Our Programs
IEA supports our students in extending their learning throughout their K-12 experiences, focusing on continued academic and personal growth through unique integrated learning experiences both in and out of the classroom.
Building self-awareness, self-determination, and self-advocacy skills are essential in supporting our students to be the strongest individual they can be for all their future endeavors.
IEA is an Approved Private Special Education Program facility recognized by the Connecticut State Board of Education
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K-12 Programming
IEA will provide differentiated instruction, individualized instruction, intense interventions, and enrichment to meet each student’s academic and personal growth, college/career needs, and life readiness skills.
Transition Program I
18-22 years old student program focusing on life skills and CSDE services
This program will follow a structured pathway outlined to foster life skills experiences and work study experiences in a variety of areas based on an individual student’s interests and abilities.
Transition Program II
18-22 years old student programming for college and career readiness
IEA’s Transition 2 Program supports students as they take classes at the CT State Community Colleges (CSCU). IEA’s students are currently taking classes at Tunxis. Students will follow a structured pathway outlined to foster a college experience infused with life skills experiences and work study experiences in a variety of areas based on the individual student’s interests and abilities.
Reading Program & Reading Intervention
Reading Program: IEA’s strong reading program supports students in a two-tiered school wide philosophy. (Tier 1) Classroom instruction incorporates strong reading foundational skills. Our classroom instruction follows a skills progression model. All teachers are trained in the Sonday Reading System, which is a comprehensive Orton-Gillingham curriculum line designed to help educators provide multisensory reading instruction to students from pre-K through 8th grade reading levels. Teachers are also trained in many other additional reading strategies designed to help support student growth in the area of reading.
Reading Intervention: Students who require additional intensive interventions (Tier 2) will receive additional support from a trained and certified Reading Interventionist to further support the needs of the Science of Reading. (i.e. Wilson, Orton Gillingham, Visualizing and Verbalizing, Seeing Stars, LiPS, …)
Reading is also supported throughout additional areas of instruction and a flex block to further support student growth.
The Science of Reading: Reading is broken down into five main areas: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. According to the National Reading Panel, it's important to understand these five different parts of reading and how they work together. IEA practices each part of the Science of Reading and incorporates these strategies into all curriculum areas.
SocialEyes
SocialEyes is a school wide program. This dynamic and interactive program is designed to serve all students including those with social challenges.
It delivers therapeutic Social Emotional Learning lessons for small groups with playful applied improv exercises, calming mindfulness minutes, and game changing cognitive awareness focus tools. All students have improv once a week with the facilitator, Robin Fox.
Robin Fox works closely with IEA’s Counseling Team and our SLP Team to infuse consistency throughout our building to foster student successes.
Robin also provides monthly training to the full IEA staff so that the SocialEyes strategies are part of all IEA teachers’ toolboxes.
Special Areas
IEA offers additional programming in the areas of: Art, Music, Physical Education, and Health to build understanding and uncover student passions.
Exploratory music and art classes are also offered to students as independent studies. Many students try the piano, guitar, drums, and even DJ to strengthen their passions in music. Other students have chose to work on independent art projects to further their interests and try additional mediums in the world of art.
Related Services
IEA offers support in the areas of Speech and Language, OT and PT. All Related Service team members are passionate and work with students individually and within the classroom to help support a holistic approach to success.
IEA’s Counseling Team provides support to our classrooms and individual students, as well as support for our families. Their passion for students combined with their wealth of experiences make their services a strong resource for staff, students, and families.
Therapy Animals & Guided by Goats Program
Therapy Animals have benefited school life by sharing fun and comfort, relieving stress and anxiety, increasing motivation, combating feelings of isolation, building self-confidence, easing social interactions, and improving attendance.
On a monthly basis our students can meet with Toby, a Golden Retriever, or Rudy, a Labradoodle. These registered dogs must train rigorously, master many skills, and undergo formal evaluations, ensuring that they can safely and effectively support the emotional and psychological well-being of the students. Fostering a sense of connection and joy, therapy dogs enhance our positive, inclusive school environment.
