Honor Ridge Academy is a place where all feel welcome, secure and at home. We work to foster trust and a sense of belonging. Parents and students tell us that Honor Ridge is like a second family.
Our students and their families benefit from a wrap-around approach.
We work closely with families, district case managers, and community-based organizations, such as Care Management Organizations (CMOs), Family Support Organizations (FSOs), the Department of Children and Families (DCF) to develop and implement a clinically-informed individualized plan for each student designed to improve behaviors both at school and home, with a goal of returning the student to the local school district.
We foster self-advocacy, so that each student can become an active participant in the education process.
We teach healthy decision-making skills, guide students in developing the social skills necessary to function successfully alongside peers, adults, and within the community, help build positive self-esteem, communication skills, and self-confidence.
All related services staff are licensed and/or school certified and approved by the Department of Education. Our team of credentialed staff includes:
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Licensed Clinical Social Workers
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Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs)
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Student Assistance Counselor (SAC)
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Behavior Specialists
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Teachers
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Occupational Therapists
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School Nurse
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Speech/Language Therapists
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Staff Psychiatrists
Honor Ridge Academy offers services in accordance with the IEP:
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Individual Psychotherapy
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Crisis Intervention Therapy
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Family Therapy
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Team Treatment Meetings
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Medication Management
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Psychiatric Services
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Occupational Therapy
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Nursing Services
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Speech/Language Therapy
Therapeutic Behavioral Program
We use a multi-disciplinary team approach combining student behavioral outcome with programmatic performance. The result is a predictable clinical environment that pro-actively promotes positive behavior change and effectively addresses even the most severe behavioral profiles.
Intervention
Honor Ridge uses a State of NJ Approved non-violent intervention program called Handle with Care.
Code of Conduct
Our therapeutic behavioral program is grounded in the Honor Ridge Academy’s Code of Conduct designed to foster respect for self and others. Its key components are:
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Respectfulness
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Responsibility
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Cooperation
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Self-Discipline
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Self-Determination
Our program is based in the tenets of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), a research-based process of applying interventions based on the principles of learning theory to improve socially significant behaviors, to find the best ways of doing this, and to show that the interventions employed are responsible for the improvement in behavior.
Our behavior program includes:
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A system-wide behavioral “honors” program
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Individual classroom ABA plans
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A crisis management program
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Comprehensive staff training program in behavior management and related topics
Team Meetings
Team meetings are an important component of our behavioral and academic program. We bring together teachers, administrators, social workers and behavioral staff to develop a successful plan for each and every student.
A Note on Suspension…
We believe that students need to be in school, so out-of-school suspension is only considered when a student’s behavior would impact the safety of students and staff.
In most instances, if suspensions are necessary, our staff weighs the severity of the behavior, the development and maturity level of the student, and the levels of harm or act. In all instances, the parent/guardian and CST will be notified.
