Eileen Roberts, Program Manager 2221 64th St Woodridge, IL 60517-2180 Document Generated On January 18, 2017
TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 1 Description of the School 2 School's Purpose 4 Notable Achievements and Areas of Improvement 5 Additional Information 6
Introduction Every school has its own story to tell. The context in which teaching and learning takes place influences the processes and procedures by which the school makes decisions around curriculum, instruction, and assessment. The context also impacts the way a school stays faithful to its vision. Many factors contribute to the overall narrative such as an identification of stakeholders, a description of stakeholder engagement, the trends and issues affecting the school, and the kinds of programs and services that a school implements to support student learning. The purpose of the Executive Summary (ES) is to provide a school with an opportunity to describe in narrative form the strengths and challenges it encounters. By doing so, the public and members of the school community will have a more complete picture of how the school perceives itself and the process of self-reflection for continuous improvement. This summary is structured for the school to reflect on how it provides teaching and learning on a day to day basis. Page 1
Description of the School Describe the school's size, community/communities, location, and changes it has experienced in the last three years. Include demographic information about the students, staff, and community at large. What unique features and challenges are associated with the community/communities the school serves? The Naperville Bridge High School was created in 2009 to facilitate the education of students with emotional and academic learning challenges. The program was originally initiated when Naperville District 203 found a high number of expulsions in one year and the Board and District Administrators sought other options for their students. From the the Bridge's inception, District 203 has always played an intricate role in the placement and monitoring of students. Communication remains seamless between the Principal, Deans, and Coordinators and Bridge staff. Our campus is located in Woodridge, IL, a suburban community located thirty miles west of Chicago and about ten miles East from Naperville where the student's homes are located. The campus is shared by other Abraxas Youth and Family Services including an alternative adolescent males residential campus, a men's unit for substance abuse, and outpatient services. Our school consists of fifty students selected from the two Naperville 203 High School campuses; Naperville North and Naperville Central. We are located in Woodridge, IL, tucked away on thirteen acres of land. We have 16 staff in total to support the community of learners. The thirty students that are placed with in lieu of expulsion represent a wide variety of behaviors; mental illness, external aggression, substance abuse, truancy, ELL, and those that just need a smaller environment. The remaining twenty students are youth with Special Needs and have an IEP for placement at the Bridge. Our staff consists of four special education teachers (LBS1), one reading specialist, one physical education, four intervention specialist (type 39), one art therapist (LPC), two social workers (type 73), one guidance counselor/dean of students (type 39), one principal (type 75), and one administrative assistant.. The team focuses on academic credits that align with D203, SEL goals, CCR goals, and individual supports. This alliance was developed in accordance with the Illinois State Board of Education regulations for Alternative Learning Options Programs (Article 13B) and non-public schools (Article 14-7.02). Services included: - Alternative and Special Education options for students with low motivation, disruptive behaviors and lack personal confidence in their academic abilities. - Specific social-emotional development support for improving effective pro-social skills, healthy self-concept and personal success. - Personal management skills that assisted students in assuming greater skill and responsibility for acquiring positive behavioral attitudes. - Differentiated instruction that facilitated the acquisition of basic grade-level competence in specific academic subjects. - Replication of the high academic standards established by Naperville 203 for grade-level advancement and graduation requirements. - Transition services that focused on preparing students to return to their home school for completion of their education based on their ability to demonstrate both academic skill and an effective personal management skill. - School-based drug and alcohol abuse education and intervention (for identified students). - Parental support and education for at-risk youth. - Truancy management support and intervention Page 2
Over the past three years, with continuous impute from Naperville 203 we have adjusted our mission from providing an alternative setting to now focusing on research based therapeutic model. We have increased our social emotional supports allowing an increased number of students to be available for learning. Page 3
School's Purpose Provide the school's purpose statement and ancillary content such as mission, vision, values, and/or beliefs. Describe how the school embodies its purpose through its program offerings and expectations for students. Our mission is to educate students to be self-directed learners, collaborative workers, complex thinkers, quality producers, and community contributors. With a small student population, the staff are able to develop relationships, build trust and rapport with students in order to create gains in academics and social/emotional learning. The end goal is to support the student's in all areas so they are ready and available to integrate back into the home school population. As a team we continue to monitor our students progress using the SRP,( Service Reintegration Plan,) District ALOP goals, and student IEP goals. All of these benchmarks are targeted for students to make progress in their skill deficits that brought the student to need the supports offered by the Bridge. Data is tracked in various ways to ensure these goals are met. During our orientation process, student's complete the BASI, Pearson's Basic Achievement Skills Inventory upon entry. In addition, District 203 requires the administration of the Performance Series test three times a year, to drive the level of instruction in algebra, geometry, and reading comprehension The staff review the students academic grades, referrals/level in the behavior system, and attendance on a weekly basis to align with the goals align with the ALOP grant. During that collaboration we discuss plans to re-mediate non-acquired goals or re-enforce achieved goals. Naperville Bridge prides itself on being transparent and continuously evolving for the best interest of it's students and maintaining current best practices. Each year we have a meeting with district staff to set goals for the upcoming year to continue to drive the instruction forward to meet the goals of all the students.. Page 4
Notable Achievements and Areas of Improvement Describe the school's notable achievements and areas of improvement in the last three years. Additionally, describe areas for improvement that the school is striving to achieve in the next three years. The areas that we have grown the most in include, increasing the rigor in academics and in our social emotional curriculum. Classrooms have been sorted by programmatic needs based on internalizing behaviors and externalizing behaviors. This has increased our ability to reach more students and have less distractions in the classroom. Teachers have added the use of Chrome books, have aligned the curriculum to both Common Core and District 203 standards, collaborated with content partners at the home school, increased homework and provide differentiated instruction within the classroom to meet the needs of the learners. One of the areas in need of growth is parent involvement. Parents are required to be at intake and IEP meetings, as well as, invited to be at progress meetings and parent teacher conferences. Parents are also provided updates as needed. During the past 18 months we have offered specialized training's for parents during parent teacher conferences that includes Powerschool training (how to look at your child's grades), Substance Abuse awareness (looking in the house for signs and symptoms your child might be using), and various topics that support the current trends on campus. Page 5
Additional Information Provide any additional information you would like to share with the public and community that were not prompted in the previous sections. Abraxas has worked in partnership with District 203 to provide students with the necessary education and social skills to make positive changes in their lives through a flexible, resource rich program. With the flexible resource model, we address a wide variety of social issues, diverse learning styles and educational needs to direct students toward more responsible lifestyles and commitment to their education. Abraxas and District 203 administrative staff recognized that students who would attend the proposed program were typically the more problematic students within the local school system and would require individually crafted approaches and special attention in order to assist them in their academic success.. THE BRIDGE, provides a proven example, of the Education Division of ABRAXAS Family and Youth Services ability to partner with an individual school district to tailor an academic and behavioral program, to meet the specific needs and challenges faced by a district in serving their most demanding students. Our active dynamic partnership with district 203 is the basis of the success of our program. Each semester the profile of the students we serve changes. Together with the District 203 Administrative team we reflect and adjust our approach and practice. Page 6