At Looking Glass, we work to provide a variety of educational opportunities for teens that are homeless, have mental health issues, and for whom traditional education is inadequate to meet their needs. We now have school-based therapists embedded in 32 schools throughout 6 Lane County School Districts. Most of the therapists work at the schools 1 to 2 days a week and spend the rest of their time working out of one of several Looking Glass outpatient offices. We also have three alternative schools. Riverfront School and Career Center offers academic courses and vocational training for at-risk and out-of-school youth. With the opportunity for hands-on skills training in culinary arts, natural resources, and health occupations, Riverfront provides students with more than just an education, it prepares them for a career. New Roads School, our drop-in school, is there to ensure that no one falls behind. Serving runaway and homeless students ages 11-21, New Roads School specializes in credit recovery and GED prep, aiming to transfer students back to a more traditional school setting or help them complete their GED. Center Point School is a year-round therapeutic school which provides education and mental health services in a highly structured and supportive environment. Progress toward educational and treatment goals occurs because of the commitment to individualization of teaching methods and behavioral interventions, meeting students are families were they are.
Looking Glass also offers education services at each of our residential programs which specialize in helping youth that are dealing with abuse, delinquency, addiction, and mental health issues. Students in these programs have the opportunity to get caught up with the credit-recovery curriculum and to earn their GED. The residential schools currently have 33 students, 17 of which are special education and 504 plan students. All students enjoy plenty of one on one attention with a student/education staff ratio that rarely exceeds 5:1. This prevents students from feeling like they are lost in the crowd. In addition, all students have their own education plan, giving them more control over their education. Ben Molin, Education Supervisor and Principal of Residential Programs, explained how this approach works. “If a student comes in and claims to hate math and says you’re not going to make them do it, we hold off on math and have them pick a subject(s) they can find more readily available success in. Once they find academic success in other areas they become more willing to try the subjects they’ve historically not enjoyed.” Along with their usual studies, the students at the residential schools enjoy interacting with the class pets. Each classroom is home to a unique pet like a bearded dragon, an uromastyx lizard, or a tank full of fish. Students are also connected with community partners, such as the International Cultural Service Program at University of Oregon, Planned Parenthood, and the HIV Alliance, which regularly sends guest speakers to the schools.
At Looking Glass, we believe that all youth, regardless of circumstance, are entitled to a quality education. We are proud of our diverse efforts to make education more accessible to youth throughout Lane County, and we look forward to expanding our services.