Special Education teachers are fortunate for many reasons. Of course, the number one reason is getting to work with amazing kids and helping them grow! Another reason is that there are a variety of settings where Special Education teachers can work. One of these settings is a therapeutic day school.
First, it’s important to know what a therapeutic day school is. According to an article from the Center for Families website, a therapeutic day school is a “comprehensive treatment setting in which mental health and behavioral issues that arise during the school day can be addressed successfully while facilitating academic progress, preventing students from falling behind”. Basically, a therapeutic day school is a school with specific supports built in that a regular public school does not have. While every school is different, I will share things I have learned from my experience at my school for the past 3 years (pictured above).
1. There is so much support for students AND staff.
I transitioned from a public school to a therapeutic school in 2021. The first thing that shocked me was how much support there is for everyone at the school. We have a Behavioral Support team made up of about 8 staff whose job is to support staff with managing behaviors. This includes taking students for a break, helping to remove a student who is creating an unsafe environment, stepping in to watch a class for a teacher, etc.
The Behavior Support Team makes their rounds around the school each day and gets to know all of the students. While they are typically seen as the disciplinary team, the behavior staff at my school does a wonderful job of making it known to students that they are also there to help them.
2. Mental health is a priority.
My school prioritizes mental health, especially because we serve students who have emotional disabilities. Many of our students come from trauma. Every single student at my school is assigned their own social worker/counselor. Each student receives one on one counseling once a week, as well as group counseling. This is something that is unique about a therapeutic school.
The counselors are extremely involved and are typically the main point of contact between students’ families and school. Teachers are encouraged to work on social-emotional skills as well, especially because many of our students have social-emotional goals on their IEPs. I spend the last period of each day focusing on an SEL skill, which includes reading books about SEL topics, working on mindfulness activities, etc.
3. Students attend summer school.
While this may not be true for every therapeutic day school, at my school, every student attends ESY, as it is part of their IEP. Because every student attends ESY, teachers are 12-month employees, meaning they work over the summer. Our ESY program is 6 weeks long. We get a 2 week break at the beginning and end of summer school.
This may be a deal breaker for teachers who are not willing to give up their summers off. However, if you are open to the idea of working over the summer, I will be the first to say it has its perks! When I worked at a public school, I had to take everything down in my classroom and spend weeks before school started back up (unpaid) to set everything up again. I don’t have to worry about that at my school.
Also, many teachers have a massive case of the “Sunday Scaries” once the end of summer starts approaching. Being off for so many weeks in a row makes it even more difficult to go back. Now, when most teachers may be sad to say goodbye to their summer and are headed back to work, I get to relax knowing I just spent the last 6 weeks establishing routines with my new students that we can easily jump back into.
4. Staff gets special training.
Therapeutic schools require special trainings. At my school, everyone gets trained in TCI (Therapeutic Crisis Intervention). This training shows staff how to provide emotional supports to students coming from trauma, students who are in crisis, etc. The majority of TCI is verbal and involves preemptively providing supports to minimize negative behaviors. The last resort in TCI is physical (putting students into a hold). This only happens when all other attempts have failed, and the student is putting themselves and/or others in danger.
When staff is initially hired, they complete a weeklong TCI training. Every 6 months, we get retrained in the physical portion of the training. We also have meetings throughout the year to address the verbal portion.
Being provided with this training helps me feel more comfortable dealing with negative behaviors in order to keep students, staff, and myself safe. You can read more about TCI here on the Cornell website.
5. You will make a huge difference in students’ lives.
Therapeutic schools can be a tough place for students. They may feel embarrassed about not attending a “regular” school like their same aged peers. Staff at these types of schools have the opportunity to instill confidence in their students and help them realize that they can be successful in whatever they put their minds to. We have students who work hard on their behavior and academics to return to their district public school, which is a big accomplishment and is always celebrated! These students may not have the best home lives. They may not have someone who is rooting for them and providing them with the support they need. Therapeutic schools provide these students with those supports so they can thrive.
