By Mitch Evans
The Succeeding Through Experience Program otherwise known as the STEP Program is a small therapeutic program designed to support students at Bedford High School (BHS) in grades 9-12 with social/emotional disabilities who require a substantially separate setting.
Running since 2014, STEP is a full-time intervention program that is funded by Bedford school district’s special education department budget. The main focus is to prevent vulnerable students from failing to graduate from high school by engaging them with a modified curriculum and building their social and emotional resiliency.
Specially trained staff provide these young adults with a positive and trusting environment in which they feel that they can be successful. The ultimate aim is to transition the students back into mainstream education if possible, but it also prepares them to be successful members of the community.
At the February 7 School Committee meeting, Shawn Daley (STEP Counselor) and Victoria Breslin (STEP Program Liaison) presented an update for committee members.
There are currently 14 students enrolled in the STEP program which is maintained within the BHS building. These young adults receive academic instruction through a co-taught model that includes a special education teacher and a general education teacher who are supported by two full-time teaching assistants. This allows the curriculum to be differentiated and ensures that everyone is challenged and engaged at an appropriate level. A behavioral system is used to assess the student’s individual needs and to monitor progress. All students receive group therapy sessions on a 4/6 day cycle and each session covers relevant life skills such as mental health and wellness, money management, assertiveness, being a team player, transitioning into a job, time management, and coping strategies.
Anxiety can be a debilitating problem for many students in this program. The dedicated teachers and staff work hard to develop lines of communication and trust between the school and the families involved. This can often mean visiting a student at home or sometimes in hospital to encourage them to attend school. Daley explained that “there is a lot of interaction with the families on both a clinical and academic level. We speak to every family every day to provide and receive updates.”
Thanks to the STEPS Program and our school district’s continuing commitment to the ‘No Child Left Behind’ law*, three students are graduating from BHS this year who otherwise may have dropped out of school.
*No Child Left Behind (NCLB) passed as part of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 2001 with the clear mandate to target increases in achievement of 4 subgroups collectively referred to as “at-risk” youth. This group includes minority children, students with disabilities, poor children, and English language learners (Leonard, 2007; Hursh, 2005).
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