Pawtucket details Pawtucket Phoenix Academy referral process and plans to transition students back to home schools

The Pawtucket School Department presented a redesigned referral and transition plan for the Pawtucket Phoenix Academy (PPA), which will now serve students in grades 6 through 12, Michelle Dipo, director of student services, told the committee.

Dipo said the district implemented a two-pronged referral path: a process carried out by IEP teams for students with IEPs and, for students without IEPs, a two-round MTSS (multi-tiered systems of support) intervention cycle with each round lasting about 6 8 weeks. Only after two rounds of data-driven interventions (an estimated 12 16 weeks total) would a referral to PPA be made in routine cases, she said.

"These two rounds of data collection take approximately 12 to 16 weeks to complete," Dipo said, adding that exceptions exist when students are in immediate crisis and the process is accelerated for safety reasons.

Dipo described a detailed transition plan: the sending school's principal and PPA staff will jointly set behavioral goals; Ms. DaSilva will meet regularly with principals to review progress; and when a student is ready to return, a transition meeting will produce a written plan and an initial accompanied return period where a social worker and behavior technician will support the student in the home school. She said last year about 10 students transitioned back successfully and one student reverted back to PPA during the trial.

Committee members asked about staffing and resource implications when two elementary PPA classrooms move to Winters Elementary; Dipo said each relocated elementary classroom will be supported by a behavior technician and two teacher assistants (four adults total per classroom) and that Pam Pettis, the assistant director, would be housed at Winters for the first two months to support implementation. Projected PPA enrollment for Aug. 31 is 55; the building capacity is 90.

Committee members requested bimonthly reporting on referrals, origin schools and outcomes to ensure resources and supports are aligned and to monitor classroom impacts. The superintendent and PPA staff agreed to return with updates in late October.