Johnston launches therapeutic program

Katie Freking, new JTP teacher, in her classroom at the District Office.

By Clara Toot, JCSD Communications Specialist

JOHNSTON, Ia. (August 29, 2024) — The Johnston Community School District this week launched the Johnston Therapeutic Program for K-8 students in its District Office.

The program will have an emphasis on social, emotional, behavioral and mental health (SEBMH) support and skills, in addition to academic instruction at students’ grade level. While services to students across the district began last school year, the dedicated classroom spaces are new in the District Office.

“Until recently, some of these students have had to leave the district to receive these services. With these new programs, we’ll be able to keep them right here in Johnston,” said Dr. Nikki Roorda, superintendent of the Johnston Community School District. “We are so excited to continue the success we’ve seen with the Drop-In School since 2022, while offering additional programs needed to best serve all of our students.”

Yearlong remodel to bring program to Johnston

The newly remodeled Johnston Therapeutic Program space in the District Office can accommodate four classrooms with a maximum of six students in each classroom to support individual needs. Each classroom will have a teacher and an associate, along with a behavior interventionist and mental health specialist. A sensory room was also added.

In preparation for providing these services across the district, Johnston administrators, instructional coaches, school counselors and behavior technicians earlier this month participated in Classroom 180 training — a framework for creating safe, caring, healthy, classrooms and schools that are sensitive to the experiences that students bring to their school day. Each school leadership team along with district support, will provide all staff at their building with Classroom 180 learning throughout the 24/25 school year.

This work is part of developing consistent instructional responses to behaviors that occur in classrooms and schools. During this daylong session, staff members learned tools, strategies and techniques to proactively encourage engagement in learning and positive classroom behavior.

Drop-In School and Alternative High School

The Johnston Therapeutic Program is led by Mary Jane Stites, who was hired as the district’s first Director of Alternative Learning programs in July 2023. She will lead both the Johnston Therapeutic Program as well as the Drop-In School, a program for grades 9-12 designed to promote student success by re-engaging students in school with a safe, supportive setting and smaller class sizes.

“My greatest strength as an educational leader is my ability to provide support while collaborating with the school community around how to support the various at-risk needs in order to help our students see success in their educational journey,” Stites said. “It is important to understand what the diverse background and learning needs are for each student to support teaching and learning within the various school settings.”

Since the creation of the Drop In program in 2022, 55 students have graduated from the Drop-In School. The program was once located in a small room in the District Office, but is now housed in a more spacious, well-lit space that provides students in grades 9-12 with an alternative path for their high school career.

A third program for Johnston, a new Alternative High School, is also currently located in the same area as the Drop-In School. This program is providing online instruction this year, with general education and special education support. The district will work toward further developing the infrastructure and staffing for this program for the 2025-2026 school year.

Planning for Johnston’s new alternative learning programs has been extensive. Along with the school board, members of the planning team have included Vickie McCool, who retired as Director of Special Education; Rachelle Dawson, regional director of Heartland AEA; Chris Billings, the Executive Director of School Leadership; Chris Wilson, the director of SEBMH; Student Services Director Adam Busch; Jill Van Woerkom, Associate Superintendent of Teaching and Learning; Nate Zittergruen, Director of Human Resources; and Chief Financial Officer Ryan Eidahl.