The following article appeared in the spring issue of Our World, Bancroft’s newsletter. Click here if you would like to download a copy of the newsletter. If you would like to join our mailing list, please contact Sue Crouse at scrouse@bnh.org.
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7.9.10 | Bancroft team lends support in schools
For decades, students have come to Bancroft from near and far. Now, Bancroft is going to students — in their own schools across South Jersey.
A number of school districts — from Cherry Hill to Mount Laurel, West Deptford to Barrington — have hired Bancroft’s Consultation and Training Department to work with their students and staff members.
“It’s a way for districts to keep as many students as possible in their local schools, which the state strongly encourages,” says Sharon Jurman, Bancroft’s senior director of early childhood and outreach services. “We can provide the knowledge and the support districts need to do that.”
School districts especially seek Bancroft’s know-how in treating behavioral challenges among students on the autism spectrum, notes Jurman.
“Many districts don’t have the behavioral expertise or appropriately credentialed professionals to put behavioral programs in place,” she explains. They also lack the resources to evaluate the needs of students with complex issues. “We can do this for far less cost than districts can do it themselves.”
In Moorestown, Bancroft provides direct, one-to-one staffing for ten students at five public schools, from preschool through high school. Some families also receive in-home training before or after school, to help their child function better in the family and community. And Bancroft is providing other services to the district, including program development, hands-on staff training, and behavioral planning and training for individual students.
Bancroft staffers have helped Moorestown students make great strides since the program began last fall. One teenager, for example, missed many educational and social opportunities due to her outbursts. “She can now complete school work. Her aggression and tantrums are way down,” reports Jurman.
Plus, the girl now participates in gym class, eats with other students in the cafeteria, and has a job making deliveries inside her school. Although nonverbal, “she consistently uses her electronic talker for communication.”
Jurman’s team is getting rave reviews. “I can’t say enough positive things about Bancroft,” enthuses Moorestown’s Dawn Monacella, Ed.D, liaison for the partnership. The special-education supervisor praises Jurman, Dawn Vitello-Mangan and Denise Kerth (both board-certified behavior analysts) in particular, for their ”leadership… to provide superior service for our students.”
Teachers, families, and the school district also benefit from the collaboration, Monacella says. The entire staff is becoming “more capable and confident in working with students with significant needs.” Teachers feel “very supported by Bancroft.”
Moorestown teacher Claire Laveglia affirms this view. “Bancroft’s being here has been a very positive experience,” says the elementary-school staffer. She cites one student who improved his behavior so much that he now spends 75 percent of his day in a regular classroom.
Families are pleased with Bancroft’s in-home services, too. “They’re very happy with the quality, professionalism, and demeanor of the Bancroft staff,” Monacella states.
As Moorestown educators and families learn Bancroft’s techniques, the Consultation and Training Department will gradually transition services over to them and “fade out” from district schools and homes.
“By investing now,” says Jurman, “districts like Moorestown will reap huge benefits and ultimately cut costs for many years to come.”