Our School____________________________

Students attend classes that encourage their success in curricula consistent with Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) requirements. The School is also a caring community where students learn to develop healthy relationships with teachers, therapists, and other professional staff and one another while participating in a therapeutic milieu. The School is 10 miles south of Frederick, Maryland, located in Jefferson, Maryland. Fully accredited by MSDE, the School provides services to both residential and day students. It includes a full size gymnasium, library/media center, art center, an environmental studies classroom and greenhouse, and a wood shop. In addition, the facility has dining, recreation and health service areas. The beautiful rural location offers many opportunities for outdoor recreation and nature studies, and an outdoor classroom/group meeting area used in suitable weather. The main campus school program currently accommodates over 80 children a day. Fifty students are residents of our psychiatric Residential Treatment Center and 30 are day students (males and females, ages 12-18). The disabilities served are students with primary – emotional disturbance, behavior disorders and secondary – learning, developmental and post traumatic stress disorders.

The Jefferson School Philosophy_____________

The school's goal is to lay a solid therapeutic foundatin so students can return to their homes, schools and communities. Using the philosophy of The Circle of Courage, our goal is to build resiliency in our youth by responding to their needs, rather than reacting to their problems. We seek to meet the universal human needs to beongs, to master, to achieve independence and to display generosity towards others.

Jefferson School Community-Based Programs____

Preference will be given to children from the counties in the Central and Western Maryland region. The School will accept referrals from all Maryland jurisdictions and adjacent states for residential placement. Referrals for residential placements are generally made by Local Coordinating Councils and day student placements by Local Education Agencies. Referrals should be addressed to the Admissions Coordinator.

Jefferson School Community-Based Programs_______________

The Jefferson School at Finan Center, located in Cumberland, Allegany County, Maryland on the grounds of the Thomas B. Finan Center. Special education and clinical services are provided in a Type I day school program for up to 35 male and female students, ages 12 – 21 in grades 6-12. The program is designed to address the needs of students with a primary diagnosis code of emotional disturbance. ...Learn more

The Forbush School at Westminster, located in Westminster, Carroll County, Maryland is a private, separate nonpublic school accredited by the Maryland State Department of Education. The school has two programs at this school for students who have the following primary disabilities: emotional disturbance or autism. Each of the programs provide individualized special education based on the Maryland State Curriculum and the student’s IEP, as well as positive behavioral intervention and supports (PBIS). Both programs provide related services, including speech and language and occupational therapy, to students in both programs.

In terms of the two programs at the school, the program for children who have a primary disability of emotional disturbance is for children who are ages 6 to 14 and in grades one to eight. This program provides for the educational, therapeutic, and behavioral intervention for these students. Psychiatric services are also provided in this program. Second, there is a program for children who have a primary disability of autism who are ages 5 to 14 years. This behavior-based program provides educational services, as well as sensory integration, self care, life skills, and social services...Learn more

Psychiatric Residential Treatment Center______

Six Distinct Residential Treatment Programs Serve 53 children:

Howell House: Youth program for females, ages 12-14
Burke House: Adolescent program for females, ages 14-18
Lagemann House: Youth program for males, ages 12-14
Luetkemeyer House: Adolescent program for males, ages14-18
Shenandoah House / Potomac House: R.I.V.E.R.S. program for males, ages 12 -18

Specialized Programs_____________________

Expressive Therapies Program The goals of the Performing Arts program are both academic and therapeutic. The process of creating a production develops paths to positive connection that have become unavailable or are not often traveled by adolescents with a history of trauma or emotional disturbance....Learn more

Equine Assisted Therapy Program Equine assisted therapy is an emerging field with a strong clinical foundation in which horses are used as a tool for emotional growth and learning. The program is a collaborative effort between a licensed therapist and a horse professional. The focus of the program is not riding or horsemanship. It involves setting up ground activities with the horses which will require the client or group to apply certain skills. The program goal is to lead residents toward healthy assertiveness, creative thinking and problem-solving skills. ...Learn more

Occupational Therapy and Life Skills Program In addition to school-based physical education, The Jefferson School offers an opportunity for residential students to participate in more challenging activities related to outdoor adventure, survival, and enjoyment. Based within our Occupational Therapy Department, this program is designed to take advantage of an innovative occupational therapy student internship program to develop and facilitate both resident and staff participation. The original program was funded in part by an ambitious grant initiative and remaining funds from that grant are being used to upgrade and expand available resources at both Jefferson and its sister facility, the Mann Residential Treatment Center in Towson. ...Learn more

The Jefferson School R.I.V.E.R.S. Program

Recognizing
Internalizing
Verbalizing
Empathizing
Respecting
Socialization

While engaged in the treatment provided through the R.I.V.E.R.S. Program at The Jefferson School, a program for youth with sexual offending behaviors, it is deemed important for residents to be able to discuss any sexual abuse that may have happened in their life. A Clinical Milieu Manager/Therapist, Psychiatrist, Nurse, Residential Counselors, and peers are made available to help in dealing with sexual abuse from both perspectives; being abused and/or sexually offending others. ...Learn more