When the Tyrone School District entered into a contract with Pyramid Healthcare, one goal was to get help for troubled students with emotional and behavioral issues. The primary goal is to help the students modify their behavior so they can return to the district.
“We hope to see continued success one year from now,” said Tyrone Assistant Superintendent Joann Lang. “I think the parental support has been fantastic. When you tell the parents that we have help for their children right here, they will work well with you. We have good communication with Pyramid and that is helping to make it successful.”
Coming back into the traditional school system will take a lot of adjustments. There will have to be adjustments made by the students and the school system to help them adapt in returning to the traditional setting.
“There are several options for the students to return to school,” said Tyrone Special Education Director Frances Parker. “It could be a partial day here at the school and partial day at Greentree. We will transition carefully with the parents and the staff at Greentree. We will do whatever will work for that individual child so they can be successful when they return.”
Leaving Greentree Village is the goal set by the teachers and counselors for the students.
“We don’t just let them leave the program,” said Greentree Village Director Betty Sleighton. “We do follow ups. At three months, six months, a year, we check to see if they are attending school. We see if any agencies are involved and we mark down who we talk to as we get the information. We set up after care in their home area. If it is out-patient counseling, intensive out-patient counseling. We provide whatever is necessary. If they need psychatrict services, we set that up. Everything has to be in place before a child leaves here.”
Everything is put into place for a child to go through the program at Greentree Village and be successful when they complete it.
“We have a kid right now who is getting ready for discharge and he is starting to act out,” said Sleighton. “Part of it is he is scared to death to leave. We sat him dowwn and talked to him. He is really scared because he has it nice here.”
Before being released, the students earn passes to return home for weekends.
“The student I am talking about has been earning passes for the past couple months,” said Sleighton. “The student and family has been able to work some things out at home and in family counseling. We implement these programs before the child can be released.”
Many of the students in the various Pyramid programs are referred by Children and Youth Services agencies. Before release, the student must be recommended for release by CYS and the judge.
“In most cases the judges act on our recommendations,” said Sleighton. “If we truly believe that a child isn’t ready to go home and succeed, the judge normally backs us.”
The first three months at Greentree Village haven’t been the most peaceful in the world, but in a year, things could be completely different.
“We hope that after a year there will be more harmony and peace,” said Tyrone Superintendent of Schools Dr. William Miller. “Some of the neighbors have some misgivings and after a year evolves, we hope that they feel better about what is going on and we will all be good neighbors. Hopefully the Pyramid program will prove itself and everyone looks at this differently a year from now in what it has produced in terms of the kids.”
Editor’s Note: After observing three months of debate on the Greentree Village program, I am left with some thoughts. I have heard both sides say that we are for making things better for the kids. The time to debate who was right and who was wrong is over. The program is there and it is helping the kids. Let’s look at it one year from now and see where things are.
