Perseus House Alternative Education For Disrupted Youth (AEDY)
AEDY is designed to meet the needs of both the regular and special education students in grades 6-12. Our programs provide behavioral, emotional and educational needs of students that are experiencing barriers to learning and progressing in the traditional educational setting. The purpose of this program is to serve as an intervention with a focus on the development of positive pro-social behaviors.
Perseus House AEDY provides education in the four core subject areas: Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies. Students receive weekly counseling utilizing a research based program, developed by Dr. Arnold Goldstein, Aggression Replacement Training® (ART). This program is a leading psycho educational approach for working with challenging youth which is founded on evidence based principles.
ART includes:
- Moral Reasoning
- Anger Control
- Skill Streaming
For a student to be considered for admission to a AEDY, school administrators are required to complete a referral process that includes a variety of documentation and information regarding the student. The criteria for placement in an AEDY is set forth by the Pennsylvania Department of Education’s Alternative Education for Disruptive Youth guidelines, refer to the following website for details: Click here »
Special Education students may be included in the AEDY. Identified students shall follow their Individualized Education Plan (IEP) as mandated by Chapter 14 and IDEIA. The IEP team must convene to discuss the student’s current placement, IEP goals, specially designed instruction, supports and the Positive Behavior Support Plan. The IEP meeting is held at the home school district and includes minimally, a special and regular education teacher, the LEA, the parents and the student as well as a representative from the Alternative Education for Disruptive Youth program (AEDY).
Curriculum
The focus of the education at the AEDY is on providing the skills and knowledge necessary to be successful in an educational setting. All students (6-12) are provided the core content academic areas, Language Arts, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies as well as electives such as Health and Wellness. Students are given the formative assessments and/or CDT tests to establish a baseline of academic performance and then post test for progress data. Through the use of small group academic instruction, one-to-one instruction, technology enhancement and text book recourses, each student’s academic and behavioral needs will be addressed. Teachers and students have the opportunity to utilize the Edgenuity online curriculum as well as a variety of career planning tools, such as ASVAB Career Exploration and Choices360.com.
Staffing
Each AEDY classroom is staffed with a certified special education teacher and a behavior specialist. The teacher assumes the role of not only educator but case manager. The teacher is responsible for tracking attendance, grades and any other behavioral, emotional and/or academic trend. The classroom also has the opportunity to utilize a certified, credentialed Mental Health Therapist (MHT).
Students will receive group counseling on a regular basis for a minimum of 2.5 hours weekly. Then assigned MHT will facilitate the group counseling (The MHT will meet the AEDY requirements of having “approved credentials in the behavioral health discipline”). The MHT can also provided individual counseling services following the Student Assistance Program (SAP) model. Typically the behavior specialist in the classroom will co-facilitate the group counseling with the MHT. The behavior specialist is utilized in as a support to assist the teacher in maintaining the appropriate educational atmosphere. Additional staff members include, but are not limited to the following:
- Building Principal
- Mental Health Therapist
- Intervention Coordinator
All staff members are encouraged to be trained in Life Space Crisis Intervention® (LSCI), Aggression Replacement Training® (ART) and the Sanctuary® model within the first year of their employment with Perseus House. These interventions and strategies are to be utilized by the staff to improve the number of successful interventions that are provided to the students.
Partnerships
The Perseus House AEDY has various partnerships and contracts with community resources to provide additional services to any identified student. PH utilizes mental health and drug and alcohol services from local providers to support a student’s prescriptive need. It should be noted that all of these ancillary services must be agreed upon by the student and the family with written permission.
