Teaching with Love, Discipline, and Learning. The Personalized Alternative Learning School (PALS)

Format

Individual Presentation

First Presenter's Institution

Upshur County Schools, PALS

First Presenter’s Email Address

Chware@k12.wv.us

First Presenter's Brief Biography

Mr. Christopher Ware is a veteran teacher of twenty-two years. Christopher has taught in grades first through eighth, in both the general education and special education environment. Christopher taught severe and profound special needs prior to joining the alternative program with Deborah. Christopher resides in Hall, West Virginia with his wife and two children.

Second Presenter's Institution

Upshur County Schools, PALS

Second Presenter’s Email Address

dshapiro@k12.wv.us

Second Presenter's Brief Biography

Ms. Deborah Shapiro is a veteran teacher of forty-one years. Having taught in Connecticut and West Virginia schools, Deborah’s vast experience with self-contained behavior and special needs has helped her develop a middle school alternative education program at Buckhannon-Upshur Middle School. Deborah is a dog lover and has gone through extensive training with one of her dogs, Ollie, to become a certified therapy dog. Deborah resides in Buckhannon, West Virginia, where she enjoys her family, friends, her dogs, and playing golf. Ollie is a three-year-old sheepadoodle, certified through the Alliance of Therapy Dogs. Ollie has been in the classroom since he was nine weeks old. Ollie loves his students and spreads that love throughout the room. In addition to being in the classroom, Ollie also visits the emergency room with children in crisis, as well as happy recipients at the retirement facility.

Location

Session Six Breakouts

Strand #1

Head: Academic Achievement & Leadership

Strand #2

Heart: Social & Emotional Skills

Relevance

Our Session would meet the Standards in the following areas:

  1. Head: Academic instruction for students at-risk of failure
  2. Heart: Working with school/classroom climate, Caring, Community and Achievement.
  3. Hands: Anger management, behavior management, Creating safe places
  4. Health: Counseling and Therapy programs
  5. Home: Parent involvement in student achievement

Brief Program Description

Teaching with Love, Discipline, and Learning. The Personalized Alternative Learning School (PALS).

With the help of Ollie the therapy dog, Deborah Shapiro and Christopher Ware present the PALS school that they have developed and use to support the needs of alternative students. They will discuss the pros of running an alternative school and the successes that keep it working.

Summary

Our alternative school began eight years ago when our county saw a need for something other than a behavior disorder room. Because of her history with behavior and special needs Ms. Shapiro and a classroom aide started an alternative program at Buckhannon-Upshur Middle School. As the program grew and there was a demand for space, Mr. Ware joined the program in 2019 and the name was changed to PALS. PALS stands for Personalized Alternative Learning School. Since its development, there is now a PALS in elementary and high school as well.

Each day, students in the PALS program are taught with the belief of love, discipline, and learning. They recognize that a student cannot learn efficiently when they do not feel safe and cared for.

PALS works with students and families with the help of a support team. In addition to having two teachers, an instructional aide, and a therapy dog, PALS also has a coordinator to assist with families and programs, a transition specialist to help students who are ready to transition out to the school population, and counselors to assist students and families.

Students come to PALS for a variety of reasons. Some come to PALS due to expulsions, some behavior and academic reasons, while others may attend due to emotional disturbances. The staff likes to say that everyone has a story. The overarching goal is to work with our students and teach them how to be a student again, so that they can be rehabilitated and find success in the general mainstream

In the PALS program, the teachers share responsibility for all students. They meet with Families to perform intake meetings at the beginning of each year. They find that many families are too used to hearing negative things about their student. For many, PALS is the first time students have experienced success. They are thrilled to work towards and receive A’s and B’s.

Through our presentation, we hope to share how the alternative program was developed, successful processes and practices of the program, and how a therapy dog has made a difference in our students’ lives. Ollie will be present for the presentation.

Evidence

Kilmer, Theresa. (2013) A Study Of The Effectiveness Of Two Alternative Middle Schools: How

Prepared Are Students For High School Success. Virginia Commonwealth University. VCU

Scholars Compass.

In Kilmer’s research, she studies student success from eighth grade when they leave alternative school through tenth grade. She shares that students demonstrated an improvement in grades, discipline, and student-teacher relationship. Additionally, Kilmer found an increase in the desire to graduate.

Camilla A. Lehr & Cheryl M. Lange (2003) Alternative Schools Serving Students With and

Without Disabilities: What Are the Current Issues and Challenges?, Preventing School Failure: Alternative Education for Children and Youth, 47:2, 59-65

In Lehr and Lange’s research, they examine the issues facing alternative schools, educating students with disabilities, and the operation and purpose of alternative schools.

Wilkerson KL, Afacan K, Yan M-C, Justin W, Datar SD. Academic Remediation–Focused Alternative

Schools: Impact on Student Outcomes. Remedial and Special Education. 2016;37(2):67-77.

In this study, Kline and researchers share that alternative schools had a positive outcome on four areas studied: attendance, credits earned, office referrals, and number of suspensions.

Learning Objective 1

The attendees will learn about the development and operation of a personalized transition school. The attendees will learn how a therapy dog is used in the classroom setting.

Learning Objective 2

The attendees will learn about the operation of a personalized alternative school from the beginning to the end of the school year to the end.

Learning Objective 3

The attendees will learn how students with learning disabilities are serviced in the personalized alternative school.

Keyword Descriptors

Alternative, Middle School, Therapy Dog, Teaching, Behavior

Presentation Year

2022

Start Date

3-8-2022 1:00 PM

End Date

3-8-2022 2:15 PM

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Mar 8th, 1:00 PM Mar 8th, 2:15 PM

Teaching with Love, Discipline, and Learning. The Personalized Alternative Learning School (PALS)

Session Six Breakouts

Teaching with Love, Discipline, and Learning. The Personalized Alternative Learning School (PALS).

With the help of Ollie the therapy dog, Deborah Shapiro and Christopher Ware present the PALS school that they have developed and use to support the needs of alternative students. They will discuss the pros of running an alternative school and the successes that keep it working.