

Grant Middle School Behavior Intervention Program 1111 Easterday Ave Albuquerque, New Mexico 87111 (505) 294-8511 Behavior Intervention Program Patricia Williams-Assistant Principal Public Schools maintains a continuum of mental health programs and services for special education students with emotional/behavioral disturbance. The district middle school program is Grant Middle School Behavior Intervention Program. It is a therapeutic program which functions much like a partial or day treatment program, but is located on a public middle school campus. In 1993 the Grant Behavior Intervention Program received a $300,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Division of Innovation and Development. It was also recognized as one of the top five most promising programs in the United States by the National Agenda for Achieving Better Results for Children and Youth with Serious Emotional Disturbance. The following descri Mural done by students Philosophy - The Behavior Intervention Program for students who are seriously emotionally/behaviorally disturbed operates under a set of beliefs about how to bring about behavioral change. The staff believes: People can change their behavior in positive ways A therapeutic environment within an education system can provide the place for that change Positive reinforcement, a set of rules, a set of consequences from caring staff, a safe environment, and a continuum of strategies to deal with individual problem behaviors are the factors essential to a therapeutic environment A goal of the program is to improve students' skills, knowledge and abilities, and to integrate into a less supported and protective environment as soon as possible Parents/Guardians are the primary educators of their children and their participation in the educational process is critical to the overall success of their child Student work Mission - To facilitate positive behavioral change in students in order to prepare them for the mainstream of life. Students Served - Students referred to our program may have experienced psychiatric hospital placement, lack of success in their neighborhood school, involvement with juvenile justice system, family and individual therapy. They may exhibit one or more of these behaviors over a long period of time and to a significant degree: verbal aggression, physical aggression, poor peer and/or adult relationships, off-task, impulsivity, not taking responsibility for their actions, withdrawal, anxiety, phobic responses. They may be on psychotropic medication. They may have another exceptionally, such as a learning disability, speech/language disability, or gifted. Support Services - School social workers, clinical psychologists, an adapted physical education teacher, a speech and language pathologist, an occupational therapist, a nurse and a full-time administrator make up the support staff. Along with the teachers and educational assistant, they are the multi-disciplinary team who meet often to discuss interventions for each student. Curriculum - Equal emphasis is placed on academics, social/behavioral skills, and making healthy life choices. All students have Individualized Educational Plans in place. Token Economy System* Students in the Behavior Intervention Program work on a token economy system. Every period, students earn points for positive behaviors. At the end of each period, those points are exchanged for "money." Throughout the week, students keep track of their earnings as an adult would with a check register. At the end of the week, students "pay their bills." Students pay rent for their desk space and pay a utility bill for lights and water in the building. After all bills are paid, students are allowed to spend any extra money at the school store or can pay to participate in afternoon team-building activities. Any leftover money is transferred into a savings account. That money is used to participate in long-term reward field trips at the end of each nine week period. Teacher List Cris Ortiz- Misty Smith Kim Lanoy Joshua Sanders-joshua_sndrs@yahoo.com Girit Lerche Heidi Hawkins Mike Cano-canohikefish@yahoo.com Mark Smith Jan McClure-SLP-janmcclureslp@yahoo.com Jean Fetner-OT-jeanfetner@yahoo.com Betty Dickerson-Social Worker-dickerson_b@aps.edu Whitney Kane-Social Worker-kane_w@aps.edu Lucas Bojorquez-Social Worker Patricia Williams-Assistant Principal-williams_p@aps.edu Work done by our students . Return to homepage