New Way Academy Winter Newsletter (2019)

Winter 2018–2019 Volume 3 Issue 2

5048 E. Oak Street Phoenix, AZ 85008 602 389 8600 newwayacademy.org

NEW WAY FAMILY

CONNECTIONS Growing Support

News and campus highlights connecting the New Way family.

by Laura Murray

Lauren Brown, ED.M, NCSP, Director of Support Services; Jennifer Do, Ph.D., NCSP; and Cindy Spencer, LPC, reflect on recent successes of the New Way Support Services program.

What is your favorite part about serving students at New Way? Lauren: How do I pick just one reason? It’s such an amazing culture with wonderful students, families, and staff. It is great to provide academic and social-emotional supports within the structure that New Way provides.

Jennifer: I get to provide students with the support they truly need, rather than just what fits in a budget or is required by the state.

Cindy: My favorite part is the fact that I get to work with so many awesome students, and I get to go into the classrooms to help with social-emotional curriculum. I really like that we get such a range of students to work with from lower school to high school.

Tell us about some of the programs you work on and how they integrate with students in the classroom.

Cindy: We run several groups, such as the high school girls lunch group, which allows students to come in and talk through some of their challenges. Often they support each other, as they find they are experiencing the same situations.

Lauren and I also run the parent group which meets a few times per year. We want to give our parents an opportunity to come together to discuss successes and challenges they are experiencing, allowing a platform for other parents to provide support and peer guidance.

Lauren: Our No Place for Hate (NPFH) designation is a recent and proud accomplishment. I work closely with Monette Coyle in lower school, Krista Krein in junior

high, and Megan Woster in the high school. We partner with staff to use NPFH as a framework for combating bias, bullying and hatred, leading to long-term solutions for creating and maintaining a positive climate. Students participate in focus groups organized by school level.

The faculty, staff, and students work together to ensure that our campus reflects an inclusive and respectful place for all students to feel safe and have a place to belong. This year, we also adopted a school-wide No Place for Hate Promise to affirm respect for others. We also have three school-wide activities in the planning phases that promote respect for diversity as well as address bias, bullying, and name-calling.

Jennifer: PBIS — Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support — is a campus-wide initiative to promote positive behavior by setting strong expectations on campus and teaching students how to meet those expectations. PBIS is grounded in decades of research showing that celebrating students for behaving appropriately is far more effective than punishing them for acting out.

Our expectations are for students to be respectful, be responsible, and do their best. We continually teach these core values and celebrate them through Pride Tickets. Students Continued on back page

campus happenings Bulldog Blitz by the Numbers

Our first year hosting a joint holiday giving effort was a HUGE success! Thank you to all who participated in the Bulldog Blitz: 3 weeks, 4 ways to give, 1 drive for New Way. Here are a few statistics to share the heartwarming involvement and positive impact our community had upon those in need: reached 100% participation: Maas, Calvert, Hecke, Buchanan, and Towler.

HOMEROOMS Congratulations! These classes will be enjoying a movie, hot chocolate, and popcorn for all their efforts and stellar participation in the Bulldog Blitz.

5

NEARLY preschool students from Orangedale Early Learning Center received gifts from our giving tree this year.

100

OVER jackets, sweatshirts, and pieces of outerwear to go to Family Promise.

500 857 $7,098

non-perishable food items were collected for St. Mary’s Food Bank. was gifted towards a third van for our students ($7098.70 to be exact!).

Tax Credit: Huge Impact for Students, No Change on Your Taxes!

The annual opportunity to give to the Arizona Private School Tax Credit is crucial to support our students as lifelong learners. Without funding from this important tuition-funding opportunity, 70% of our students would not be able to benefit from the individualized, supported education that only New Way can provide in the Valley.

“Arizona is unique in the fact that they offer tax credits to state taxpayers. This is a terrific benefit because every dollar donated to New Way goes directly to a student that would like to attend the school, but financially could not afford it,” shares Abbey Ross, Executive Director.

Considerations when gifting a tax credit contribution: • Arizona taxpayers can take advantage of BOTH the Public School Tax Credit AND Private School Tax Credit in the same year.

• Tax Credits are a dollar for dollar credit, not a deduction, on your Arizona state income taxes. This means instead of paying the state, you are redirecting some of your tax liability to student scholarships at New Way Academy.

• You may be eligible to contribute your Private School Tax Credit even if you receive a refund on your Arizona income taxes. In some cases, you may even be able to maximize your refund by contributing to the Private School Tax Credit.

Ms. Soffin’s class celebrates a job well done after bringing goods in for the Bulldog Blitz

We are on our way to raising funds for the purchase of a third van for our students. If you would like to help in securing more transportation for our dynamic field trips, senior transition opportunities and college readiness classes, or athletic competitions, please consider a gift to newwayacademy.org/bulldogblitz.

Thank you for your support!

“If you’re contributing even $100 to the tax credit, you’ve just given $100 to a student that otherwise could not afford New Way,” Abbey explains. “You’ve put them on track to succeed, without any additional impact to your own finances. These are tax dollars that you would have paid to the state anyway, but instead you’re able to allocate those dollars to a need much closer to your heart.”

The number of Arizona students that need financial aid has doubled in the last four years. Do your part to ensure that all students with learning differences have the resources they need to attend New Way. Make your tax credit contribution today at: www.newwayacademy.org/taxcredit.

