There are two high school classrooms at BIP. The focus, as always, is to help students control and monitor their behavior. The professionals at BIP believe that all behavior is communicative. With a team approach, professionals and caregivers strive to understand the antecedents and function of a student's behavior. Behavior is molded into more appropriate and more functional ways to communicate and meet the student's needs. Behavioral management is done by using basic behavioral techniques - for example, positive reinforcements - and in several other ways. They are:
The Adapted Physical Education program at BIP is dedicated to promoting long-term healthy living habits. Students in the program are individually evaluated to find a program that best suits their needs and interests. APE classes fall into two categories: sport specific units and fitness units. Students in a sport specific unit have opportunities to participate in: soccer, football, volleyball, basketball, gymnastics, floor hockey, racquet sports, and baseball while learning about important skill themes such as: force production, and spatial boundaries. Each lesson has a start-up routine including warm-ups, stretching, light jogging, and muscular strength exercises. Students who engage in fitness units are challenged by cardiovascular activities. These sessions are designed to increase one's heart rate and physical stamina. Skills taught and emphasized are designed with the intention for carry-over into school life and home life, i.e. walking stairs, getting around town, and increase stamina, focus and attention while performing pre-vocational and/or vocational tasks.
The BIP vocational program enables students to participate more fully in society through meaningful work. Students are trained on functional work such as: office jobs, food service, housekeeping, janitorial and laundry skills.
The home service program serves children in the following collaborative towns: Lexington, Arlington, Belmont, Bedford, and Burlington. Therapists have significant training in Applied Behavior Analysis, Verbal Behavior and other education that pertains to teaching children to become more independent within the home environment.
The home services programs encourages collaboration between teachers and parents in terms of generalizing skills learned in the classroom to the home. Certain goals of the program include parent training and teaching self-care and domestic skills. Progress with these goals is monitored through weekly home visits with parents.
Operating Months: September - June( A seven week summer session is provided to prevent regression of skills taught during the academic year and provide leisure and recreational activities.) Hours of school day: Monday - Friday: 8:30am-3:30pm, Summer hours are 9:00am-2:00pm
Support Services: A.P.E., Counseling, Nurses, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Social Services, Speech/Language Therapy