27. May 2009 by admin.

By Ken McNerney
Education Director /Principal
CBRYouthConnect

Recently I was speaking to a former student about his time at CBRYC, which he affectionately referred to as “the ranch”. For the purposes of this blog, let’s call him John, (Johnny is a good anonymous name, so why should I break with tradition?) He had come to us a frightened 15 year old with emotional problems that had manifested at home, in the community, and also at school. He had been receiving special education services for several years, but had been moved from classroom to classroom, and from teacher to teacher. His behaviors often landed him in the administrator’s office and/or with his parents at the schools, which in turn stressed his family life even more. John could not see then that he was a fortunate student. He had an advocate in a special education teacher who understood the severity of John’s problems and worked hard to get John some help. This teacher realized that John needed to transition from an over-burdened special education system in a public school and also from the non-public school that specialized in emotional disabilities which was also having difficulty meeting John’s educational needs. John needed an out of state placement 2000 miles from home at CBRYC.
John did well while he was here at CBRYC, and in turn was able to return to a non-public school in his home state and eventually back into a public high school participating in general education classes with some special accommodations.

I asked John what made CBRYC a success for him, and what he believed happened here for him that had not happened at other schools. John said simply, “a different kind of teacher.” He went on saying, “The teachers there (at CBRYC) cared and went out of the way for me. I learned so much there and not just school work.” After our phone conversation, I thought for a long time about what John had said. His perception was really nothing new to me because we have always strived to reach our students. I considered how powerful that simple concept is because the heart of all of our work with the youth we serve is based in building relationships.

We are fortunate here at CBRYC to have the opportunity to build relationships with our students. We are also fortunate enough to have very small class sizes and plenty of staff assistance. We also believe that all learning does not have to take place in the classroom. We often say that we take the classroom to the kid. Most importantly, we have a knowledgeable staff with years of experience teaching children with emotional problems. Our philosophy incorporates treatment goals into every aspect of the student’s residential experience, including school. A child’s clinical team, residential team and educational team work hand in hand, each supporting the other until a seamless plan is developed and implemented. This may best be illustrated though the concept of applied learning.

Aside from offering standards-based curriculum and researched-based interventions, we have always focused a large part of a student’s educational experience on the concept of applied learning. Applied Learning is separate from but part of academic, vocational and educational areas. Applied Learning as a model modifies academic and vocational education curriculum to meet the needs of emotionally disabled students. Students now have a practical and realistic arena to translate academic and pre-vocational/vocational skills into actual useable skills.

Applied Learning focuses on the capabilities youth need in order to be productive members of society. Applied Learning skills connect the work special education students do in academic classes to other areas, and encourage practice in science, math and language arts, as well as promoting social skills, independent living skills and specialized pre-vocational and vocational skills. Our emphasis is developing the capacity of each youth to put learning into completing real tasks.

Applied Learning can occur in both academic and vocational areas depending on the youth’s interests and motivation. The modification of instructional strategies and the applied learning model have occurred in many diverse areas.
The concept of applied learning provides the perfect opportunity to allow a student to participate in an area of interest while learning academic and social skills. We offer a variety of ways to engage a student in learning. These include but are not limited to oral reports, demonstrations, presentations, exhibits, displays, performances, dramatizations, debates, panel discussions, artwork, portfolios, original experiments and photo & video albums.

Included in the concept of applied learning are nationally recognized animal therapy programs.

In the equestrian program, students learn all concepts involved in horsemanship from grooming to riding safety. Each step involves much repetition and practice, which enhances the student’s overall ability to learn. Students will gain coordination, balance and other senses, along with leg, arm, abdominal, and back strength improvements. The implementation of math, reading, and writing skills are also applied through the job processes listed above.

In the small animals program, students can interact with many different small animals such as, guinea pigs, mice, ferrets, goats, marine and tropical fish, rabbits, birds, snakes, iguanas, caiman, dogs, turtles, chinchillas, and many others. Students learn proper animal interaction and establish respect for other living things. Proper care and feeding of animals, understanding how to establish proper handling of animals, necessary nutrition requirements, and determining the health of and health needs of the animals are all a part of the knowledge students will gain from working with these animals. In addition, students will research each animal to further their knowledge and skills in dealing with animals. Opportunities for youth to communicate their knowledge and skills to others are provided. The implementation of math, reading, and writing skills are applied daily through the job processes listed above.

