Affective Needs Center Program

Each program is staffed with an additional learning specialist (SPED teacher), additional Mental Health support, and additional para-educators.

Various options are available to address negative behaviors before or instead of resorting to suspension.

Families are connected with the school team and community resources, receive daily communication, and are intended to feel welcomed, valued, and connected to the school community.

Students receive standards-driven instruction at their grade level, either in the general education classroom or the Center Program.

Students have a Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) developed from a Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA). The program teaches and reinforces functionally equivalent behaviors.

Center programs adapt as needed to meet individual student needs. As students' skills advance, their services may be pushed into the students' general education classroom or small groups with other students, and supervision may decrease.

Time spent in the general education classroom is individualized based on student needs, similar to any student with an IEP, and is not considered a privilege. AN teams collaborate with general education teachers to build relationships and maximize integration opportunities with typical peer models.

The program models, teaches, and reinforces skills necessary for school success through integration into the general education classroom. These skills include:

• Safely expressing needs with decreasing adult support.
• Accepting responsibility by learning to apologize and show empathy for problem-solving.
• Self-regulation through practicing appropriate responses to frustrating situations.
• Following classroom routines and instructions by responding appropriately to expectations and completing schoolwork.

The program reinforces positive behavior through encouragement, rewards, and privileges. Students receive frequent, quantifiable feedback on their behaviors, tracked daily as points, which can lead to increased privileges and less supervision.

Daily instruction incorporates research-based social and emotional interventions.

Students with IEPs receive any specialized academic instruction they require primarily within the Center Program.

Jeffco emphasizes teaching students social and emotional skills while ensuring they progress with grade-level academic standards.

Staff members receive professional learning on trauma-informed practices and de-escalation strategies.