Guided by Goats is a program that is used on our IEA campus as well as being an off-campus experience. This innovative program places kids into a nature based-learning setting where they can acquire social and communication skills that can be applied to their daily lives. By having opportunities to learn outside of an academic setting in a natural environment, Guided by Goats builds social skills and encourages communication.
Behavior Supports
IEA collaborates with Ben’s Behavioral Health, LLC to provide strong support to our students. IEA also collaborates with Ben’s Behavioral Health to add parent workshops and other unique opportunities, like Guided by Goats, to our programming.
BCBA - The role of a Board-Certified Behavioral Analyst (BCBA) is critical in the management of behavioral, emotional, and/or development disorders.
RBT - The Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) is a paraprofessional certification in behavior analysis. RBT’s assist in delivering behavior analysis services and practice under the close direction and supervision of a BCBA.
Teaching Assistants - The role of a 1-1 paraprofessional varies at IEA. A paraprofessional can provide instructional and/or behavioral support for students inside and outside the classroom.
School Wide Songwriting
Through the support of the Goldfarb Foundation, IEA offers a unique way to help students learn how to use music and song writing as a tool and to have others hear their voices by working with Rob Hugh, an experienced song writer.
Many different students find this program exciting and fun. When listening to their own songs that are produced in a recording studio, you easily see that you are experiencing examples of IEA Mission Moments.
Music Therapy
Our Music Therapy Program supports the development and well-being of students through musical activities like singing, playing instruments, and rhythmic movement. This program helps students express and regulate their emotions, enhances social skills through group interactions, and boosts cognitive functions such as memory and attention. Additionally, it improves motor skills and coordination, while also fostering self-esteem and confidence.
Makerspace and Community Room
As they tinker, students analyze what’s working and what’s not during their work time and investigations. They must try different tactics to solve problems and try new ways to be creative. Through this maker space process, IEA students learn to experiment, accept failures, make improvements, and develop resiliency so that they can apply it to many areas in life. We ask all our students to learn how to be an IEA Phoenix. We want them to learn how to try and try again.
The excitement of watching the growth and student collaboration found in our Craft Corner, Technology Corner, Construction Corner, and Sensory Investigation Corner is never ending.
High school students are also working with our IT coordinator to produce IEA’s first podcast series, which is another way to have our students share their stories and find their voices.
Clubs
Students participate in clubs every Wednesday. Clubs are generated by student interest and staff expertise. Clubs change 2-3 times a school year.
Club Examples:
Exploring Music More
How To Be a DJ
Creative Cooking Class
Morning Announcement Club
Intramural Sports
Student Council
Spring Musical
Art Club
Lego Investigation
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI)
IEA celebrates differences by working hard to infuse DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) perspectives into IEA experiences every day.
Practicing diversity refers to acknowledging a range of differences in our school and in our world including a variety differences among people, encompassing race, gender, age, experiences, talents, skills, and opinions. Practicing inclusion signifies the importance of embracing differences and the state of including or being included within a group or structure. Practicing equity allows the differences to transform the way we think, learn, teach and act such that all experiences and the ways of being are handled with fairness and thoughtfulness.
DEI at IEA focuses on building a sense of belonging by engaging others to help them find and use their full potential, where innovation thrives and views, beliefs, and values are integrated.
Movement and Mindfulness
As a school, IEA takes time to have Mindfulness and Movement breaks together to foster a school wide comradery, as well as a way to infuse wellness strategies and sensory breaks into our day.
Movement breaks are encouraged and implemented throughout every day, just as sensory opportunities and sensory areas are infused throughout our building.
Building Social Communication and Creating Conversations
Our SLP team and Counseling Team wants to find ways to organically and holistically help students find ways to comfortably communicate with their peers. Here is one creative way they are working with all students.
Lunch Chit Chat will pose questions like:
Would you rather go to a pool or a beach? Why? Do you have a story about the pool or beach?
