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Curriculum - Academics
New Beginnings offers academic subjects including reading, mathematics, language arts literacy, social studies, science, health and life skills. The overall approach to instruction is eclectic, with the individual needs of each student being paramount to instructional design. New Beginnings provides comprehensive learning settings from ABA and Discrete Trial Teaching to more traditional learning environments. All subjects are taught using a variety of instructional methods, including Discrete Trial Teaching, large and small group instruction, multiple and natural context approach, the cued-structured modality approach, differentiated instruction and a balanced literacy foundation.
New Beginnings utilizes a variety of curriculum resources such as Scott Foresman Reading Street, Scott Foresman Mathematics , Scott Foresman Science, and the McDougal/Little series for Social Studies. New Beginnings also uses many supplemental resources in order to maximize access to student potential. The following ancillary materials/series are currently being used at New Beginnings: Handwriting Without Tears (handwriting program for students with fine motor challenges) and for the struggling readers, The “EGGS” Program, Explode the Code, and The Wilson Reading Program. The list of ancillary materials is always growing, through a perpetual mining for new materials, as dictated by the New Beginnings eclectic instructional approach and design. All materials and lessons are aligned with the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards and No Child Left Behind requirements. New Beginnings is a state approved testing site for all of the New Jersey Statewide Assessments (ASK, HSPA and APA).
New Beginnings is committed to the delivery of literacy based academic experiences across the curriculum; and to support this design, there are reading specialists on staff to provide highly specialized literacy instruction to the most challenged readers.
The Language Arts Literacy experience at New Beginnings is fully aligned to the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards. The NB Language Arts Literacy Program includes literature based language arts, storytelling, journal writing, authentic writing in context, Writers’ Workshop, Readers’ Workshop, The Columbia Writing Project, discussion groups and electronic media viewing.
The Mathematics programs at New Beginnings focus on developing sound numerical and operational foundations. The foundations are the supports for the progression onto situational mathematics which encompass basic algebraic and geometric principles. The New Beginnings Mathematics progression is a fully articulated K-12 experience, which is congruent to the New Jersey Core Curriculum Standards.
The Science strands include general science principles, Earth Science, Life Science and Chemistry; all reflect alignment with the revised 2009 NJ Core Curriculum Content Standards. The New Beginnings Science program’s core intent is to foster independent processing of science principles, while providing students with safe and user friendly classroom based lab experiences. The Scientific Method is emphasized throughout all science experiences.
The Social Studies academic track is aligned with the 2009 NJ Core Curriculum Content Standards and includes the strands of Civics, Government, Human Rights, Geography, People and the Environment, Economics, Innovation, Technology, History, Culture and Perspectives. The Content includes American History, World History, Communities, and NJ History. The students will experience the Social Studies through text, electronic media, simulations and authentic oral and written assignments.
Physical Education
Physical education is an important part of each student’s development and education program. Our Adaptive Physical Education program encourages independent movement activities with adaptive equipment and staff facilitation. New Beginnings recognizes that our students’ physical development goes hand-in-hand with their intellectual and social development, enhancing learning in the classroom and in therapy sessions. The program—under the supervision of a certified physical education teacher, physical education assistant, and the teachers and aides working in the students’ classrooms—teaches the children sports, age-appropriate individual and group games, physical and motor fitness skills, fundamental locomotor skills and patterns, and skills in dance/rhythm. Physical and motor fitness includes strength, endurance, flexibility, balance, hand-eye coordination, speed, and agility. Among the fundamental locomotor patterns addressed are walking, running, jumping, skipping, and patterns in throwing and kicking.
Activities are designed to teach special awareness as well as body awareness and control through the knowledge of body parts and movement. Activities are adapted to students’ developmental levels so they can receive the maximum benefit of each activity and be successful in a safe environment. Activities are structured, consistent and predictable. Each lesson is divided into components of warm-up, cool down and fitness and skills based activities. Adaptations and modifications are made to lessons based on the students’ Individualized Education Plans.
Art
The art program at New Beginnings provides students with the opportunity to learn through the creative process. The art curriculum is designed to develop unique mental capabilities. Art production fosters higher-order thinking skills and problem solving abilities. Students are encouraged to explore media and techniques that enable them to better express emotions and ideas. Topics studied include design elements and principles, art history, cultural diversity, specific art forms (drawing, painting, design, sculpture, and crafts), and subjects such as human figure, landscape, still life, and animals. Students participate in a wide range of experiences to develop and extend their abilities to identify images and symbols in works of art, natural events and the environment, improving confidence levels.
Life Skills
Self-care and domestic skills are the focus of the life skills curriculum, including developing self-sufficiency for adulthood. Emphasis is placed not on the separate skill areas, but rather on their natural occurrence within daily activity. The skills are addressed in the classroom, toileting facilities, and in the life skills room. Students receive instruction in the areas of housekeeping, personal hygiene and food preparation.
