Our Vision

A community where students with disabilities are treated with dignity and respect, and where they are able to engage in caring relationships, social-emotional development, and authentic learning experiences that inspire them and prepare them for the world.

Our Mission

Our staff is dedicated to fostering a community that nurtures our students to realize their dreams and aspirations through meaningful and engaging learning experiences, intensive social-emotional support, social skills instruction, and collective responsibility for continuous personal growth, while providing a positive, safe, and respectful learning environment that will produce life-long, socially aware learners who are able to transition back to their comprehensive school setting, or more independent learning and working environments.  

Program Overview

NREP offers unique special education programming for students whose local school divisions have determined they require more intensive behavioral and social-emotional supports in order to receive a free and appropriate public education. NREP provides a highly structured academic setting with intensive social-emotional support and explicit daily social skills instruction to best meet the needs of students who require this level of support.   

The ED Program (EDP), Autism Program (AP), and Multiple Disabilities Program (MDP) at Northwestern Regional Educational Programs are located in the Senseny Road School building at 1481 Senseny Road, Winchester, VA 22602.  NREP serves Frederick County Public Schools, Winchester City Public Schools, and Clarke County Public Schools as part of the special education continuum of services, providing an alternative to the public school setting when a student requires a more intensive social-emotional, sensory, and behavioral-supported environment.   In addition to the Regional Program, Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) for Frederick County Public Schools and Winchester City Public Schools and the Child Find Office is located at Senseny Road School. 

Program Descriptions

Early Childhood Special Education (The Guardians)

The NREP Guardians serve preschool-aged children from age two (birthday falls on or before September 30) through five who have been found eligible to receive special education services under IDEA.  The program provides the whole continuum of special education services including; early childhood special education classrooms, Kaleidoscope (reverse inclusion) classrooms where students have access to non-disabled peers, as well as itinerant ECSE services which are provided in the students' public and private pre-schools in the area.  

Early Childhood Special Education at NREP provides play-based, developmental, and individualized programming. Early Childhood Special Education at NREP offers intentional instruction in all areas of development. Continuous training and growth are offered to staff utilizing the following frameworks and standards: 

• Virginia's Early Learning and Development Standards (ELDS)
• The Creative CurriculumⓇ- a research-based early childhood curriculum that supports the development of the whole child.  
• Conscious DisciplineⓇ -an adult-first, trauma-responsive, brain-based approach that integrates social and emotional learning, school culture, equity and social skills instruction.
• The Creative CurriculumⓇ and Conscious DisciplineⓇ are aligned with FCPS Pre-K programming and our shared vision to provide an inclusive and engaging learning environment where children can connect and flourish academically, emotionally, and socially. 

MD Program (The Heroes)

The HEROES Program (Helping Everyone Realize Our Exceptional Skills) provides individualized support for behavioral, sensory, communication, and instructional needs for students identified with intellectual or multiple disabilities. 

Our program offers:

• Small Class Size - program classrooms have a typical student-to-staff ratio of 2 to 1. There are typically four to five students in each classroom.
• Adapted Curriculum - The teachers in the MD Heroes program use the Unique Learning System Ⓡ that is aligned with the Virginia ASOLs and provides a solid academic experience for students on a functional curriculum. 
• Intensive Supports - Classroom teams consist of a Licensed Special Education teacher, trained instructional assistant. Additional support is provided by: Speech and Language Pathologists, Board-Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) Registered Behavior Technicians (RBTs), Occupational Therapists, School psychologists, Music therapist, School counselor, School Social worker,  and Assistive Technology professionals.
• Family and Community Engagement - Quality of life for our students is the work of community educators, parents, and professionals coming together for one purpose. The instructional team communicates collaboratively with families and appropriate community agencies while linking them to available resources to assist with the transition to adulthood.  
• Progress Monitoring - The classroom team uses prescriptive assessments to develop an Individualized Educational Program (IEP) for each student. Progress is continually monitored. Instructional decisions are based on data that is reviewed every 4.5 weeks. Student achievement is reported to families every 4.5 weeks. 

Autism Program (The Heroes) 

The Heroes Autism Program serves students aged K-12  who have been found eligible for special education services for students with ASD or other sensory integration disorders that impact the students socially, communicatively,  and academically.