Would you rather have the ability to read minds or see the future? Why?
Would you rather have it be summer or winter? Why? What are things you like to do in the summer and the winter?
Communication is Important
The weekly Friday Phoenix Newsletter is filled with student and family information shared by our Director of Education. Families love to see what goes on each week at IEA. Moreover, the newsletter keeps families up to date with upcoming events. A monthly newsletter is also sent to families from our Development Office which focuses on activities and resources outside of IEA.
Teachers are expected to have weekly communication with families by email, reminder apps, and/or phone calls.
Commendation of Excellence is an accolade given to students by the Executive Director. A surprise letter and certificate is sent home when a student has had a “phoenix moment.” An example of this would be a child working hard at something over time and achieving their goal or it could be a chance to recognize them for a random act of kindness demonstrated by a student towards another.
Student Voices
Student Voices is our student council. Students have the opportunity to help design our programming at IEA. This program fosters mentorship opportunities, leadership moments, teaches advocacy skills, and builds friendships and camaraderie, while creating a sense of belonging across grade levels.
M/E Program
The “M/E” program is a mentorship experience program at IEA. Students can mentor younger students to share their passions or they can uncover a personal passion by working together with a mentor inside or outside of IEA. Through this, they learn more within their area of interest and ignite more understanding and insight for their passion.
Monthly Assemblies
IEA is committed to creating a dynamic and engaging learning environment through our monthly assemblies and presentations. These events are designed to inspire our students, spark their creativity, and provide unique learning experiences beyond the classroom. Some of these assemblies include:
Drone Presentation
Critter Caravan
Custom Sneaker Design
UCONN Sing For Hope
Sensory Playground
Our sensory playground was designed by the input given to us by our students. You can find a sponge and bouncy floor by our slides, swings, and outdoor musical toys. Often you will see our students playing soccer or shooting hoops at the basketball court. In the fall of 2024, we will highlight our Sister Helen Dowd Amphitheater where it will offer an opportunity for teachers to take learning outside and accommodate many types of learning, gathering, and performing activities.
Sensory Spaces
Our students find that IEA’s environment is a school that naturally accommodates many of their sensory needs.
Sensory spaces are infused throughout the building. This includes a lounge with a waterfall, a sensory room with low lights, sensory tools and furniture, and many other additional nooks and crannies set up to support our students.
IEA has also introduced Sensory Projectors. These projectors are equipped with a built-in motion sensor that reacts to gestures and movements such as jumps, runs, hand waves, and more. They support BCBA, OT, and PT initiatives, as well as classrooms. These versatile interactive tools build social skills, support sensory modulation with stress, anxiety and other emotions, and provide academic learning in a fun and unique way.
Our quiet rooms are just as they sound. This is a place where students can go to recalibrate or rejuvenate themselves in order to get ready and return to a class or activity. You can also see a sensory path outside the OT room where some students start their day with sensory activities. A sensory corner upstairs has a mural of the outdoors with a large window where students can watch the bird feeders. We provide sensory games and toys and sometimes our students have created their own that they share with the IEA community.
Phoenix Huddles
Our Phoenix Huddles are special school-wide gatherings dedicated to celebrating our students. Whether we're honoring their achievements, giving them the spotlight to share their passions, or showcasing their unique talents, these assemblies are all about our students. Phoenix Huddles foster a strong sense of community, building comradery and support among everyone in our school.
Engagement Programming
Monthly Family Engagement Activities and Opportunities: Movie Nights, Family Dinners, Fall Festival, Winter Show, Spring Show, Game Night, and more.
Monthly Student Engagement Activities in and outside of school: Clubs, Field Trips, Monthly speakers or guests like Critter Caravan, Story Telling, Music Assemblies, Science investigations, Spirit Days, and UConn Day.
Monthly Parent Engagement: Friends of IEA (PTO) events.
Parent Workshop Series and Services Expo Events: To help answer development questions and connect parents to resources for their children.
