Programs

Pre-School

Working with the whole child, GABS Academy incorporates learning standards with an integrated approach. Students utilize play, workstations and centers to build skills in all standard areas. For example, building with blocks we utilize math skills of shape identification and counting, following directions, creative play, and language development.

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Elementary

The Elementary Program at GABS Academy mirrors local school districts scope and sequences of skills development aligned with PA Core Standards or Alternative STandards based on students’ profile. Students’ Individualized Education Plan, IEP, drives the program. Student to teacher ratios are designed with individualized needs of students. The goal of the GABS Academy is to provide supportive programming for behavioral, social, functional and academic needs to students to assist them in returning to their home district.

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Kindergarten

GABS Academy provides a kindergarten program that is fundamentally academic in nature, while respecting the developmental stages of young children. The program is committed to emphasizing the love of learning, developing early literacy, understanding mathematical concepts, and strengthening the social and emotional well-being of all children.

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School Goals

Each program is comprehensively enriched with the following

Evaluation and Assessment

-Daily data collection are graphed and analyzed for communication, academic, behavior, and social goals.
-Formative assessment is completed for monitoring growth on all goals.
-Summative assessment; standardized testing, reading inventories, math standardized assessment, and other assessments and evaluations are completed for each annual IEP.
-Student Progress is reported weekly for data collection. They are summarized and include graphs for progress that is reported 4 times per year for each student. Full assessment and goal review are done annually and when a student demonstrates a need for a revision to goals or plan.

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Behavioral Management and Strategies:

GABS Academy utilizes principles of scientifically validated and evidence-based ABA(Applied Behavior Analysis) to establish and enhance socially significant behavior. Individual behavioral programming will be implemented for each child to teach socially appropriate behavior and strategies.

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Academic Rigor

GABS Academy follows PA Core and Alternative Standards for each curricular area. Curriculums are aligned with referring School Districts to support the transition back to the student’s home school community. Daily data collection and progress monitoring is done to monitor the growth of individual goals for each student.

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Social Skills Development:

GABS Academy utilizes a direct instruction and application model for social skills. The goals of Social Skills programming includes: Social Communication, Self-Regulation, Knowledge of Conventions, Social Interaction, Perspective Taking and Executive Functioning. Social Skills Development involves building relationships, enhancing age appropriate play, and connecting to families.

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Related Services

GABS Academy and Austill’s Educational Therapy Services have collaborated to provide Speech, OT and PT services provided at GABS Academy. The cost for the services from Austill’s, will be either billed directly to the School Districts or via billing through GABS Academy

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Transition:

GABS Academy works collaborate with referring Districts to support the inclusion back to a student’s home District. This collaboration is initiated at intake and continued through consistent communication, sharing goals and progress, and a detailed transition plan from GABS Academy to include the student back to their home District.

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Family Involvement

GABS Academy believes in working with the whole child to boost success. Working with the whole child must involve partnering with families to support the behavioral, emotional, social and academic skills for each child. Ongoing individual family training is aligned with student’s goals. Staff Development for teachers and parents are regularly scheduled events.

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What could mindfulness do for students?

  • Improved Focus and Concentration in School
  • Reduced Stress: Improved ability to manage stress
  • Increased Focus: Improved ability to pay attention, focus and concentrate
  • Improved Emotion Regulation: Reduced impulsiveness, improved child behavior (rowdiness, suspensions, expulsions)
  • Increased Emotional Intelligence: Improved conflict resolution skills
  • Increased Empathy and Respect: Increased empathy and understanding of others
  • Increased Resilience: Increased capacity to overcome challenges
  • Improved Physical Well-being: Increased engagement in physical activity
  • Improved Creativity & Collaboration: Improved expression of creative arts.

Curriculum

Behavioral curriculum

Follows principles of ABA and includes positive behavior supports and interventions. Focus for skills and strategies includes problem solving and replacement behaviors for target behaviors of concern.

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Academic Curriculum

Core academic curriculum follows the PA Common Core standards and are aligned with local school districts scope and sequence for English Language Art (ELA), Early Learning Standards, Math, Science, Social Studies, Reading Comprehension, ect. Assessments are done for progress monitoring and reporting to parents 4 times per year. Full standardized assessment and data collection is done each year for students annual IEP.

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Alternative Curriculum

For students with a developmental delayed profile, GABS follows the PA alternative standards. The following assessments may be used to assess the present levels for each child: VB-MAPP, Early Start Denver Model (ESDM), Relational Frame Theory Training System Assessment (PEAK), Adaptive Behavior Assessment System (ABAS-3), Pervasive Developmental Disorder Behavior Inventory (PDDBI), Essentials for Living Assessment, Assessment of Functional Living Skills (AFLS), ABLLS-R, Vineland-II, etc. A Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) will also be conducted for each child to address atypical or disruptive behaviors that significantly interferes with learning and daily functioning and activities, or that poses a risk to the student or others. A Positive Behavior Support Plan and Functional Communication Training will be implemented to address skill deficits and replacement behaviors as a result of FBA findings.

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Social Emotional Curriculum

Social Emotional Curriculum

Social skills training and direct instruction that follows ABA principles are key to behavioral problem solving and replacement skills. We utilize Functional Communication Training, and other Social skills instruction that follows key practitioners and programs like; Michele Garcia Winner, Carole Gray, Superflex, Zones of Regulation, 5-Point Scale etc.

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Mindfulness

ABA and evidenced-based mindfulness therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a form of counseling and a branch of clinical behavior analysis. It is an empirically-based psychological intervention that uses acceptance and mindfulness strategies mixed in different ways with commitment and behavior-change strategies, to increase psychological flexibility. ACT is linked to a comprehensive active basic program on the nature of human language and cognition (Relational Frame Theory), echoing back to an earlier era of behavior therapy in which clinical treatments were consciously based on basic behavioral principles (Hayes, Stephen C.; Luoma, Jason B.; Bond, Frank W.; Masuda, Akihiko; and Lillis, Jason, ``Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: Model, processes and outcomes`` (2006). Psychology)

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