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Shepard Schools - 7th / 8th Grade
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Shepard Middle School Program:
Probably, one of the most pressing concerns for parents and middle school students with significant behavioral disabilities is the fear that these students will have a terrible transition to high school. Every school year Shepard Schools receives referrals from child study teams and parents who have students in the seventh and eighth grades who are
not meeting the academic and social demands in a regular middle school setting (even with special education services). These child study team professionals and parents are looking for the intense behavioral intervention to help the middle school students become adequate and responsible learners so that they can make a successful transition to high school.
Parents and Child Study Team members are relieved to see a positive turn around in their child’s academic and behavioral performance after participating in the Shepard Middle School Program. Some students are able to return to their sending district after being at Shepard for eighth and ninth grades, while others stay at Shepard High School until the end of twelfth grade and successfully transition to a two or four year college. Parents of these graduating seniors attribute their child’s achievement to the middle school placement at Shepard Schools and the individualized instruction and behavior modification intervention received throughout the student’s high school education.
Middle school students with significant behavioral disabilities (e.g. ADHD, Bipolar Illness, Asperger’s Syndrome, etc) often experience tremendous difficulties with managing the typical academic expectations and social demands in a regular middle school setting. Often, their emotional and behavioral immaturities interfere with the development of their self-esteem, critical thinking and problem solving ability, academic motivation, ability to gather process information through reading, writing and active listening, mathematical literacy, respect and tolerance for others, and overall command of subject areas as addressed in the New Jersey State Core Curriculum Standards.
Some middle school students with behavioral and emotional disabilities are woefully ill-prepared for the academic expectations in ninth grade. Frequently, their behavioral and learning disabilities as well as emotional immaturity have impeded their ability to acquire and internalize the knowledge and skills necessary for a successful start in a high school program. They may have extremely negative attitudes about education, low academic motivation, and poor work habits and take no responsibility for their education and behavioral choices. Often these students have extreme difficulty transitioning from middle school to the increased academic and social demands of ninth grade. When appropriate behavioral intervention is introduced at a time when middle school students are experiencing unparalleled changes in their emotional, physical and cognitive growth (i.e. seventh and eighth grades) and the students learn how to manage these intense developmental changes through behavioral intervention, we believe these students will be better equipped to meet the academic requirements in high school.
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