Greetings Parents, Students and Friends,

The expansion efforts in our secondary program the past two years have been very successful. To make it happen we: informed schools we were expanding, hired new staff in the secondary program and added four support staff positions to the school team. We knocked down walls, added splashes of color in our new spaces, bought new desks and chairs, created a media lab that includes a Young Adult Library, computer stations and a SMART board and brought in new students to fill the secondary classrooms.

The 2006-2007 school year at The Providence Center School is The Year of Engagement. The idea is to strengthen the Circle of Support initiative - to bring it up close and personal and be more closely engaged with students in class, school, home and the community.

This will mean a shift in support staff involvement moving from a teaching-modeling approach to more observation, engagement and recommendations. For instance, the speech pathologist might be in the classroom during instruction during a particular subject. She would observe seating, staff proximity, noise levels, materials etc. Information and specific recommendations are then shared with the classroom team about the findings during the observed period. Suggestions might include moving a seat or seats, having the teacher assistant in closer proximity and engaged with a particular student or students or taking someone from the room to work quietly in a different area, suggesting the teacher walk around the class while instructing, a follow-up activity that might suit different learning styles, etc.

The Circle of Support initiative will continue to focus on increasing attendance, improving participation, building stronger connections to our students' home schools and enhancing our academic and social/emotional program. The Getting Ahead Period (GAP) and Alternate Learning Environment (ALE) and Life Skills components will continue to develop. We remain committed to improving connections to the sending school to develop and support transition and inclusion opportunities from the first day of enrollment.

It’s going to be very busy at The Providence Center School this year. We appreciate and recognize the positive impact of partnering with colleagues, students, families, community agencies and local school districts.  We remain committed to improving the learning experience for all students and look forward to working together during The Year of Engagement.