Transition Department

Madagascar Made Musical Memories!

More than 200 friends, family, and faculty members attended the lower school’s production of Madagascar, a Musical Jr. on November 30th and December 1st. The cast effortlessly brought the much-loved film to life in an energetic whirl of funky dance routines and quirky characters.

The outpouring of positive energy made for a comradery that fostered incredible development of skills, paired with many unforgettable memories.

To students, parents, staff, and supporters: thank you for another show well done!

The Fair, the Fun, and the Future The November 2018 Transition Fair hosted 18 organizations representing trade schools, community colleges, out-of-state programs, and vocational supports. All high school students attended the fair, equipped with an assignment designed to help foster engagement, practice social and executive functioning skills, and begin to plan for their own futures.

Visiting program representatives had very positive feedback about our students, campus, and event. Next year’s Transition Fair hopes to take the partnerships a step further by providing a reciprocal experience for visiting organizations to learn about our students, staff, programming, and post-secondary supports.

In the Spring of 2019, the Transition Team is focused on introducing students to various post-secondary pathways based on their specific interests, allowing for a more tailored visit to various programs in the state. In previous years, high school-wide trips were taken to the major universities in Arizona. This year, each high school elective class has the opportunity to

visit a local program, agency or job site that aligns with New Way’s elective curriculum. With more targeted, specialized trips to programs around the state, students can feel supported as they explore specific interests directly related to career pathways.

“A great example is the recent trip that the high school photography class took to Northern Arizona University’s School of Communication,” Laura Keathley, Director of Transition, shares.

“Students learned that their passion for taking photos could develop into a professional career — and not just taking photos of typical subject matters like schools, events, or weddings. They really got excited to learn that they could have a robust visual communication career — as an entrepreneur, a product photographer, or in other commercial opportunities. It was wonderful to see students leave campus feeling like they could connect to the program.

We now have a few NAU professors who are excited to visit the New Way campus, too!”

Prospective Family Open House: Thursday, January 24, 2019 We love our students, and our students love New Way! As an all-inclusive place for students with learning differences to develop leadership skills, New Way students receive individualized education while becoming confident and capable in their academic pursuits. Do you know of a family whom you think might benefit from a New Way education? Our prospective family open house tour is coming up on January 24 from 9–11 a.m. Please share the news!

Get the Download on Alum Chris Trimble New Way Alum Chris Trimble (‘07) has spent his years post-New Way exploring the world of Computer Technology, but not without maintaining involvement in his community.

After graduation, he spent eight years as an Open House Manager at the Center for Native Urban Wildlife (CNUW), housed at Scottsdale Community College. “I led tours for 4th and 5th graders, teaching them about the wildlife facility. CNUW was established to provide education about Sonoran Desert Biodiversity and Conservation. This year I get to work with the students at Kiva Elementary School, which is great because it’s so close to my house.”

Chris developed an affinity for computer technology after graduation, which he’s pursued in many different ways through his education and community involvement. With two certifications and an Associates of Arts degree, Chris is now fully versed in computer repair, maintenance, desktop and network support, dubbed as a Comptia A+ certification standard for the industry.

“I’m an amateur radio operator, my call ID is KG7FEG,” Chris shares proudly. “I also volunteer for the National Weather Service, as a trained weather spotter on the lookout for criteria weather events; and I’ve helped at the Phoenix Half-Marathon checkpoints to make sure traffic passes safely and effectively. Last year, a runner passed my checkpoint and looked like he couldn’t continue; he passed out in my arms and I was able to take control, radio in the correct calls, and communicate the priority emergency situation to get medical services over to our area. He likely had heat exhaustion and dehydration, so he was in pretty dire need. I was happy to be there at that time — I helped save a life!”

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New Way Alumni — We want to hear from you!

Share your successes, accomplishments, and keep us updated on your life after New Way. Would you like a featured Alumni article in our newsletter? Share your story with Laura Murray at murray@newwayacademy.org.

Support Services, cont. from cover

Students sign encouraging notes to each other during a NPFH assignment.

The PBIS Pride Store continues to be a popular place to shop throughout the school year!

earn Pride Tickets by exhibiting these traits, which they can use to purchase items at the Pride Store.

Mrs. Rogalski and I run the junior high and high school PBIS clubs.

Club members promote PBIS by being strong role models, and by helping to operate the store.

This year, we’ve introduced new products, including hot chocolate and slime expertly crafted by one of our very own New Way students. On Friday, November 30th, we had a very successful “Bulldog Black Friday”, where nearly every item was marked down to get kids extra excited about earning and spending tickets. This is also the first year we’ve had a junior high club, and it has been great to provide the experience of working in the store to a younger group of kids.

For more information about the Support Services department, visit newwayacademy.org/on-campusspecialists.

Upcoming Events DECEMBER December 24–December 31 Winter Break

JANUARY January 1–7 Winter Break January 18 Winter White Party (Lower School) January 21 Martin Luther King Day, No School January 25 Spirit Assembly January 28–February 1 Student Annual Meetings, Noon Dismissal

FEBRUARY February 15 Annual Fun & Color Run February 18 President’s Day Holiday, No School February 22 Spirit Assembly

MARCH March 11–15 Spring Break, No School

SAVE THE DATE!

New Way Auction & Gala, Saturday, May 11, 2019