Central Massachusetts Special Education Collaborative

Goddard Learning Center

SCHOOL DESCRIPTION:

 The Goddard Learning Center (GLC) is a special education public day school for seriously emotionally disabled students.  GLC consists of 4 highly structured therapeutic programs that meet the emotional, social, and academic challenges of our diverse student populations, including students with mental illnesses, autism spectrum disorders, mental retardation, and learning disabilities. Our students receive emotional and behavioral support from our dedicated teaching and clinical staff. GLC incorporates small group academic instruction and a structured behavior system with a nurturing and consistent school environment. 

 STUDENT PROFILE:

The primary disability of all GLC students is Social/Emotional.  Our students typically have psychiatric diagnoses such as mood disorders, thought disorders and other serious emotional conditions.  In addition to these emotional conditions many GLC students also have cognitive limitations. All GLC students have not been able to function successfully within traditional school settings.  GLC students require a small classroom setting with a low student to staff ratio with clinical and behavioral supports readily available within a therapeutic learning environment.

SCHOOL FEATURES:

¨      Therapeutic Support Program for seriously emotionally disturbed high school students 

¨      Adapted Learning Program for high school students with cognitive deficits

¨      Life Skills Program for students grades 7-12 with mental retardation

¨      Basics Program for students K-12 on the autistic spectrum with serious behavior problems

¨      Social skills training

¨      Crisis intervention and case management

¨      Positive classroom management system

¨      Individual positive behavior plans

¨      High academic standards and expectations

¨      Community-based vocational programming and service learning opportunities

CMSEC Board Members