FAQs

What additional education or academic supports will my child receive at the school?

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Our school provides a blended model of academic and behavioral supports. Speech, Occupational, Physical, and ABA therapy techniques and professionals are integrated into the classroom and other experiential learning settings.

How do you track academic and behavioral progress?

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We intend to utilize our own blended academic/behavior goal and progress forms rather than a traditional IEP. We will individually track, monitor and create goals for every individual child in collaboration with parents and providers and will hold quarterly update conferences with parents.

What is the student- teacher ratio?

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Polaris Academy will have a 4:1-5:1 student-teacher ratio. Each classroom is intended to have a main teacher and in-class Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) offering behavior and academic supports. Larger classrooms will also incorporate additional teaching aides to maintain those ratios along with support from our on-staff BCBA and speech therapist.

How do you accommodate students with different developmental phases?

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Students will be grouped by skill and ability, not just age, to ensure we meet each student’s learning, growth, and social needs.

Do you provide training in life skills and social skills?

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Yes, our school was built with experiential and social learning in mind. Our unique School Marketplace, S.T.E.M. Discovery Room, Culinary Experience Center, and Intentional Play Gym, provide real life and social skills while incorporated academics in an applied and real-world setting. All of our staff members, including our on-staff speech therapist, BCBA, teachers, and RBT’s, will help facilitate, support, and guide our students towards higher peer and social skills.

How do you acclimate my child to the school?

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Most children take time adjusting to a new space. So we intend to hold behavior and academic assessments during the summer prior to the first day of school. Additional open-house and meet the teacher events will also be available so that the first day of school will not feel like their traditional “first day”. This will help familiarize students to their school surrounding and help them feel more comfortable with staff members and classmates.

Will my Child receive one-on-one instruction?

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Instruction and behavioral/therapy supports are intended to be performed in group settings.

How do you handle classroom disruptions?

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Many schools offer a “sensory room” where children can de-escalate if needed. However, often times these spaces can become a reinforcement for negative behavior because of their preferential design. Instead at Polaris we have designed our experiential learning centers with experiences and facilities to attract a child’s interest and participation in those areas requires class involvement. When a child is triggered or needs independent space, we utilize sensory nook areas in our hall and common areas that are built with acoustic materials and provide a space for a child to continue their schoolwork in a less populated environment. Students will still stay on task so as not to be rewarded for exiting the class, but will be able to remain in the nook environment until they are ready to integrate back into their classroom setting.

How does a typical classroom look?

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General classrooms are intended to have between 10-15 students with 2-3 teacher/behavioral support staff.

Can I meet or communicate with a school therapists?

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Yes, our on-staff BCBA, RBT’s, and speech therapist are available and encourage collaboration and questions from parents and outside providers. Many staff are also trained and have experience in occupational and physical therapy.

What are the qualifications of the staff working with autistic children?

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Our staff is what makes Polaris Academy so special. Teachers and support staff have years of multi-disciplinary experience across many fields including special education, autism education, speech/occupational/physical therapy, ABA and behavioral therapy as well as clinical support settings.

Can I meet the support staff?

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Yes, all staff and teachers are expected to maintain communication with parents and parents are also encouraged to volunteer and participate in the school setting to learn how we are working with their children so those same supports can continue in the home.

How do you handle behavior issues?

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Our on-staff BCBA and behavior therapists will create individualized behavior plans/goals with help from parents and outside providers so that we have the appropriate tools to work with each child’s unique behaviors. Additionally, our school has been designed for sensory learning to create a more focused and calm environment. Between our trained staff, individualized behavior plans, unique autism architecture components, and individualized learning nooks we hope to provide ample support for all of our students’ behavior needs.