Our classroom program at Lincoln Middle School has just kicked off its fourth school year in Alameda Unified. There are currently seven 6th-8th grade students enrolled in the program who are all working on specialized behavioral and academic plans. Much progress has been made within this partnership to allow for our students to be more integrated into the greater campus community. Currently, every student enrolled has at least one general education class in their schedule. Four students spend the majority of their day in classes outside of our counseling enriched class, while three students spend the majority of their day in our classroom. Students who spend much of the day in outside classes still receive behavioral and therapeutic support from our mental health counselors and therapist throughout the day, and use our classroom as a support when they are struggling in other classes.
There have been many successes in the first half of our school year, including one of our 8th grade students who started the school year by setting a goal for himself to graduate from our program and return to his home school. This student started with us as a 6th grader, and at times struggled so much that his support team discussed if he needed a higher level of services. Despite past struggles, he came into this school year motivated to succeed, and last month he achieved his goal. The classroom team, students, and many from the school community came to the classroom to celebrate his achievements and say goodbye. He is now at his home school with many of his friends from the community and hopes to play for their school basketball team.
Additionally, there have been great strides made with our family relationships and partnerships. One family came into our collaboration with much distrust of the district and the placement that was being offered to them. The beginning of the school year was at times tense with communication and building a relationship with the family, but as time, consistency, and rapport with the team was built, the family and student have developed trust with the school team. This was made even more clear as we hosted a Fall Family Night in November, inviting all families and students from our classroom to join us for an evening together that included dinner, games, and appreciations. The appreciations that were shared by family members, students, and the team, made it evident that an amazing and nurturing community has been fostered by this Lincoln team. While there are of course difficulties that come up and hard times along the way, the students and community in this classroom continues to grow and build with the help of our strong collaboration with the Lincoln community and families.
There have been many successes in the first half of our school year, including one of our 8th grade students who started the school year by setting a goal for himself to graduate from our program and return to his home school. This student started with us as a 6th grader, and at times struggled so much that his support team discussed if he needed a higher level of services. Despite past struggles, he came into this school year motivated to succeed, and last month he achieved his goal. The classroom team, students, and many from the school community came to the classroom to celebrate his achievements and say goodbye. He is now at his home school with many of his friends from the community and hopes to play for their school basketball team.
Additionally, there have been great strides made with our family relationships and partnerships. One family came into our collaboration with much distrust of the district and the placement that was being offered to them. The beginning of the school year was at times tense with communication and building a relationship with the family, but as time, consistency, and rapport with the team was built, the family and student have developed trust with the school team. This was made even more clear as we hosted a Fall Family Night in November, inviting all families and students from our classroom to join us for an evening together that included dinner, games, and appreciations. The appreciations that were shared by family members, students, and the team, made it evident that an amazing and nurturing community has been fostered by this Lincoln team. While there are of course difficulties that come up and hard times along the way, the students and community in this classroom continues to grow and build with the help of our strong collaboration with the Lincoln community and families.
Blog Post Written By: Mackenzie Boyle, Milieu Supervisor (SOAPS)
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