Pre-Vocational Skills
The pre-vocational curriculum teaches students the skills necessary for employment—generalizing learned skills to pre-vocational and functional tasks. Among the skills addressed in this area are clerical tasks; sorting, stocking shelves, assembly, and packaging. This segment of the curriculum prepares students for secure employment, supportive employment and competitive employment. Individualization of the program is crucial, as students have a wide range of skill levels.
New Beginnings also has an established in-school work program for the students who have mastered certain skills. This program allows the students to rotate through various job placements to determine which job they are best at. In-school jobs include art assistant, physical education assistant, cafeteria helper, school maintenance, front office helper, and school messenger.
Inclusion Opportunities
New Beginnings has developed a cooperative relationship with local boards of education and day care centers, so that New Beginnings students can join public school or day care classrooms as they become ready for the transition back to their sending districts. During these inclusion opportunities, New Beginnings students experience typical school activities and have an opportunity to model the behavior of the host children. The students in the community have the opportunity to interact with children with disabilities in a non-threatening, growth-enhancing environment.
NEW BEGINNINGS BEHAVIOR SUPPORTS
New Beginnings’ mission is to provide learning opportunities that enable each child to develop to the fullest extent of his or her ability. We believe that we can accomplish this goal in a structured, positive and caring atmosphere, characterized by warmth and happiness. Each child, therefore, is offered the special care, attention, and support that he or she individually requires during the school day.
New Beginnings stresses that the faculty and staff employ behavior management techniques to systematically improve socially significant behavior in order to improve each child’s quality of life to a meaningful degree. Through individualized teaching strategies inappropriate behaviors are specifically replaced with socially acceptable behaviors that serve the same function. Students are, therefore, not punished for emitting inappropriate behaviors, but are taught replacement behaviors instead.
Behavior modification principles are consistently implemented throughout the day, emphasizing positive behavioral supports to reinforce desirable behavior whenever possible. Listed below is an overview of the techniques that New Beginnings utilizes with our students.
Applied Behavioral Analysis
Behavior Analysis offers empirically proven strategies for evaluating the functional and communicative meaning of behavior. The data collected in regard to student performance or behavior reduction provides continuous, useful, objective assessments of progress. With this data, team members are able to determine effectiveness of current teaching techniques as well as determine future goals related to individual students.
Reinforcement of Appropriate Behavior
During the school day, appropriate behavior is rewarded through the use of verbal praise and social attention such as smiles and high fives. For many students, the use of tangibles and/or edible rewards, have been deemed necessary in order to increase the frequency of appropriate behavior within a child’s repertoire. Reinforcement inventories are filled out by parents at the beginning of each school year and updated at least one other time during a school year. Such information helps staff to determine and keep updated at least one other time during a school year. Such information helps staff to determine and keep updated on what motivates each child. Reinforcement schedules related to degree and rate of delivery are also individualized to meet each child’s specific needs.
Special Applications of Behavior Change
In any given classroom, one may observe the use of special applications such as token economy systems, contingency contracts and even self-management procedures. Each of these behavior management tools are implemented on an individual basis and are based on specifically defined behaviors targeted for reduction. Through the use of special applications students learn to gain access to rewards by emitting the incompatible behavior or an alternative behavior from the one targeted for reduction. We, at New Beginnings, believe that through the use of special applications students learn to replace inappropriate behaviors with socially acceptable behaviors.
Individualized Behavior Plans
Behavior management plans are utilized with students on an individual basis. If a plan is deemed necessary, components within a plan are driven by the finding, within a formal functional assessment, via data collection and analysis. All plans include a definition of the behavior targeted for reduction, data analysis including baseline and treatment data analysis, a functional assessment of the behavior based on the data collected within baseline and treatment phases of a plan. Plans also include a teaching component designed to help the students make contact with reinforcement for emitting alternative behaviors that serve the same function as the one targeted for reduction. Also included in each plan is a proposed treatment that describes the most effective way to react to a student following an occurrence of inappropriate behavior, as well as, how to best de-escalate the student to prevent additional occurrences. Along with teaching strategies and treatments, behavior management plans also include the necessary data collection procedures, rationale for treatment and any potential risk that may occur as the result of treatment. Behavior management plans are shared with the sending district’s child study team members and are considered a component of the student’s Individual Education Plan (IEP).
Crisis Prevention Intervention and Handle With Care
The staff at New Beginnings is also trained in Crisis Prevention Intervention and Handle with Care techniques. At times, staff may need to employ therapeutic holds and assisted transport for students in crisis. It is our policy to notify all parents if their child requires any of these therapeutic holds. Parents are also made aware of the potential need for such techniques as they may be a part of a student’s individual behavior management plan.
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