The
School Program
Through cooperation with Benson Public Schools and the
Montevideo Special Education Cooperative, Heartland
Girls' Ranch is able to offer a very unique and
effective school program.
The school facilities are located in the Benson
Junior-Senior High School. This location affords the
possibility of attending classes at the Benson
Junior-Senior High School.
The school has grown over the years from 2.5 full-time
teachers to four full-time teachers and a school social
worker. The teachers are licensed to work with students
with learning and behavioral difficulties. Besides a strong
core curriculum, the Ranch School excels in the areas of
multimedia internet technology, and independent living
skills/decision making. The 2006-2007 will see the addition
of a school-to-work program. Strong emphasis is placed on
improving basic skills, securing credits needed for
graduation and passing the Minnesota Basic Standards
Tests/MCA's. A primary goal is to prepare the girls to be
successful in future learning whether it is upon re-entry
to their previous school, or at a post-secondary setting.
Our behavior modification program is directly tied to the
ranch program. This means that the students' behavior and
completion of assignments are tied to all activities and
privileges. Additionally, the teachers are supported by
case managers to deal with issues that are beyond the scope
of the academic program. A unique part of the ranch school
program is that each of the girls meets for one-on-on
counseling with the school social worker or with
specialists in the community.
Teachers, social workers, case managers, and primary
therapists meet regularly to discuss each student's
progress and successes and to design appropriate treatment
and educational goals at staffings and IEP meetings.
Over the years, the ranch school has become an integral
part of the Ranch Program, where education and therapy
happen simultaneously.
At the beginning of the 2009-2010 school year, the way
mental health services were offered to the Heartland Ranch
School changed. We now contract with Swift County Benson
Hospital and Counseling Associates to better meet our
students’ mental health needs.
Claudette Carlson, LICSW, is our new mental health
therapist for the Ranch School. She recently moved to New
London from the cities where she ran a dual diagnosis day
treatment program for adolescents. She also has much
experience in crisis response having been an ER social
worker, and an inpatient mental health and chemical
dependency social worker through HealthEast Care Systems.
Claudette coordinates and facilitates individual therapy,
family therapy, as well as group therapy. There are a
variety of groups for the students including DBT, Mood
Disorder, Truthought and Anger Management. New group ideas
are currently being considered to accommodate the different
issues affecting clients.
Links:
Southwest/West Central Service
Cooperatives
Benson Public Schools
