The Iowa Department of Education is issuing its fourth round of competitive grants to ten school districts in the state to establish or continue therapeutic classrooms.
Clinton and North Scott Community School Districts are receiving a portion of the $2.85 million for the 2024-2025 school year. Clinton is collecting $146,000, and North Scott is accepting $174,500.
Director of Student Services Rhea Wright for the Clinton Community School District says this is the second round of grants awarded to their district after receiving funding for a three-year therapeutic classroom program in 2021.
"What we found was during those first three years, it was really important to follow those kids with therapy and the therapeutic components because we weren't ready to let go yet...but even in that first year, we had one student exit because it had been so beneficial to him and he no longer needed it," Wright said in a phone interview with WVIK.
She says seven students from first to third grade participated in the three-year funding therapeutic classroom, and most students were able to be independent after two to three years.
Wright says the students need a functional behavioral assessment that identifies the functions of any concerning behaviors and establishes a behavior intervention plan that is used as a path for the student's journey.
"For us, it's trying to get to things early before the behaviors become so intense that it takes us years to get to those behaviors instead of a year or a few months," Wright said. Students exit the program when they show improvement in academic and social skills.
Chad Jones, principal of North Scott Junior High, says he talked to the Bettendorf Community School District and wanted to apply for a therapeutic classroom at his junior high school.
"We ended up writing a grant with their assistance from Bettendorf, and we were super excited to hear we were accepted," Jones said in a phone interview with WVIK. "The model that we are going to have here at the junior high school is going to be called therapeutic learning center. It's going to be a classroom space that is kind of our headquarters for support for our students."
Jones says the school is currently furnishing the therapeutic learning center, and staff is undergoing training. The school will contact parents about possible entry for their child into the program.
"What we are looking for is to have breaks throughout the day for a student so they can come to that room and meet with a staff member there who is informed of that student's individualized plan," Jones said.
Wright says the new round of grants will allow Clinton Community School District to expand with two more therapeutic classrooms, which she hopes will reach 15 to 20 students. Another classroom is opening in Jefferson Elementary School, expanding from Kindergarten to third grade up to fifth grade. The other classroom is opening at the district's Education Advancement Center.
She says the classrooms will have a teacher and support staff on call, including special education and at-risk teachers, at least one paraprofessional, a therapist from Life Connections, and district social workers available for individual therapy sessions.
The program's extension is important to the school district as Wright says the community has one of the highest rates of homelessness in the state, according to a 2023 report from the Institute for Community Alliance. She also mentions the community has a high rate of child abuse from ages zero to five compared to the rest of the state, according to Prevent Child Abuse Iowa.
The district is also working with the Eastern Iowa Mental Health and Disability Region to provide students with telehealth therapy and medical help this year.
Jones says the North Scott Community School District will start meeting with families soon.
"This is about providing a continuum of individualized services designed to help promote students' active participation in school. We want them to feel connected to the school and we want to assist in developing whether its regulation skills, academic behavioral skills to help them succeed in the classroom and minimize loss instructional time," Jones said.
The Therapeutic Classroom Incentive Grant was established by the state legislature and signed into law in 2020. It's part of a statewide effort to increase mental health support for children, youth, and families.
Correction: 3:07 p.m. Aug. 23: We reported that the counselors for Clinton School District are from Wise Connections when it's Life Connections.
Correction: 3:47 p.m. Aug. 23: Chad Jones spoke to the Bettendorf Community School District, not the Clinton Community School District.
