Academics - TLC Child & Family Services

Expected Schoolwide Learning Results (ESLRs)

By the time Journey Academy students graduate or transition out of the nonpublic school setting, they will be:

Engaged learners who:

Actively participate in class discussions and activities.
Positively contribute to the learning environment with their unique perspective, learning style, and personality.
Collaborate with school staff and peers to learn subject matter and develop social-emotional skills.
Utilize technology to promote learning and creative expression.

Effective communicators who:

Utilize verbal and written language to effectively present facts and opinions.
Respectfully listen to and interact with those who have differing perspectives.
Utilize nonviolent communication and engage in restorative processes when faced with disagreement or adversity.

Responsible citizens who:

Make healthy choices for their academic, physical, mental, and emotional well-being.
Reflect on their actions and their impact on others.
Identify problems in their lives and the lives of others to promote positive change.
Respect and value different cultures, perspectives, and intersectional identities as part of this complex community and world.

Self and peer advocates who:

Respectfully and assertively voice their own needs, desires, and concerns.
Identify and take steps to realize their passions and goals.
Develop and practice perseverance through challenges.
Exercise their voice to help make this a safe environment for all students.

Critical thinkers who:

Analyze and synthesize texts, media, and lived experiences to make connections and solve problems.
Utilize sound reasoning and evidence to construct an argument and point of view.

We help your teen form connections to self, others, and the larger community as a path to being a healthy person in this complex world.

Supportive, Goal-Oriented Education

Accreditation

We are a CDE certificated and WASC accredited nonpublic school
We serve 9th-12th grade students with IEP diagnosis of Emotional Disturbance, Other Health Impairment, Specific Learning Disability and/or Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Our teachers are all credentialed Education Specialists and we teach to California State Standards
Additionally, we specialize in serving youth with diagnosed anxiety, depression, PTSD, and youth experiencing thoughts of suicidal ideation or self-harm
We are recognized by the Human Rights Campaign for our innovation in serving LGTBQ+ youth

Supportive Classrooms

Our classes have no more than 12 students, allowing for individualized instruction and highly-personalized interactions.
Classes are staffed by an Education Specialist as well as an Instructional Aide so that each student’s IEP goals, accommodations and/or modifications can be implemented consistently across all classroom settings.
Students are provided with visual cue cards of their goals, accommodations and modifications as well as coping skills menu options to support them in self advocating for appropriately supportive resources in class.
Classes are equipped with supportive technology such as student chromebooks smart boards to accommodate a variety of learning styles and maximize interactive instruction.

Journey Academy recognizes that an NPS placement is meant to be a supportive step towards increasing independence. We work collaboratively with each student’s district team to identify appropriate transition goals to work towards during their time in placement with us. Students at Journey may be working on one or more of the following transitions:

Returning to a less restrictive learning environment: We work with the district, the student and the family to determine what an appropriate transition plan looks like for each individual and what goals the student will need to meet academically, behaviorally, socially and emotionally to get there.
Earning a diploma: We work with the district to determine a graduation plan for students who will receive their diploma while in placement. We support district required credit and course needs and all courses taken at Journey will count towards a student’s graduation requirements whether they stay with us or transition to another placement before graduation.
Developing workability skills: Through career exploration coursework as well as opportunities for some students to earn work permits and take on after-school jobs, we help our youth to explore achievable next steps after high school. Our Culinary Arts CTE program provides students with the knowledge and skills needed to transition into many different hospitality careers,
Developing independent living skills: Through individual, group and family counseling as well as class coursework, we support each student in exploring resources available to them post-graduation and developing skills needed to live and thrive in the community post-graduation.
Exploring opportunities to continue education: Through class coursework and on-site presentations and workshops, students explore the options available to them to continue their education at a Junior college or career/technical education school post-graduation. There are opportunities for some students to develop their independence through supportive concurrent enrollment at our local Santa Rosa Junior college while in placement at Journey Academy.

Behavioral Support

All of our teachers, clinicians, and support staff are highly trained in trauma-informed practices as well as Crisis Prevention Intervention strategies so that they may help students identify emotional triggers, redirect away from and replace disruptive patterns, and explore what’s going on for them underneath their behaviors.
Each classroom contains a box of coping tools that students are encouraged to use as needed. Students are provided structured support to help them internalize how to utilize these resources in a non-disruptive way to support continued class engagement
Instructional Aides track behaviors to celebrate and behaviors needing additional support on on Daily Points Sheets in order to help students recognize both positive as well as maladaptive patterns and create plans to support continued growth.
Daily Points Sheets are utilized to incentivize positive behavior trends each day so that students may build self-confidence related to their school behavior.
Data from Daily Points Sheets help communicate to students, families, placing districts and other stakeholders when behavioral benchmarks have been achieved.