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School
AWARE’s school-based programs help youth with special needs thrive in the classroom or other school-based settings. We have therapy teams in schools across Montana offering care to children who need a little extra help. AWARE also welcomes students to its speciality schools in Anaconda and Billings.
Enterprise Learning Center
For many of the young people who go to school at the Enterprise Learning Center in Billings, Mont., their individualized education plans (IEPs) went beyond the resources of a school district’s special education staff. AWARE has created a classroom for these students that provides the one-on-one attention and functional academics that, with further support from the Kennedy Krieger Institute at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md., produces positive outcomes with time, hard work, and patience.
While each student’s educational plan is unique, the Enterprise Learning Center mixes academic, pre-vocational, and daily living skills management.
The environment in the school allows students to form relationships at their own pace as opposed to faster paced traditional venues.
Further, significant time is spent allowing for trust to build between the students and the staff.
Each of the families with children attending the Enterprise Learning Center have been intricately involved in both program and social elements, working with staff and their children on bridging the gap between graduation and adult life.
The prevocational aspects of the education are steeped in involvement at home and throughout the community, and regardless of each specific plan of action after high school, each is entering a significantly less restrictive environment than they knew before their time at the ELC.
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In 2009, in close collaboration with Billings School District 2, AWARE developed the Enterprise Learning Center, Montana’s first and only school for youth with autism.
The Lawrence P. Noonan Center for Excellence
Located in Anaconda, Montana, the Lawrence P. Noonan Center for Excellence is a school for kids who require more intensive mental health and school services.
Sept. 14, 2018, AWARE was proud to rename its school the Lawrence P. Noonan Center for Excellence.
The Center for Excellence is an extension to AWARE’s youth residential program in Anaconda. It collaborates with the local school district to educate the students.
The Center for Excellence provides access to innovative technology such as Smart Boards, iPads, and laptops. Math, science, reading, social studies, health and wellness, and art are all part of each child’s curriculum.
AWARE’ s day treatment services provide on-site therapy and group support.
Take a walk around campus
The Center for Excellence’s building exterior provides a dramatic landmark for Anaconda’s entryway with rich architectural stonework and tasteful color finishes. The school tower and kite-like roof lines keep students and staff aspirations reaching for the sky.
The school is filled with four classrooms, staff offices, a gymnasium and lunchroom.
Its grounds are landscaped with a picnic shelter, gardens, and a variety of areas to help kids be physically active and healthy. The outdoor activity fields include basketball courts, swing sets, tether ball play area, and a full-size sports field.
Center for Excellence History
AWARE’s Center for Excellence opened for students on Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2014. The project is the first development in the Anaconda-Deer Lodge County East Yards subdivision.
This specialized school is part of AWARE’s services that have historically been provided on the Galen campus and moved to Anaconda in 2012.
School-based treatment
AWARE’s school-based treatment, Comprehensive School and Community Treatment (CSCT), helps children with special needs thrive in the classroom or other school-based settings. A wrap around approach, AWARE’s specialized staff works directly with the identified children, their parents, teachers and school personnel to fulfill goals named in each individualized plan. Because AWARE believes home life is significant to children’s success in school, CSCT services may also be integrated into the home as needs arise.
AWARE’s CSCT services are available in Anaconda, Billings, Bonner, Great Falls, and Helena. Be sure to ask about home support and family support (individual or group therapy) services as well.
CSCT will help your child with
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Normalization – Children learn best by living and learning in a normalized environment. Allowing youth to stay with their own family, school and classroom encourages normal growth and development.
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Empowerment – Children succeed in school when they receive necessary support and positive feedback on their performance and behavior. Empowering parents on the education process and offering a feeling of affiliation with the school further builds confidence.
Your child may be eligible to receive funding for CSCT
AWARE’s CSCT program is designed to serve at-risk youth who meet the state of Montana criteria for serious emotional disturbance. Funding is available for families who use Medicaid. Alternative funding sources may include individual school district payment, private pay, third party payment, etc.
Services provided to you
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Assessment and evaluation
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Consultation and support for teachers and staff who are working with the identified child
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Crisis intervention planning
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Training
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Therapy as appropriate (emphasis on group, social skills, development, anger management, and student skill development)
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Classroom management support
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Participation in individualized education program (IEP) and CST meetings
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Other services as identified by the school team and family
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Coordination with service team for in-home and community-based services
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Referral to additional support and resources
