Solano Day Rehab program opened up its doors February 2009 and is a unique one of a kind program within the Sierra system. Solano Day Rehab is an Intensive Mental Health program that is integrated with the academic component on the Solano school site. Students are referred in a collaboration effort with local districts and Solano County Mental Health. Students meet specific criteria and go through the IEP process and then are placed into one of our Day Rehab classrooms. These students have intensive mental health needs that are impeding their academic success. By placing them into the program our goal is to help them gain academic and mental health success.

In each Day Rehab classroom, there is a Mental Health Specialist who remains in the classroom the entire day for mental health support, while performing specific functions throughout the day. Each classroom has a Registered or Licensed Therapist assigned to provide support and Individual Therapy on a weekly basis and as needed. The Day Rehab program has specific components that are a part of the day-to-day activities. In the morning, there is a community meeting in which goals for the day, current events, or any other specific mental health related information needs are discussed. Journaling is also an integrated part of the day in which the Mental Health staff will provide a journal topic and the students spend time expressing themselves in writing. This is another form of expression that allows the mental health team to follow up with students in regards to topics that students may feel uncomfortable talking about verbally.  In the middle of the day a process group takes place where a variety of topics are discussed and focused on during this time. A few examples are:  problem solving, coping skills, anger management, social skills training, relaxation techniques, stress reduction, etc.

Each student has a specific treatment plan and diagnosis that is focused on throughout the process of treatment.  Each plan is reviewed annually with the family for progress and additional goals. As a mental health team, we treat a wide variety of diagnoses that exist within our students. Some of these include: Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder, Bi-Polar, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Conduct Disorder, etc.

Our students benefit from having the support of the educational staff and the Mental Health staff that is on campus.  I am very proud to see both teams integrate together and work to best support our students. As a team, we have had the chance to support students with their ultimate goal of returning to public school. Most often, we transition students in small steps from the day rehab program. First, we may transition them out of the day rehab classroom and into one without Mental Health support. This gives the student the ability to see how well he/she will do without the additional support at school. Due to these students having a specific mental health diagnosis and treatment plans, some may continue to receive treatment from the county mental health department or another authorized provider identified through the school districts or SELPA.   If the student is successful in this transition, then a further transition back to public school is approached.

2011 Sierra of Solano  - Annual Winter Food Drive

The classrooms at Sierra of Solano have been collecting non-perishable food items for the past few weeks, and have been stocking up on such items as:  rice, flour, soup, tomatoes, beans, canned vegetables, etc.
 
Thursday, December 22 was the last day before taking the food to the Vacaville Store House.  Ms. C, and Ms. Jenelle, our spectacular directors, had the students in the classrooms bring the food and place it in the back of Ms. C’s pickup truck, which was filled to the brim.  Yahoo!!!!

Way to Go Sierra Students and Staff

Thanks go to the students and staff who participated in the canned food drive and the winner of the 2011 canned food drive was Room 5.
 
Kudos Goes to the Students and Staff in Room 5

New

Sierra of Solano Receives Grant

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Sierra’s 3rd Multi-Cultural Festival - December 23, 2011

Sierra’s 3rd Annual Multi-Cultural event was held on Friday, December 23, 2011.
 
The classrooms participated in representing several different countries, which included:  Room 2 – Somalia, Room 3 – Africa, Room 5 – Canada, Room 6 – Singapore, and Room 8 – Germany.  During the week, the students and staff spent a lot of time preparing their exhibits (e.g,, creating poster boards, writing articles about their country, printing pictures, food, etc.)  On Friday, the students and staff spent the morning setting up their exhibits with their poster boards, displaying clothing, artifacts, and food tasting.  Mr. Rich and students from Room 8, prepared a German lunch for students and staff consisting of different kinds of bratwurst, potatoes, and salad.  Congratulations to everyone for doing a fabulous job representing their countries.

Congratulations to Room 2 – Who Were the Winners – Way to Go
Canned Food Drive – the classrooms participated in collecting canned food, beans, flour, rice, etc., for our yearly food drive which was delivered to the Vacaville Store House. 

Kudos goes to Room 5 for having the most food to contribute to our food drive

Student Elections Room 6

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Western Connection

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Sierra of Solano’s 2011 Graduation

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Sierra Spotlight

On Tuesday, May 24, Solano School’s Day Rehab Program hosted a “meet and greet” lunch in honor of two very special people. During this superb lunch, district representatives, SELPA administrators and county supervisors had the opportunity to wish Janine Hughes good luck in her future endeavors at our Sacramento school site.  At the same time, these professionals who have worked with us for many years had the opportunity to welcome Jenelle Droke as the new Clinical Director of the program this summer! Plenty of sunshine, great food and wonderful company was enjoyed by all. Congratulations to both Janine and Jenelle and good luck next year!

