Student Support Programs
Counseling Program
The School Counseling Program has a multidisciplinary team approach, requiring the collaboration and teamwork of students, parents, teachers, administrators, and members of the community. The School Counselor assists students with a variety of educational, social, and personal needs. The School Counselor can provide assessments, individual and group counseling, student class scheduling, as well as many other services as needed.
The School Counseling Program encourages questions, comments, and input from parents and guardians, and/or anyone interested or involved in the educational and personal development of the students.
Please feel free to contact the School Counselor, Amanda Stanberry.
Day Treatment Program
The Day Treatment program offers eligible students the opportunity to receive behavioral support throughout the school day. An on-site therapist will provide intensive services to improve student behavior, to assist in crisis counseling as well as individual and group counseling.
Students are recommended to this program by the Child Study Committee.
H.U.G.S. Mentor Program
Help, Understand, Guide, and Support Mentor Program provides consistent support and guidance to students throughout the school year. Students involved in the mentoring program may be going through a difficult and/or challenging situation, a period of life in which they need extra support in school. The goal of H.U.G.S. is to help students involved in the mentoring program to gain the skills and confidence necessary to be successful students.
"A hundred years from now it will not matter what my bank account was, the sort of house I lived in, or the kind of car I drove ... But the world might be a better place because I was important in the life of a child" - Author Unknown
Effective School-wide Discipline
Effective School-wide Discipline is a program designed to reward students for positive behaviors. The intent of ESD is to encourage students to develop life-skills, social skills, respect, and responsibility. Students have the opportunity to earn points based on academic and behavioral accomplishments. Points can be used as personal and class rewards, such as gift cards, treats, and bonus points towards classroom assignments.
Amherst Education Center Exploratory Learning Program
The staff at Amherst Education Center believes that all students can learn and that the "curriculum" is more than the content and skills covered in core academic courses. Rather, it is the sum of all parts of a school's total educational program. Our goal, along with the goal of Amherst County Public Schools, is to meet the need of "Every Child, Every Day."
Our Exploratory Learning Program actively engages students in decision making, critical thinking skills, creativity, as well as, encouraging teamwork and fostering positive peer and teacher-student relationships.
The following is a list of our exploratory learning offerings. Participation in this program gives Amherst Education Center students the opportunity to explore many different areas/skills.
7 Exploratory Offerings (7-9 sessions per semester):
- The Scoop!
- Interacting with Nature
- Careers Exposure
- Getting Into Volunteering Everyday G.I.V.E.
- Creation Station
- AEC News Production
AEC's Exploratory Learning Program will meet every 1st Friday (AM) and 3rd Friday (PM) or once a month on the last Friday. This schedule may change throughout the school year.
Objectives of the Exploratory Learning Program:
- To foster self-knowledge as students discover their unique abilities, talents, and interest
- To provide students with creative experiential learning
- To provide hands-on experiences that allow students to learn through engagement and interaction
- To create new interests and encourage students to explore new ideas
- To encourage students to develop positive relationships with teachers and with one another through organized team-building activities.
- To introduce students to enriching and healthy activities that they may pursue beyond the school day
AEC Student Timeout Program (STOP)
Purpose: To provide the secondary school administrators with an intervention strategy for 6th-12th grade general education students who are experiencing difficulties in the school environment due to behavioral concerns.
Eligibility: Middle school and high school general education students who have committed violations of school rules. For students with disabilities eligible to receive specialized supports and/or instruction and being served by ACPS through an Individualized Education Program, participation in STOP constitutes a removal from educational services. Therefore, those students will not be eligible for STOP.
Goal: To remove students from their regular school setting and provide intervention strategies in order to successfully focus the students on their academics.
Staff: One staff member who reports to the AEC administrator
Capacity: 7 students (2 slots for MMS, 2 slots for AMS, and 3 slots for ACHS)
Schedule: 8:00 am - 2:20 pm
Procedure for Admission: Principals request placement to the AEC administrator. If a slot is available, the guardian/student will be informed by the sending principal and may begin as soon as STOP permission form is signed.
Duration of Program: Students will be assigned to the program for a duration of 3-10 days. The sending school administrator will determine the number of days. The student must neither violate any STOP rules nor be absent during this time. If any violation occurs the student will be disciplined appropriately by AEC administrator and may have to repeat their assigned days.
Instruction: The sending school must send all assignments with the student. The work will be facilitated by Amherst Education Center STOP Coordinator and will be monitored by AEC teachers. Students assigned to STOP must be able to access the instructional components of the program independently.
Transportation: Students will be transported on an ACPS bus to Amherst Education Center. The home school administrator will notify the Transportation Department of students being assigned to STOP.