Risk & Business Magazine Hardenbergh Insurance Group Magazine Fall 2017 | Page 25

Y.A.L.E. SCHOOL No Child Left Behind Y.A.L.E. School F or students in grades one through eight with autism spectrum disorders; social communication disorders; or executive functioning, social competency, anxiety, or learning differences, there is no better place to be than Y.A.L.E. School. Founded in the basement of a church in 1976, Y.A.L.E. School has been serving students with special needs and disabilities in New Jersey for nearly forty years and has now expanded its service offerings to Philadelphia. The new campus is located in the community of Manayunk, where it offers a unique environment dedicated to cultivating the strengths, interests, and abilities of students on the autism spectrum and with related differences. Y.A.L.E. School offers individualized and challenging curriculums for students who experience difficulties in their current school environment but are otherwise academically capable. This creative approach caters to the individual needs of students while still maintaining the strict curriculum one comes to expect from a traditional school environment. Here are the four key elements to the Y.A.L.E method of teaching: 1. COMMUNITY-BASED INSTRUCTION The community is the classroom. Through community-based instruction, students experience their lessons through the setting of the vibrant neighborhoods where they are located and their surrounding areas. 2. EVIDENCE-BASED INSTRUCTION Data and evidence inform the learning and teaching practices and drive the decisions made about individualized education programs at Y.A.L.E. School. 3. “STEAM” SUBJECT AREAS “STEAM” stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics. With a strong focus on these subject areas, a foundation of high-interest, project-based, interactive lessons are formed that prove to be both collaborativ e and challenging for students. 4. TRANSITION PLANNING There is no such thing as “too early” when it comes to planning a transition to independent life, a workplace, and college. With our early transition planning programs and support structures, our staff provides integrated transition preparations and instruction. Using these four core ideas, Y.A.L.E. School is able to lead their education programs through a best-practice-based approach, bolstered by ABA positive behavior support; and instruction based on the work of Michelle Garcia Winner’s Social Thinking, the Wilson Reading System, and early transition planning. The hands-on approach utilized by the staff in the classroom encourages exploration and discovery. For many, learning disabilities and other social problems can lead to feelings of hopelessness or despair. Students in traditional classrooms risk being left behind simply because of the method of instruction and not because their issues are too severe for them to actually comprehend the lessons. At Y.A.L.E. School, that problem is, fortunately, being solved on a day-to-day basis. Children are our most important resource, and that’s why Y.A.L.E. School places children and their needs first. Today, Y.A.L.E. School operates eight campuses servicing almost six hundred students. Seven campuses are in New Jersey, and the newest campus is in Pennsylvania. For more information about Y.A.L.E. School, visit online at www.yaleschoolpa.com , call 215-839- 0525, or email [email protected]. + 25