Services
Specialized Education
Impact Academy independently contracts with school districts to perform special education duties on their behalf. We serve as an "off-site classroom" for students as young as 5 years old (and, at least, in Kindergarten) all the way up to 21 years old (and, at most, in grade 12). We have certified teachers & intervention specialists who provide individualized education to students in all major subject/course areas, as well as elective courses in PE, Health, and Personal Living Skills (and related). High school-level students can earn up to 7.5 credits in a single academic year. We also provide semi-quarterly & quarterly IEP Progress Reports, in addition to Mid-Term Reports & Report Cards; while each new student undergoes a series of academic assessments at initial placement, to establish a baseline measure, and is regularly assessed to track progress throughout placement.
Behavioral Interventions
Impact Academy prides itself in implementing purposeful behavior modification strategies throughout every academic day, particularly through the vehicle of our incentive-laden level system, where students progress through their levels by achieving ratings in several academic, behavioral, emotional, and social categories on a semi-daily basis that are pertinent to their unique skillset. In achieving daily level system goals, student can then access various program rewards & privileges.
By eventually rising to the highest levels, students can then begin discussions with the IEP Team or their school district's authorities about transitioning to a less restrictive academic setting.
Rewarding Facilities
Besides classrooms, our facilities are adapted to accommodate our behavior modification approach, including rewarding places such as a full gymnasium, a Wreck-Creation Zone & a Video Game Area where access is exclusively based upon each student's ascent on the level system, based on their morning or afternoon ratings. Students can quickly access rewards & privileges, including gym time, playground use, access to an assortment of new and old video game systems & arcade machines, competing against others in pool/billiards, foosball, air hockey, and "Pop-A-Shot," as well as playing many other single and multi-player games & puzzles, while learning cooperation & sharing.
Psychoeducational & Informal Therapeutic Interventions
Mostly all of our students have pressing behavioral & emotional issues that got them placed in our program, needing to be addressed on varying levels of frequency and intensity. While our therapeutic services are NONCLINICAL, INFORMAL, and NOT a mandatory aspect of our program, we believe in a holistic approach to treating student issues by conducting informal group-based and "psychoeducational" trainings in all of our classrooms on a daily basis, focusing on presenting student needs, such as: emotions management, social skills development, relationship establishment & maintenance, hygiene & self-care, independent living skills, personal responsibility, etc., as well as level system progress or lack thereof.
Most of our students are already involved in outside individual & family counseling services at community mental health or medical agencies. During extreme/significant student crises, emergency counseling is made available to students throughout their placement by our onsite licensed counselor(s). If a student presents with mental health needs requiring ongoing treatment but is not connected with an outside provider, Impact Academy will seek out relevant service providers and recommend related referrals. Our onsite counselor(s) can also assist with providing outside providers with feedback on medication effects with particular students; fortifying or amending previous mental health diagnoses; and producing reports on student behavioral or emotional progress. Outside counselors, social/case workers, probation officers, etc. are ALWAYS welcome to pay their assigned students a visit.
Finally, a small minority of our students may require Speech, Occupational, and/or Physical Therapy Services, typically articulated in their IEP's. To assist such students, a student's school district is responsible and free to send one of their own therapists, or a contracted provider, to our site in order to conduct the services as designated in the students' IEP.
There is no cost to our students or their families for any auxiliary services we provide.
Trainings & Workshops
At Impact Academy, we firmly believe, ideally, that students need to be in the least restrictive academic setting whenever possible. To assist school districts in minimizing their need for having to ever use alternative special education placements like ours, we provide around-the-year workshops, either at our facilities or in the districts themselves. Such seminars can cover a half-day (4 hours) or a full-day (8-9 hours) of training, as follows:
- Behavior Management Strategies in the Classroom
- Level System Setup, Implementation & Maintenance
- Teaching to Mental Health Disorders in the Classroom
- Crisis/Safety Intervention Techniques
Many surrounding area school districts have taken advantage of these workshops over the years, noting great success in being able to assist their students better in maintaining their least restrictive academic placement much longer, if not indefinitely.
Please feel free to contact our Main Office to inquire about logistics and costs in attending or hosting any of the above trainings/workshops.