DARNELL SCHOOL

The Darnell School for Educational and Behavioral Services is a non-profit, year-round, private school for students with a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder, developmental disability, and/or behavioral challenge. We educate children from ages 9 to 22 without regard to race, color, sex, or religious affiliation.

The Darnell School is located at 15 South Street in Hudson, MA, adjoining the HMEA Children's Services office. It will operate 221 days per year with the school-day hours running from 9:00AM to 3:00PM. The school's current space is sufficient to serve approximately 18 students in three separate classrooms. It is a clean and comfortable environment, fully handicapped accessible, with easy access to all community resources along Main Street.

Our goal is "...to enrich and enhance the lives of our students so that each child reaches his/her fullest potential and greatest level of independence." The operating framework for the school draws upon the guiding principles of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). We are committed to using ABA's vast array of evidence-based strategies in our instructional and treatment plans. We are equally committed to the belief that every student we serve is valued and should have the opportunity to achieve the goals he/she desires.

IMPORTANT FACTS:

• Teachers are licensed educators who are also trained and experienced in ABA. Leading each classroom is a Head Teacher who has attained a Master's Degree, is licensed to teach by the Massachusetts DOE, and is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst.
• Classroom staff include other Teachers with Master's Degrees or Bachelor's Degrees, who have training and experience in ABA and may also be Board Certified Behavior Analysts, Occupational Therapist Assistants, Physical Therapy Assistants, or Speech Assistants.
• Instruction at The Darnell School occurs on a 1:1 or 1:2 ratio.
• Within the daily schedule, students have access to instruction for the purpose of acquiring new skills, building fluency with existing skills, and practicing skills with a variety of materials and in a variety of settings in order to ensure generalization.
• The foundation for individualized programming at The Darnell School is the assessment that is conducted of a student's skills, abilities, and needs at the outset of instruction, as well as on an on-going basis.
• The information gathered through the assessment is used to create an overall educational and behavioral support plan, which works toward the attainment of the child's long-range quality of life outcomes through altering environmental triggers, reinforcing appropriate behavior, and teaching new and/or alternative skills.
• Daily data collection and frequent data analysis allows our staff to continually re-assess each student's progress, and modify our own teaching procedures in order to ensure student learning. As students attain benchmarks and master objectives, new skills are identified for them to learn in keeping with their individual goals and overall support plan.
• Since one of the goals of The Darnell School is to transition students back to their home school when their educational outcomes have been achieved, each student's plan is embedded within an educational curriculum based on the goals and objectives that public school students are expected to learn. This educational curriculum is aligned with the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks to ensure that The Darnell School students access the same learning strands as do students in their home communities.
• Vocational instruction is provided for all students aged 14 years or older at The Darnell School. Additionally, consultants in Speech and Language, Occupational Therapy, and Physical Therapy work with the classroom staff to incorporate recommendations from these specialty areas into each student's daily routine.
• Recognizing that schools are partners with families in the education of their children, The Darnell Schoo offers each family a weekly opportunity for home-training. The purpose of home-training is for teaching staff to observe the child in the home setting, better understand the challenges that each family experiences, and offer practical strategies and training for addressing some of these challenges.

If you have any questions or want more information about The Darnell School please don't hesitate to contact Michele Mayer, Vice President of Children's and Transitional Services at 508.298-1170 or email her at mmayer@hmea.org.