Background
The Hillcrest K-12 Special Education School Program serves students
with significant behavior problems. Students are prepared for transition
into the public school system. They are weighted 3.7 by their sending
school district or area educational agency, and participants of the
sexual offender and dual diagnosis (behavior disordered and substance
addicted) residential treatment programs at Hillcrest.
The School is an independently functioning private school and is certified
by the Iowa Department of Education through the Dubuque District,
and receives support, consultation and review from Area Education
Agencies in the communities where classrooms are located. The average
length of stay in the regular Hillcrest classroom is approximately
one semester. Students in the Crisis Intervention and Alternate Educational
Site programs can be staffed to Hillcrest from several hours up to
60 days. On average, students from 35 counties are served during the
course of an academic year.
The School’s operating budget is supported through a fee for
service per diem from all participating school districts. Start-up
costs for new classrooms, major equipment purchases and facility capital
needs are supported through charitable giving from individuals, businesses
and foundations. Major grants have come from the Roy J. Carver Charitable
Trust of Muscatine, the City of Dubuque Community Partnership Grant,
The R. J. McElroy Trust of Waterloo, The Dubuque Racing Association,
and the John Bergstrom Endowment Fund of Neenah, Wisconsin.
Profile of the Hillcrest Student
- Of the students in residential treatment, 60% would be full-time
dropouts before the age of 16.
- 75% of the students discharged in the past academic year met
or exceeded their educational goals based on their Individual
Educational Plan (IEP).
- 15% of the students discharged in the last academic year were
maintaining schoolwork but were discharged from residential treatment
before all IEP objectives were met.
- All of the students are considered high-risk, the hardest-core
in terms of being educable. They do excel, however, in highly
structured, small classes. Many finish high school and some begin
post-high school education.
- All have behavioral, conduct or attention deficit disorders.
Some are mildly retarded or chronically mentally ill. Most are
adjudicated delinquents, or suffer from physical, sexual and mental
abuse.
- Most are low-income. Many have a history of run-away behavior,
self-mutilation, suicide attempts, vandalism and prostitution.
They are oppositional, anti-authoritative, and both verbally and
physically assaultive. Some are sexual offenders.
- Many have not been in school at all for up to two years before
entering the Hillcrest program.
- There is little or no staff turnover in the Hillcrest School.
The principal has been with the program since its inception in
1988. Teachers report that after the initial shock, students are
compliant and eager to learn once they begin to see positive results
in their studies and behavior.
Growth Highlights
| 1988 |
The Hillcrest
School opened in Dubuque with five students and two staff in a single
classroom for students in grades 7-12 from Hillcrest’s residential
treatment programs. |
| 1989 |
Children in their homes
or in foster care with behavior and social problems are referred to
the school from Dubuque and other nearby school districts. |
| 1991 |
An after-school tutoring
program begins. |
| 1997 |
Hillcrest admits elementary
students and is designated by the Dubuque District as an Alternative
Education Setting (AES) program. This means that Hillcrest serves
elementary children from the Dubuque District for short periods of
time (not to exceed 60 days) to trouble-shoot problems before they
become long-term or to de-escalate volatile situations. |
| 1998 |
A Crisis Intervention
program begins with the Dubuque Community School District. |
| 1999 |
With the spreading reputation
of our School, many eastern Iowa school districts request that Hillcrest
replicate our program in their communities. Satellite classrooms in
the DeWitt/Maquoketa and the Bettendorf areas open. A K-6 therapeutic
classroom opens for children who have seriously impairing psychiatric
diagnosis. |
| 2000 |
Summer school begins.
Satellite classrooms in the Guttenberg/Postville area open. A construction
crew is created as a hands-on vocational opportunity for secondary
students is. Play therapy is utilized in the therapeutic classroom. |
| 2001 |
All students grades 7-12
receive a formal vocational component to their classroom work. A
School-to-Work program starts for selected secondary students. Students
from Illinois are served for the first time. |
| 2002 |
A centralized library
forms. A new computer lab is added. Satellite classrooms in Clinton
open. Another therapeutic classroom, for grades 6-11, starts. |
| 2003 |
Today, the school staff
includes a principal and assistant principal, 15 special education
teachers, 43 teacher associates, an administrative assistant, five
on-call teacher associates, five substitute teachers, a half-time
therapist and a part-time psychologist. There are 15 classrooms. The
2002-2003 fiscal year budget for the entire school program is $2,065,390,
representing 18.5% of the entire Hillcrest operational budget. |
| 2004 |
Projected additions to
the school will include an after-school and breakfast program, a dedicated
vocational classroom, expanded crisis intervention space, a remodeled
school kitchen and a life skills classroom for grades 4-8. |
Success with Dedication
For the first time in their lives, students in Hillcrest’s School
have success in the classroom because it is non-institutionalized and non-threatening.
Students receive personalized attention from highly trained teachers who
have opted to work with this very difficult segment of student. Teachers
are closely aligned with the residential treatment staff, district professionals
and families for follow-through on student’s out-of-classroom treatment.
Staff members form close bonds with students. Often times, these children
will disclose abuse or rape instances to the teachers before they do so
to other professionals. The Hillcrest School fills a unique need. For these
children, who are looking at a lifetime colored by their distressing personal
histories and severe behavior disorders, getting a basic education is a
critical element in having hope for a better life.
For
more information about:
The School satellite sites, contact:
Will Spencer, Associate Principal
2005 Asbury Road, Dubuque, IA 52001
Toll free 877-437-6333
In Dubuque 563-582-4015 |
The Dubuque site, contact:
Mary Jo Pancratz, Principal
2005 Asbury Road, Dubuque, IA 52001
Toll free 877-437-6333
In Dubuque 563-582-4015 |
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