So then we go around and ask guiding questions on a developmentally appropriate level of, you know, how did that affect you whenever she did that? So they kind of start to take ownership over how they impacted the classroom. And then the third way is at the end of the day, we kind of debrief how did today go? What kind of goals are you setting for yourself tomorrow when you come back in? What are you working for tomorrow? How are you going to fix what might not have gone well today?

SPEAKER_02 19:52

That is really interesting. Wow. Before we sign out, is there anything else that you want parents to know about Hope Horizon?

SPEAKER_01 20:02

I would say we didn't specifically touch on that we do serve students K through 12. We uh we said um only students with disabilities, but our our program is broken in. We have two primary buildings, one is designated for elementary, one for secondary. So although there's some interaction between the older students and the younger students, for the most part, elementary stays with elementary throughout the day and secondary with secondary. Um we have the classes broken down by K1 to 3. So they're what we call multi-grade, but we don't have to put kindergartners and fifth graders in the same classroom because that's a huge concern for parents sometimes. Our classes are staffed at a three to one ratio. So for every three children, there's one adult. We have a certified teacher in each classroom, and then two paras that are called instructional behavior assistants that are there to support. That's definitely more restrictive and more intensive than any other class in the school district, and we provide continuous supervision, meaning students are never sent anywhere on campus alone, they don't go to the restrooms alone, they don't take hall passes and go to the office, things like that. There's always an adult with them. So because we're working with children with mental health challenges, we provide that very intensive level of support and supervision.

SPEAKER_00 21:27

And the only thing that I would add to that is that um I think it's often misunderstood that we're a part of the district. So I want people to know that our door is open and we're here to collaborate, we're here to listen, we're here to provide strategies, and we're, I mean, we are here and we're all in. So we're happy to contribute and support kids even if they're not currently enrolled in our program. So I think that oftentimes people kind of get stuck and they just don't know who to turn to. So I want people to know that we're happy to answer questions even if your kid's not a candidate for us.

SPEAKER_02 21:59

Yeah, hopefully they'll be uh aware now that they're being stuck isn't you don't have to be stuck. Right. Awesome. Well, thank you guys. Thank you. Thanks for listening. Be sure to subscribe and share. Voices United in Education is a production of Escambia County Public Schools.