The 2018-2019 school year is upon us, and some of our regional and national schools are beginning classes this week. It is always an exciting and sometimes anxiety-provoking time for children, families, and (yes) even teachers as we begin another year of educating students all over America.
At Lakeside our staff has been in professional development training.
We spend three days orienting our new staff. We then implement some of the changes that we have made to better meet the needs of our students for our returning staff.
We also bring together academic staff, clinical staff, and behavior management staff—each into their role-specific training in order to ready them for new sets of circumstances they will face in the year to come.
Students who have some special needs are being referred to our schools, and they, too, are being oriented to our environment. Different from their standard school district, we attempt to create an environment in which there is emphasis on brain-based and trauma-informed approaches in order to facilitate learning in new ways.
We have been working all summer on facility improvements and new opportunities to grow our capacity and improve our schools.
A great deal of hiring has gone on, too.
We have broadened our scope of counseling services to school districts in our region. We also have been spending a great deal of time training other schools in our Neurologic interventions. Additionally, there has been interest from other regions, states, and countries for more trauma-informed training for their systems of care.
It is indeed exciting to anticipate we will have the privilege of working with approximately 3,000 students in this year to come.
We will also be training thousands of professionals who are working with trauma-impacted adults and children. We are providing training to professionals in 41 counties in Pennsylvania and have plans to expand our training to many more.
Lakeside is growing rapidly in its many capacities.
We are uniquely positioned to meet the needs of so many who are struggling with some difficult obstacles, or who are dealing with others who have been trauma-impacted. As we begin yet another school year, we hope to establish new opportunities for success for all those we encounter this year.
We also want to develop new programs that can be replicated all throughout our state, our country and our international communities.
I look forward to the challenges we will face and the many interventions we will be able to offer to those have to deal with some of life’s most difficult obstacles.
I sense this coming year will be one of the most significant years of growth we have had in the history of Lakeside. That means many will receive a great deal of help and support as they strive to discover how they can redefine the rest of their lives.
Gerry Vassar, President/CEO
