Pressley Ridge School for the Deaf

President: B. Scott Finnell, Ph.D., LCSW

School Type: Approved Private School

Founded: Pressley Ridge was founded in 1832, and the School for the Deaf was established in 1996

Ages/Grades: 6-21 years of age

School Setting: Pressley Ridge School for the Deaf offers a year-round educational program and a year-round, 24-hour, 7-days-per-week, supervised residential program

School Size: Up to 36

Classroom Size: 6 or less

Student/Teacher Ratio: 1 teacher and 1 mental health specialist per classroom

Tuition: Pressley Ridge provides a Liaison Service between the school and families to help with treatment planning, service meetings, and to help families with the skills they need to aide in their child's progress. Sign language classes, tapes and curricula are available to help families improve communication between themselves and their child. If a child needs individual or group therapy, it will be provided by staff internally or the child will be referred out to an appropriate provider. Our program is also staffed by a psychiatrist who is an expert in deaf mental health. The psychiatrist evaluates and monitors medications for our residential and education students where appropriate. Pressley Ridge staff is trained in the administration of medication and the monitoring of effects. All staff is trained in First Aid and CPR. Each student will have a treatment team composed of the supervisory staff; the direct care staff assigned to the child, including teachers and residential teacher/counselors; the student; the student's family member(s); consulting psychiatrists and/or psychologists; and other service providers involved with the student.

Financial Aid: Funded by the Pennsylvania Department of Education

Departments:

Pressley Ridge School for the Deaf includes self-contained, classrooms for students who are Deaf and seriously emotionally disturbed. We use a structured combination of individual and group procedures in the educational treatment program. Pressley Ridge School for the Deaf includes a group home residence for students staffed by mental health workers (residential teacher/counselors). The teacher/counselors implement the individual service plans and provide vocational, leisure, recreational, independent living and social skills training. This component is licensed as a Residential Child Care Facility under Chapter 3800 of the 55 PA Code. Residential houses at Pressley Ridge School for the Deaf can accommodate both male and female students.

Curriculum:

Determined based upon individual needs

Percentage of Graduating Class: Students graduate with diplomas from their local school districts

Camp Programs: No

After School Programs: No

Computer Capabilities:

Students have access to a computer lab

School Championships:

No

School Clubs:

No

Parking Spaces/Availability: There is ample parking at our campus

Admissions Requirements:

To be accepted into the school, the student must be deaf and experiencing emotional and behavioral difficulties at home, school, and/or in the community. Children with I.Q. scores less than 70 may not be accepted into the residential or classroom program components unless special accommodations can be made. Classroom and residential services can begin only with prior approval from the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

Mission Statement:

The mission of Pressley Ridge is: to improve the adjustment and achievement of children and youth with troubling behaviors through effective programs that focus on all aspects of their lives; to lead in the development of innovative programming through evaluation, research, and outcome measurement; and, to champion initiatives to improve the system of care for children, youth and their families.

Philosophy/Belief Statement:

Our program provides culturally competent educational and mental health services by keeping deaf children connected to the deaf community, deaf peers, and deaf role models. We develop and deliver treatment interventions within the context and with the understanding of the deaf culture. The Re-Education philosophy serves as our foundation and the theoretical framework for all of our services. The concept of Re-Education and its 12 principles was created and written in the 1960s by Dr. Nicholas Hobbs. The principles rest upon two basic beliefs: that every child wants to do well and that when basic needs are met, the child is able to learn. Pressley Ridge School for the Deaf believes that we are only one part of the solution in helping emotionally disturbed, deaf youth improve. Family participation and integration in treatment are highly encouraged.

School History: The Pressley Ridge School for the Deaf was established in 1996 in collaboration with the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf. We provide a range of comprehensive, child-centered services for seriously emotionally and behaviorally disturbed deaf children and adolescents.

Notes/School Information:

Child-centered services for seriously emotionally and behaviorally disturbed deaf children and adolescents.