Educational Services:

Northwest Passage offers a unique academic experience for its clients.  We recognize that education is critical for every child, but we also know that students who are struggling with their own mental health issues may not engage in education according to their potential.  While mental health treatment is the top program priority, we understand that a significant step on the path to residents safely re-entering the community is preparing them to be able to participate as functional students in their local schools.

Integrated Theme Based Curriculum:

In our education program, we focus on class-room techniques using creativity and seek to educate students through an emphasis on a practical fit of subjects within life and society.

We provide education that has core subject matters centered on a basic theme.  The interactive curriculum keeps the students’ interest while being flexible enough to be adapted for various learning styles and skill levels.

The curriculum takes on a variety of forms and is tailored to fit each individual’s academic level.  Students are continually challenged to increase their academic abilities and consistently receive constructive feedback.  As their confidence grows, the students show more and more investment.

Each unit runs from two to four weeks and incorporates four of the major subject areas with the exception of math that is done separately when integrating it into the theme is not practical.

Each unit includes multi-source research papers and often requires outlines, rough drafts and in-class presentations.  English composition is covered in the written reports and Reading Comprehension is addressed through assigned worksheets that accompany articles on the topic areas.

The students often read out loud in class to increase their overall reading ability and their overall confidence in class.  Grammar is addressed separately when it is unable to be incorporated into the theme.

Projects are posted in class to display the student’s hard work and accomplishments.

Curriculum Goals:

• Prepare students for lifelong learning
• Students see relationships among ideas and concepts
• Relationships between in- and out-of-school topics become obvious to students
• Students become more responsible for, and engaged in, their own learning
• Learning becomes more meaningful to students
• Use sources that go beyond textbooks

Education Staff and Resources:

Our classroom teachers are special education certified and focus on providing an individualized educational experience aimed at helping students find successes where they may not have found them before.

Using the resources in our system such as pediatric neuropsychological assessments and psychiatry servicers, we can accurately assess and address potential barriers to a child’s academic progress.

Credit Bearing Education Services:

With Northwest Passage’s resources in Special Education services, clients who enter the program credit-deficient are most often able to overcome their deficiencies and make significant gains in academic skills.

Our focus on public school re-integration includes various research papers with multiple and modern sources of reference, working with a partner to develop in-class social skills and then the presentation of projects in front of class.  Extended class time spent on one subject with emphasis on lengthening attention spans and building up abilities to focus on academic tasks are also included.  A strong emphasis is put on acceptable classroom behavior that will translate to the public school setting.