2011 Sierra’s Spring Week

Sierra’s 2011 Spring Week started off with a bang and many activities were scheduled for the week.  To start off: 

Tuesday, April 12

Obstacle Course

The students participated in an obstacle course which consisted of: 

•    Jumping Rope
•    Bunny Hops through Ladder
•    Ball Dribbling
•    Running Backwards, and
•    Running Forward to the end of the obstacle course

All of the students did a fabulous job working their way around the obstacle course and the following students were winners:

•    First Place – Earl  – Room 5
•    Second Place – Kelsey – Room 8, and
•    Third Place – Gabe – Room 8
Congratulations to Earl, Kelsey and Gabe

Water Balloon Toss

The second event of the day was the water balloon toss.  Students and staff threw water balloons to each other with the object being to not let the water balloon pop.  Both students and staff participated in the water balloon toss and it was really exciting to see which student or staff would be getting wet when the water balloon popped. 
Congratulations to the Winners - Chris and Traci from Room 5

Pie Eating Contest

The third event of the day was the pie eating contest.  Each student received a pie plate full of whip cream and they had to find the ticket (without using their hands) and place the ticket in their mouth.  The first student who came up with the ticket was the first round winner. 

After the first round, the students who won the first round competed in the final round.  Students delved into their pie plates full of scrumptious whip cream and Earl was the first student to come up with the ticket in his mouth.
Way to Go Earl – Room 5

Wednesday, April 13

Basketball Tournament 

Wednesday started our 3-on-3 basketball tournament.  Mr. Frank setup the teams which consisted of both students and staff members.  The students and staff played several rounds before the final two teams were decided. 

The students and staff in the final round were:  Mr. Rich, Shameya, Sam, Gabe, Maurice, Aaron and Michael.  The final round of basketball was intense and exciting to watch. 
Congratulations to the Winners:  Mr. Rich, Shameya, Sam and Gabe


Thursday, April 14

Volleyball

The students and staff from all classes participated in our volleyball tournament and played several rounds of volleyball before the final two teams were decided. 

The final two teams consisted of the following players: 
•    Team 1 – Room 6 – Ms. Traci, Kenny, Rashad, Mykal, and Jacob
•    Team 2 – Christina, Maurice, Kye, James and Earl
Congratulations to the Winners
Ms. Traci, Kenny, Rashad, Mykal & Jacob – Room 6



Friday, April 15

Friday was full of fun and activities for students and staff before they started their Spring break:  To start the day:

Cookie Contest

Ms. Kathy, our Vocational Education teacher, had her students take part in a cookie contest.  The project was for students to find a recipe they wanted to make, plan a shopping list, practice their recipes, design a package for the cookie that would contain:  12 cookies, cookie logo (label), list of ingredients, dietary disclaimer, a nutrition label and a price. 

The cookies entered were as follows:

•    Chocolate Peanut Butter Explosion – Christina – Room 4
•    Khadija’s Fruity Squares – Room 4
•    Mama’s Best Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Marsh Mallow Cookies – Aaron – Room 6
•    Mykal’s Nuclear Cookies - Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies – Room 6
•    Rashad’s Chewy Peanut Butter Cookie Sensation – Room 6
•    Kenny’s Sweet Vanilla Goodness – Room 6
•    Briana’s Snickerdoodle Poodles – Room 8
•    Lexi D’s Cinnamon Swirls – Alexis – Room 8
•    Kelsey’s Soft Peanut Butter Cookies – Room 8
•    Josh’s Famous Oatmeal-Chocolate Chip Cookies – Room 8
•    Gabe’s Ginger Brown Sugar Cookies – Room 8

The cookies were judged by:  Ms. Crivelli, Mr. JT, Ms. Jenelle, Mr. Rich, and Ms. Barbara.  The judges tasted and scored all of the cookies that were prepared by the students.  Ms. Kathy, our vocational education teacher, scored the judges points and the students will receive their grade from the cookies they baked.  Congratulations to the following students who were winners in the cookie contest:

•    Christina – Chocolate Peanut Butter Explosion -  won for Originality and Overall Product
•    Briana – Briana’s Snickerdoodle Poodles won for Creative Packaging and Originality
•    Alexis – Lexi D’s Cinnamon Swirls won for Originality and Creative Packaging
•    Mykal – Mykal’s Nuclear Cookies – Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies – won for Best Cookie, Creative Packaging, Originality and Overall Product
•    Kelsey – Soft Peanut Butter Cookies won for Best Cookie
Kudos Goes to All of Our Cookie Bakers

Barbecue

As the cookie contest was taking place – Mr. Rehn and the students were setting up our barbecue grill for the students and staff lunch.  The students helped Mr. Rehn clean and start the grill.   Once the fire was ready, Mr. Rehn and the students cooked hamburgers and hot dogs for everyone.  Several students helped with serving lunch and the tables were setup in our multi-purpose room where students and staff enjoyed their lunches. 

School Dance

After the BBQ lunch, the students had fun showing off their dance moves with Mr. JT having fun with the strobe lights, bubbles and fog.  It was entertaining to see Mr. JT, the DJ, get students motivated to dance.  

Spring Week turned out to be both an exciting and eventful week for students and staff.  Once the school day was over on Friday, they couldn’t wait to start their spring break.

