Our Curriculum Is Tailored To Each Student Using The Following Components:
Partnership with LEA
Each school who entrusts us with a student at risk has invested time and energy learning about the needs of their student. We spend many hours in partnership with the LEA to learn from their work. We work closely with sending schools to determine goals for their students. We can maintain connections that are valuable and work toward reintegration with a combined focus on keeping our student reaching toward similar goals as their peers.
OUtdoor Adventure Activities
At Two Roads Academy we are excited to offer students the opportunity to engage in various outdoor and adventure activities. Our location in north western Vermont offers extraordinary access to lakes, mountains, valleys, and community settings through which to build these skills, and use the power of nature to benefit those affected by trauma, anxiety, and other mental health challenges.
We offer access to outdoor and adventure activities in many ways throughout our programming at TRA. On Tuesday’s our students engage in learning about and practicing primitive skills, connecting with nature and engaging in cooperative games and activities. Each Friday our students leave the building for the day and engage in either Adventure Friday’s or Community Engagement Projects. We are fortunate to partner with many local providers who support us in offering dynamic and varying activities.
Additionally, we offer students the opportunity to engage in three expeditions throughout the year. Students can opt into a three day fall hiking expedition, a three day winter expedition and a four day kayaking expedition.
We believe that our outdoor programming offers a unique and experiential entry point to six key characteristics that are important to success in life: critical thinking, problem solving, teamwork and collaboration, creativity and innovation, diversity, and leadership. These skills are often seen as Transferable Skills in district curriculum materials around the state.
Individualized Education
Two Roads Academy strives to provide targeted academics for students in alignment with graduation requirements; providing individualized, appropriately paced, and modified curriculum for students while still maintaining fidelity to Vermont’s Flexible Pathways and ACT 77 requirements. TRA is fortunate to have multiple general education teachers and multiple special education teachers on staff who provide rigorous instruction which is accommodated and modified to support each student's learning.
Academics are provided to students in a small group, individualized manner. Students are assigned to a mixed grade group reflective of their programming (either small group supports or one-on-one supports), with academics that are differentiated to meet students at their individual learning levels.. All students are exposed to the same academic content; with our teachers rotating through topics throughout the year in order to address each school’s graduation requirements as they pertain to core content areas.
Our curriculum is designed to reflect learning outcomes as represented by Vermont's use of the Common Core standards and Proficiency Based Graduation Requirements, with a specialized focus on the social emotional growth and transferable skills our students need. We strive to stay current with research and current teaching practices; utilizing a data driven approach to evaluate student learning in order to help close any achievement gaps.
We will provide sending schools with proficiency based grading information to demonstrate the approach to proficiency for each student, based on Vermont’s Transferable Skills, Next Generation Science Standards, National Core Arts Standards, and Common Core State standards as are relevant to the student’s course of study and personalized learning plan. TRA will provide academic updates to schools once per quarter; providing corresponding credit assignments once per semester; sending schools will grant both credits and diplomas. This information will be used by the sending school to determine credit accrual and graduation readiness in accordance with ACT 77.
According to Vermont State Law, as applicable, students will be offered the opportunity to participate in college courses for credit. TRA staff will accompany students to the college classes to support as indicated in the student’s IEP and/or Behavior Support Plan
FLEXIBLE PATHWAYS
At Two Roads Academy we strive to meet each student where they are at, and take them forward from there, both emotionally and academically. We offer students many Flexible Pathways to specifically meet their academic needs. This could look like any of the following and everything in between:
Consultation between classroom teacher and special educator on needed accommodations within the classroom setting
In class support by a special educator
Accommodated or modified classroom work
Modified schedule with direct instruction from the classroom teacher paired with individual work outside the classroom supported by a special educator
Modified schedule focused on building academic stamina, IEP goal work, and paired with consultation from classroom teachers around core academic areas and modified work
Full Flexible Pathways program - this program is individualized to each student and either focuses on needed credits and proficiencies to move them toward graduation, or building their academic stamina and engagement using Project Based Learning. Students work with the education coordinator, special educator, and classroom teacher to design experiences that will be engaging, and enable them to show the needed proficiencies to move toward their sending schools graduation requirements.
Attending area Technical and Career Centers
Taking online courses through VTVLC or VHS
Taking Dual Enrollment courses
It is our goal to meet the academic needs of each student here at TRA. By having Flexible Pathways we are able to work with students, families and sending schools to engage and support students as they move through their school experience.
