OPSB/RSD Planned Harrah’s Projects February 24, 2015

A Historic Agreement On March 19, 2014, the RSD and OPSB entered into a Cooperative Endeavor Agreement (CEA) to collaborate on sharing system-wide responsibilities to provide a high quality education for all students in New Orleans. Through the CEA, OPSB and RSD are partnering to more efficiently utilize the Harrah’s funding to develop and operate new citywide programs for students with the highest needs.

Funding for Students with the Highest Needs The CEA specifies that the RSD and OPSB will use the majority of Harrah’s support for these programs. The CEA dedicates 50% of the Harrah’s 2015 calendar year allocation Beginning in 2016 and going forward 75% of all Harrah’s dollars will be used to fund these services for at-risk youth. On an on-going basis, more than $2 million dollars annually from the Harrah’s funding will support at-risk New Orleans youth.

Priority 1 is the support of students with intensive mental health needs through the development of a therapeutic day program. Of the approximately 4,700 students in New Orleans with an Individualized Education Plan (IEP): 220 students are diagnosed with an emotional disability, and Of those 220, 100 need more intensive therapeutic supports than what a typical school can provide. Priority 1: Students with Mental Health Needs

The New Orleans Therapeutic Day Program is being developed for students with diagnosed, severe behavioral and mental health disabilities whose needs cannot be met in a traditional school setting. The goal of NOTDP is to provide a setting that meets students’ needs and successfully transitions students back to their home schools. New Orleans Therapeutic Day Program

NOTDP will serve grades K – 8, approximately 20 students at a time, providing them with a therapeutic milieu and positive behavioral supports, along with: daily classroom instruction group and individual therapy extracurricular activities The Program will open its doors in Summer 2015 and projects a student length of stay of approximately six months. New Orleans Therapeutic Day Program

Planning work began in July of 2014 and has included: NOTDP: Progress to Date Hiring an Executive Director; Collaborating with Tulane Medical School to design the therapeutic support services; Engaging community stakeholders from the fields of education, mental health, and juvenile justice; Visiting established programs to inform development of the NOTDP program model; and Securing a site for the program, on the campus of the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts.

Over the six months, planning and development of the NOTDP will continue, including: Hiring and developing staff including teachers, and therapeutic and clinical staff; Designing the therapeutic support service model and instructional program; Working with schools to ensure a clear process for transitioning students back to a traditional school environment; and Ensuring that all operational needs to operate the program are in place, including student transportation and meals. NOTDP: Upcoming Work

Priority 2 is the support of students at-risk for failure due to truancy, chronic absenteeism, or court involvement through creation of the Youth Opportunity Center. Priority 2: Chronically Absent/Truant Students Approximately 1,500 students were taken to the Truancy Center by NOPD for processing or referred directly to Municipal Court that year. In New Orleans, over 7,000 students missed more than 3 weeks of school during the school year.

Youth Opportunity Center The Youth Opportunity Center has assumed the responsibilities and expanded the service model of the former Truancy Center. The YOC provides wrap-around individual case management services for chronically absent and truant students. The YOC service model includes pairing a student with a YOC social worker and working through an interdisciplinary team comprised of the social worker, school, and community social service agency partner.

The YOC services all students referred to court or picked up by NOPD for truancy. The YOC also takes referrals from12 schools across Orleans Parish with plans to expand to all public schools in the next few years. Youth Opportunity Center: Pilot Schools Alice M. Harte Elementary School Arise Academy G.W. Carver Collegiate Academy Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Charter School Fannie C. Williams Charter School International High School of New Orleans Lake Area New Tech Early School Langston Hughes Charter School New Orleans Charter Science & Math High School Paul B. Habans Charter School The Net Charter High School Warren Easton High School

For the school year thus far, the case management team has provided the following supports: Serviced over 250 students in more than 40 schools across Orleans Parish for attendance related concerns. Conducted over 350 outreach activities ranging from home visits to weekly student check-ins to intensive parent engagement to reengage students in school. Youth Opportunity Center: Progress to Date

Priority 3 is the support for students transitioning out of secure care as they enroll back in a traditional school by providing dedicated staff to ensure these students are accessing needed wrap-around services. Students most at-risk for not graduating are those who spend time in a secure care facility or juvenile detention center. 66% of these students do not return to school after release from secure care. We are currently developing a plan for where this function will be housed. Priority 3: Students Leaving Secure Care

Expenditure 2015 Disbursements 2016 Disbursements Total Youth Opportunity Center$1,200,770$1,265,150$2,465,920 New Orleans Therapeutic Day Program $1,457,322$1,827,644$3,284,966 Support for Students in Secure Care $82,000 $164,000 Total$2,740,092$3,174,794$5,914,886 Calendar Years 2015 & 2016 Budget