Public School Programs Strengthened by Therapeutic Inclusion Support Model

Several school systems have recently expanded their capacity to serve their special-needs students with the Therapeutic Inclusion Support Model (TISM). By providing expertise and staffing these programs, Walker Partnerships has enabled these school systems to successfully educate and maintain students who might otherwise have been sent to out-of-district placements.

The Revere Public Schools has created three TISM classes in collaboration with Walker Partnerships. Thanks to the leadership of Revere Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Paul Dakin, former Assistant Superintendent of Pupil Personnel Services Dr. David Deruosi, and current Assistant Superintendent Christopher Malone, TSIM will be available at the elementary, middle, and high school levels.

Through their efforts, Revere students have returned from out-of-district placements and are benefiting from these new classes. Walker Partnerships is providing social workers, case mangers and therapeutic intervention specialists in these programs, while the district provides special education teachers and paraprofessionals.

At Bridgewater/Raynham Regional School Districts, leadership has made the decision to expand the TISM from two .5 social workers/case mangers to two full-time positions, one at the elementary level and one at the middle school level. This increase in staffing time is representative of the growth of the two programs and the recognition by leadership that the continued success of the programs will require additional in-school service capacity.

Webster Public Schools is expanding program- and building-based consultation in support of the TISM that was initiated last February. Walker Partnerships is providing 40 hours of program-specific consultation and 40 hours of building-based consultation and professional development to the Park Avenue Elementary School to support its second-year TISM program. This additional support has been designed in collaboration with the program- and school-based staff and the principal.

Working closely with Kevin Pierce, the Director of Special Education at the Wakefield Public School District, Walker Partnerships will establish a  new .5 Social Worker/Case Manager at the Woodville School to provide district-wide elementary TISM. This new position is in addition to monthly clinical and program consultation that Walker Partnerships has been providing for two years.

Walker Partnerships is currently partnering with 10 school districts to implement the Therapeutic Inclusion Support Model, with nearly 20 Walker Partnerships staff members directly providing TISM services.

These partnerships were forged in response to many school administrators’ efforts to build and expand the in-school programmatic capacity that would allow more students to return to their districts, and to reduce the tuition expenses of students who have been sent to out-of-district placements in prior years. Contact us to find out more about how Walker Partnerships can provide TISM services to your school district.