Jay H. Berk, Ph.D. & Associates
23293 Commerce Park, Beachwood, OH 44122
(216) 292-7170 FAX (216) 292-7182
WWW.JAYBERKPHD

Jay Berk, Ph.D. & Associates

SCHOOL SUPPORT SERVICES

• Quality services at competitive pricing

• Tailor made services to your district needs

Purpose

The purpose of our program is to develop a partnership with school districts to keep students successfully placed within the district and mainstreamed to the broadest extent possible. We can achieve this goal by using a myriad of support services both on-site and “behind the scenes.”

Our organization recognizes that there are students who may need to leave the district for many reasons. Our subsequent goal is to help the school and family minimize lengthy out-of-district placements through continued student supervision and assistance with designing successful re-integration plans. In our experience, we have seen many students leave a district and yet be unable to return due to academic deficits. Therefore, we strongly believe that maintaining the educational levels of students placed out of district is of vital concern to help them reintegrate.

Furthermore, support of the student within their own community can be critical to the healthy development of children and adolescents. Such support brings a sense of belongingness and thereby long term success. Therefore, we aim to help students function in their own community by increasing their comfort and ability to access such resources. This action includes but is not limited to developing supportive relationships with those around them and the awareness /utilization of other community resources.

Our organization prides itself on being student centered, by helping both parents and school districts support the student. We believe we can bring a wealth of resources from our experience and practice to help achieve our goals.

Options for Districts:

Below is a list of possible services. Districts may purchase all or any portion of these services. Services can be tailor made to student or district needs.

- Program Development

- Direct Service Staff Consultation

- Administrative Student Assistance

- Assistance in IEP or Other Meetings

- Staff Training

- Individual Direct Student Service

- Group Direct Student Service

- Family Direct Service

Bench Marks:

Our program is geared to have bench marks in terms of success. Some of these are noted below, but individual district bench marks may be created.

Reduce

1) Out of district placements

2) Psychiatric hospitalizations

3) Police support/interventions

4) Length of placements out of the district

5) Due process proceedings against districts

6) Disruption to peers in the building

7) The need for physical interventions.

8) Teacher / staff “burnout” experiences

9) Legal fees

10) Out-of-district placement fees and transportation costs

Increase

1) Staff awareness and successful intervention with students who have mental health issues

2) Collaboration between parents and school personnel

3) Development of the lagging skills of students with mental health issues, not just “housing them” and leaving the problems to reoccur

as they reach middle school and high school.

4) Reintegration into mainstream programming

5) Administrator and teacher time on other tasks rather than discipline

6) School options beyond suspension to reduce the problem of exceeding 10 day limit and “repeat offenders” by getting to the source of the issues

Staff Support:

1) Staff training on understanding mental health issues and drug issues in the general population of students and special education students.

 

2) Consultation for staff on difficult situations and behavior management in schools as well as help for administrators on program ideas.

 

3) School assistance and early intervention for students of concern but not formally identified. This action can include help with collaboration among school teams
and parents to create intervention plans.

 

4) Training for supplemental staff interacting with students such as school resource officers, lunch assistants, school aides, school security, bus drivers,

playground supervisors, and more.

 

Supervision of Alternative Out-Of District Placement:

 

1) Coordination with Special Education Supervisor

2) Progress monitoring

 

3) Collaboration with other healthcare providers

 

4) Reintegration planning/support

Extended School Year (ESY):

1) Help with planning school based ESY

 

2) Continued clinical services for students already being serviced by Jay Berk Ph.D. and associates can be provided in the summer

 

3) Help selecting appropriate ESY programs in the community

 

4) Availability of a Community Based ESY Services at Jay Berk, Ph. D. & Associates

E D. Classroom Plan – Sanctuary Model of Support:

Currently we are providing partnered support services with several districts in their ED classrooms. Our goal is to do much more than provide therapy to students. We have seen many such programs fail to provide success in the long term on bench marks noted.

Our objectives include:

1) Therapy to students and their families

 

2) Coordination with community based therapists and services

 

3) Helping the family follow through with care (e.g. medication planning and assistance)

 

4) Staff support

 

5) Program Design for long term success including effective incentive/reward systems

 

6) Environmental design that focuses on the sensory needs of students

 

Environmental Needs:

We will help with creating a successful environment for ED classrooms. Some examples include:

1. Full spectrum lighting

 

2. Wall coloring

 

1. Cubical seating

 

1. Cluster seating

 

1. Area rug or full carpeting

 

1. Sensory room – reduced stimulation

 

1. Other environmental concerns and planning

Behavioral/Psychological:

1. Feeling of safety

 

2. Lock box for students “safe place”

 

3. Reward system/daily charting (made available for therapist and psychiatrist)

 

4. Built in “natural consequences”

 

5. Town hall meetings run by students with adult supervision

 

6. Group and individual therapy

 

7. “Thinking” state over emotional state

 

8. Day starts with morning circle (discussion of previous night/morning events)

 

9. Individual crisis plan for each student

 

10. Expectations/understanding for reintegration into regular education programming

 

11. Development of an ongoing Supervisory/Consultation system for classroom teacher and educational aides

 

Other Program Benefits:

1) 24/7 back up support for district by our staff

 

2) Upmost quality and level of professionalism. We are not an agency, but a well- known and experienced group who bring a wealth of knowledge to solve your needs.

 

3) Teamwork of highly qualified staff at Jay Berk Ph.D., and Associates. Our onsite staff members are not new to this field; rather they are seasoned professionals in their field.

 

4) Alternative educational option for a short-term placement of students at our site in Beachwood. Students can attend for short or long periods of need.

 

References:

Many references are available on request. We are proud to report ongoing relationships with many organizations and places including school districts, Colleges, Universities, and organizations.

A sampling includes:

Marywood University

Mentor City Schools, Mentor, Ohio

Hudson City Schools, Hudson, Ohio

District of Columbia Schools

Department of Education in Hawaii

UNICEF

Screen Actors Guild

Health Education Seminars

Akron City Schools

Cleveland Public Schools: Project Act

Julie Billiart School