The New Leash on Life program provides time to learn about new ways to develop relationships, by learning that relationships consist of a beginning, middle and end. Each youth learns to label the emotions surrounding attachments and begins the process of understanding feelings. In addition, students learn about animal behaviors and training techniques; applying learning from math, science, and language arts to train (teach) a dog to master certain behaviors. They learn about positive attachment and modulation of behaviors and relate new learning and understanding to their own life.

This brings me back to my conversation with John and the idea of a different kind of teacher and a different kind of education ideal; an educational system that is based upon the individual learning characteristics of each student. These styles include areas like attention, memory behavior, organization, communication, social development, visual, auditory, kinesthetic, motivation, individual, group, and personality or emotional styles. Although these styles can be identified utilizing a testing format, our philosophy dictates their identification through actual observation and relationship development. This can be accomplished by an Educational staff with countless hours and years of knowledge and experience that strives to reach kids that many others have given up on. Perhaps John articulated it best when he said “the teachers there took the time to get to know me and really cared how I was doing, they found ways for me to learn and they never gave up on me”.

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1. May 2009 by admin.

“George told me he couldn’t do it; that he was incapable, “explains Maryanne Hale, CBR YouthConnect’s Art Program Teacher. George is a youth in the Art Program, attending that class for about three months. He was very recently given an Honorable Mention ribbon at the local art show, competing against other La Junta youth and was very proud to share his creation.

“…this is the Elder Orb Beholder from Baldur’s Gate…and this monster appears in a space underground called the…” he continues, excitedly gesturing his hands to help present the lore associated with his paper mache monster. His art piece is a brown creature, with a row of brightly-painted white teeth and multiple eyeballs.

George believes that doing the art program has helped him deescalate when he is feeling stressed, or needs a way to cope with the thoughts of the day. “I feel like I’m calmer and I’m glad to do this when I’m feeling bored,” says George, now holding his hands together in politeness. When asked how he made another one of his pieces, a brightly colored fish with detailed scales on its underbelly, George is on his feet once again and excitedly detailing the process step-by-step. “First, I crumpled up newspaper into a ball,” motioning as though he were doing the project again in air, “and then I crumpled more newspaper into a cone, then I added golf balls and put in the wire. Then I had to have the teacher help me make a hole for the mouth. Then we did the paper mache and painted it.”

“It’s important to know the process, and it is significant that so many are able to remember it all,” beams Maryanne. “Art helps a youth be successful; they see something they made or something they have done and they know that it’s theirs, and they did it. Those are things of success.”
George would like to do more sculptures of some classic movie monsters, and would also like to do a life-size, “Drow Elf” sculpture. Right now, George is near completion on a very detailed alligator head made from clay. “It’s Leatherhead from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” he points out. “I wanted to show everybody my artistic talents,” says George, still gesturing in enthusiasm, “I didn’t think I could do it at first, but I put my mind to it, and I know I can do it, and I know I can do much more.”

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1. May 2009 by admin.

La Junta, Colo. -
Otero County Health Department recently teamed up with CBR YouthConnect to provide rehabilitation clinics for children with special needs.
Kevin Harsh, director of nursing with the Otero County Health Department, said the health department provides rehab clinics for children from a nine-county area.
A team of doctors and special needs specialists are available at the clinic to visit with children and families on anything from physical therapy and medical examinations to wheelchair improvements and brace inspections.
Because of the high number of clients and cramped clinic conditions at their previous location, the department began searching for a new facility.
Martin Maser, CEO of CBR YouthConnect, offered one of the vacant buildings on the campus located north of La Junta.
“This is an interagency collaboration to improve health care access to children with special needs,” Harsh said.
Maser agreed.
“CBR YouthConnect and the Otero County Health Department are in the business of serving children,” Maser said. “This was a perfect fit. We are reaching back to the communities that have supported us. We wanted to extend our services and community resources to the Arkansas Valley and the community we serve here.”
Kirk Snyder, chief operating officer at CBR, has been the lead executive for the collaboration and spearheaded what needed to happen on the campus to help provide services to children with special needs.
Harsh said with families struggling in today’s economy, this clinic offers an affordable alternative to people in rural areas.
“The recession is particularly hard on everyone,” Harsh said. “It would cost a lot of money to visit this type of team. People would have to travel to Denver. We are very fortunate to have them here.”
Also contributing to the clinic is the Board of Cooperative Educational Services.

http://www.lajuntatribunedemocrat.com/archive/x360587469/Serving-children-Local-health-officials-CBR-YouthConnect-share-resources

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