Our program offers:

• Small Class Size - The Autism Program classrooms have a typical student-to-staff ratio of 3 to 1. There are typically five to eight students in each classroom.
• Social Skills - Social skills are explicitly taught in the classroom daily and skills are practiced throughout the day. 
• Intensive Supports - Classroom teams consist of a Licensed Special Education teacher and a trained instructional assistant. Additional support is provided by: Speech and Language Pathologists, Board-Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBA) Registered Behavior Technicians (RBTs), Occupational Therapists, School psychologist, Music Therapist, School Counselor, School Social Worker,  and Assistive Technology professionals.
• Family Engagement - Our families' partnerships along with our community outreach, foster the environment necessary for our students to learn and grow.  Our teachers communicate collaboratively with families and appropriate community agencies while linking them to available resources.
• Progress Monitoring - The classroom team uses prescriptive assessments to develop an Individualized Educational Program (IEP) for each student. Instructional decisions are based on data that is reviewed every 4.5 weeks. Student achievement is reported to families every 4.5 to 9 weeks. As appropriate, students participate in state assessments (Standards of Learning Tests or Virginia Alternative Assessment Program).

**Daily Behavior Tracking and Level System to monitor student progress. 

The teachers in the Heroes Autism Program provide instruction based on state standards and life skills. Classroom staff are trained in basic Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) competencies.  Our staff is committed to fostering a safe, positive approach to teaching and interactions with the students.  The program’s behavior interventions are designed to teach desirable behaviors and reduce problematic behaviors. Our Board Certified Behavior Analyst provides support to our classroom staff and students to design, implement and monitor behavior programs.

ED Program (The Champions)

The Champions Program at NREP serves school-aged students (K-12) that require a highly structured academic setting focused on intensive social-emotional, therapeutic, and behavioral supports.  The goal of the Champions Program is to prepare students for the challenges of reintegrating into their comprehensive school setting or preparing them for a successful transition into the workforce and independent living.  

Our belief is that children can be taught to manage their behavior and learn new solutions for living in the family, school, and community. The educational programming that the students get at NREP is based on the unique needs of each student. Core academic instruction is specially designed with an emphasis on literacy remediation, social skills, and group process.  Teachers provide instruction aligned with real-world work experiences that will prepare our students for their transition to adulthood. 

The program offers: 

• Small Class Size - The Champion classrooms have a typical student-to-staff ratio of 4 to 1. There are typically five to eight students in each classroom.
• Social Skills - Social skills are explicitly taught in the classroom daily and skills are practiced throughout the day. 
• Intensive Supports - Classroom teams consist of a Licensed Special Education teacher and a trained instructional assistant. Additional support is provided by: Speech and Language Pathologists, Board-Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA), Registered Behavior Technicians (RBTs) Occupational Therapists, School Psychologist, Music Therapist, School Counselor, School Social Worker,  and Assistive Technology professionals.
• Family Engagement - Our families' partnerships along with our community outreach, foster the environment necessary for our students to learn and grow.  Our teachers communicate collaboratively with families and appropriate community agencies while linking them to available resources.
• Progress Monitoring - The classroom team uses prescriptive assessments to develop an Individualized Educational Program (IEP) for each student. Instructional decisions are based on data that is reviewed every 4.5 weeks. Student achievement is reported to families every 4.5 to 9 weeks. As appropriate, students participate in state assessments (Standards of Learning Tests).

**Daily Behavior Tracking and Level System to monitor students and reinforce progress. 

School-Wide Student Behavioral Support Team

NREP also recognizes the needs our students have for an additional layer of support for our students with intensive behavioral needs. We have added the Student Behavioral Support Team (SBST) which supports our staff in the collection and analysis of student behavioral data and collaborates with staff to provide support and interventions for our students. This team will provide tier 2 and tier 3 behavioral training and intervention support as well as support to students, teachers, and parents.  

The SBS Team will use data that teachers collect from the Daily Interaction Sheets to generate reports, analyze, and work with teachers on ensuring daily data is used to inform the decisions of the IEP team, PBIS team, and classroom teachers on interventions and strategies for students. 

1. These elements give school personnel the capability to evaluate individual student behavior, the behavior of groups of students, behaviors occurring in specific settings, and behaviors occurring during specific time periods of the school day.  The SBS team's reports will help identify times and/or locations prone to elicit problem behaviors and allow teachers and administrators to shape school-wide environments to maximize students’ academic and social achievements
2. This data is looked at weekly and will be shared with the classroom teacher and PBIS teams. It can also be shared with faculty by PBIS team members and at faculty meetings.