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The elementary school joins the middle school and the high school programs at the Frost School in serving emotionally troubled and autistic children and their families. The elementary school serves children in grades one through five. Our school is dedicated to providing a safe and supportive environment to all our children. Parents and families take an active part in the learning and growth of their children. Weekly multifamily counseling groups help to support and nurture the growth process for their children within the family and community.
Within our Therapeutic Community, our students are expected to perform academically to their full capacity. Our class size is small; our classrooms are structured; and our class work is individualized to meet the educational needs of our students. A multidisciplinary team of professional educators and counselors is trained to work with children with emotional and behavioral problems, autism spectrum disorders, learning disabilities, and attention difficulties. Our staff endeavors to provide a structure in which our students are protected from the forces in their lives that have become stumbling blocks or destructive to healthy growth. Our students are encouraged to begin to understand the meaning of their actions and to accept responsibility for their behavior. We strive to teach our students to identify options, evaluate choices, and to discover and build on their strengths. Academic work, counseling, and play time are combined into the daily and weekly schedule to assure a well-rounded experience for each of our students. Although the school operates all twelve months of the year, students enjoy regular vacation periods.
The Frost Elementary School has been approved as a Special Education Facility by the Maryland State Department of Education. We accept students from Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. Child advocates or their County Placement Offices refer children to our school when emotional, behavioral, and educational problems are preventing academic progress in their regular academic settings. Classes are small and students receive instruction based on their IEP (Individualized Education Program). Instruction may be remedial or advanced and students with learning disabilities are accommodated. Speech and Language and occupational therapy are available to students needing these services (the Local Educational Agency -LEA - must approve these in advance). Each nine-week period, students receive written progress reports containing the grades for the academic work completed during that marking period. A copy of this report is mailed to the parents, legal guardians, and the special education office of the student's home school district. Before our students are ready to return to their regular education program, meetings are held with the parents, legal guardians, and the LEA representatives to determine the most appropriate school setting for your child. A transition plan and possible 'after-care' service will be prepared to assure continued student growth and development.
Families or Legal Guardians are assigned to a Multifamily Counseling Group that meets weekly when school is in session. Two counselors, who help the families support each other and deal with problems or issues in the home and/or community, facilitate these meetings. It is required that all age appropriate siblings attend these Family Counseling Groups. It is also required that a parent, legal Guardian, or an adult designated by the parent and approved by the Clinical Director be available during regular school hours to pick up their child at school in case of an emergency.
The following criteria must be met before a student will be accepted for enrollment into the Frost Elementary' School:
Information Meeting - Parents or Legal guardian may call to set up a first meeting with our staff. Both parents and the student should plan to attend this meeting. Our staff will explain the school program and will give the philosophy, goals and objectives of the school, counseling, and family sessions. The staff will also go over the information we have regarding the student and the reasons for the referral to our school. Part of this meeting might be held with the parents alone without the student involved.
Second Meeting - In some cases, a second meeting may be required to further clarify questions or concerns the staff may have regarding the student (personal or school issues) and/or family.
Staff Decision - Usually within forty-eight hours after the above mentioned meeting(s) are completed, the staff meets to review school, medical, and psychological records of the student involved and to determine whether we feel this is an appropriate placement. If the answer is in the affirmative, the Clinical Director will notify the parents and a letter of acceptance will be sent to the referring LEA and the parents. If, for any reason, the staff declines to accept a student, a letter will be sent to the referring LEA and parents explaining our decision.
If you have any questions regarding admission, please contact Carol Hobbes, Admission Coordinator, (301)933-3451.
Parents and the LEA (Local Educational Agency) will receive a letter of acceptance from the Clinical Director of the Elementary School. Our acceptance of any student into our school is always contingent on the following:
Discharge from the Frost School programs may occur before successful completion of the program. Grounds for an immediate discharge or non-successful termination includes the breaking of any of the "Seven Major Rules" described in this packet. Before termination can occur, the staff must notify the parents and the LEA to make them aware of the student's possible discharge. A meeting may be requested to examine alternatives to discharge and/or alternative school programs. If our staff decides that a student is to be discharged, the parents have the right to disagree with this decision. If this happens, the staff will maintain the student at our school during a 'due process' proceedings unless the IEP provides for an alternative placement during the due process proceedings. The parents must agree with the alternative placement.
NOTE: The only exception to the above mentioned is if the Center Director, Clinical Director, or the Principal has reason to believe a student is a danger to him/herself, a danger to others, or a danger to the orderly functioning of the school. If this were the case, we will inform the parents and the LEA of the situation and request the LEA to petition the court system to order the student's immediate dismissal from our school. If the LEA does not petition the court, the Center Director reserves the right to do so.
The Frost School has seven "major" rules and several "minor" ones as well. All of the rules instituted by the staff are vital to our students' safety and to the orderly function of the school. Our staff makes every reasonable effort to ensure that all of the students follow these rules, however, all should understand that there is never a guarantee that rule breakage will not occur. Police are notified if anyone is suspected of federal, state, or county law violation.
On their First day here, students will be given a 'simplified' version of these rules. On their first day here, students will be given copies of any other rules that apply to them.
The Frost School has the right to change any of the information and rules on this web site without prior notice or agreement.
This web site is our first attempt to explain the Frost School elementary program to you. We do not pretend to include all the information about our school in this packet. We will further update and change as needed. Please feel free to ask questions. We want to hear from you!