Services & Programs

The Esther B. Clark School

The EBC School program is designed for children between the ages of 8 and 16, who have difficulty functioning at school due to behavior problems associated with severe emotional disabilities, many with accompanying specific learning disabilities, speech or language disorders or needs for occupational therapy. The current capacity of the EBC School is 84 students.

EBC School Hours

Monday - Thursday 8:15 a.m. - 3:15 p.m.
Friday - 8:15 a.m. - 1:15 p.m

EBC Parent Workshop: 2009 - 2010

TBA

• The School is designed to work with up to 12 students in each self-contained classroom setting.
• Students participate in a six-and-a-half-hour day that addresses each student's therapeutic, behavioral and academic issues in individualized and small group formats. Students are grouped according to age, social and educational needs rather than grade. Each classroom is staffed by a team
  of four professionals:
• Special Education Teacher and Teaching Assistant, who assist children in acquiring essential academic skills and using alternative approaches to target areas of learning challenges.
• Clinician, who serves as the primary therapist and mental health professional for the child and family. This "family work" component is aimed at developing a strong working partnership with parents and caregivers and is a crucial part of the service program which enables students to make meaningful progress toward their goals.
• Behavioral Specialist, who develops specific positive behavior training programs to address maladaptive behaviors by teaching positive, prosocial responses to day-to-day real life situations in
  the school milieu.
• All students enrolled in the EBC School are referred by personnel in their school district or by their parents. Funding administered by the district covers tuition and related auxiliary services such as speech and language therapy and the cost of transportation. Additional funds for mental health services are provided through contracts with county Mental Health departments.
• Students over the age of 14 may begin to accumulate high school credits
  in all subject areas. The goal is to transition students to a less restrictive setting by their junior year to enable students to participate in the more varied vocational, academic and social activities available on comprehensive high school campuses.
• In 12 to 24 months, the EBC staff seeks to equip students behaviorally, emotionally and educationally to return to their community school. The transition is done gradually to ensure that the student reintegrates successfully.
• Children for whom eventual placement in a public school program is unlikely or children for whom the major deficit is sensory loss or a physical impairment (e.g. cerebral palsy) are generally referred to other agencies.