Alexis' Story

The Solano Day Rehab program at Sierra School of Solano County, we have a number of students transitioning back to public school. In Solano, our students transition slowly back so that they will be successful. The following student has begun her transition and is currently in one class at the Public High School and spends the rest of her day at Sierra. We are extremely proud of this young lady and all of the accomplishments that she has made.
“My name is Alexis and I am 16 years old.  I like art, animals and video games.  I have 6 Chihuahuas.  At school, I like Math and English. I don’t really care for History.   I have been at Sierra School since October of 2008.  At my other schools, I felt that the teachers were not helpful.    When I first came to Sierra,   I was mad at the world because of all of the stuff that had happened in my life.  I was kind of a jerk and got into fights and yelled at staff.  I wouldn’t do any work and I would not go to class.  Then my life started to change and I started to make friends.  As I got more comfortable with staff and students, I started to do my work, stayed on level and got better grades.  After 100 days on Blue Level, I started taking an English class at my public high school.   That was about 2 1/2 weeks ago.  I am getting used to my new schedule and hope to have more classes there in the future.  The staff and some students at Sierra really helped me out. “
 ~ Alexis~

Regional Newsletter

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Rose Cooper-Lewis

Welcome Ms. Rose the Queen and Sanitation Engineer of the campus.  Kudos goes to our Ms. Rose who has been working very hard on making the campus of Sierra School of Solano County look beautiful.  During the week, Ms. Rose has involved the students to help her in landscaping and cleaning up our campus.  On any given day, she will have the students:  raking leaves, trimming and cutting bushes, watering our grass and plants around campus and placing the wastes into our compost pile in the back of the school.  Ms. Rose power washes our buildings and sidewalks to make them clean and presentable.  She has also made sure that our classrooms and offices are sparkling clean.

Compass Learning Odyssey information

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Sierra Partnership with Solano County Mental Health: The Sierra Mental Health Program is a contracted service provider through Solano County Mental Health. All clients to whom Solano Day Rehab provides services are first assessed by Solano County Mental Health and then referred to Solano Day Rehab to act as an adjunct in the client’s overall treatment. 

Therapeutic Milieu: The Day Rehabilitation Program is designed for a full-day model with clients being in the milieu on a continuous basis for at least four hours. The milieu includes skill building groups, process groups, and additional adjunctive therapies. A Mental Health staff will be present at all times in the milieu to provide interventions, support and encourage attainment of behavior and academic goals.   

Community Meeting: A morning group is held within the classroom environment on a daily basis. This group includes check in’s with the student to assess their current mental health status. Community Meetings may include but are not limited to: The schedule for the day, current events, classroom expectations, “Therapeutic” word of the day, business from the previous day’s meetings or from previous day rehabilitation experiences, conflict resolution, reviewing individual goals, and setting the general theme for the day. This group is aimed at getting the day started on the right foot and ensuring that all students are in the right mental state to begin academics. 

Journaling: Journal is an essential part of the Day Rehab program and is done right after community meeting. The Mental Health Specialist in the classroom chooses a topic that has relevance for the classroom and has the students self reflect and addresses their mental health status. These topics can cover such issues as: Fear, empathy, problem solving, conflict resolution, etc. Journals allow for students to communicate their thoughts and feelings through a different avenue rather than verbal communication. Some students have difficulty expressing themselves. When a student opens up in his or her journal, the mental health team will follow up with that student to ensure that his or her mental health needs are being met. 

Process Group: Students in the Day Rehabilitation Program at Sierra receive group rehabilitation services provided by Mental Health Specialists. In Group Rehabilitation sessions, the students work on goals of mental health treatment in a group setting to utilize social processing and peer reinforcement. Students learn that they are not alone in experiencing life situations and can experiment with relating to people differently in a safe environment. The process aims to help the students learn from the experiences of others with similar problems. In addition it allows students to better understand how other people view the world and interact with people. Service activities include assisting students to maintain or improve functional skills, daily living skills, social skills, grooming and personal hygiene skills, meal preparation, etc.

Individual Psychotherapy:  Individual therapy is provided to students through AB3632 by one of the qualified licensed or registered Therapists (ASW, IMF, LCSW, MFT, or PhD) on site. Each Therapist has a caseload of 10 or more students who are in the Day Rehabilitation Program.  One of the goals of Sierra Therapy services is to utilize professional activities in the development of interpersonal relationships, and gaining insight into a better understanding of self-regulation. The clients will be supported and encouraged to make positive changes and achieve agreed upon goals. Therapists work within a clearly contracted, ethically bound relationship that allows the student to obtain assistance in exploring and resolving issues of an interpersonal, intra-psychic, and/or personal nature. This process is based on an ethos of respect for the students, their values, their beliefs, their uniqueness, confidentiality and the right to self-determination. Sierra Mental Health Therapists continually update Solano County Mental Health Service Coordinators about the client’s progress in Individual therapy and when goals of treatment are sufficiently met. At this juncture, new goals may be established and/or recommendations made for alternative, less intensive services.  

In addition to offering therapy, Sierra Therapists may provide some adjunct case management for collateral support to the student’s parents as well as attending and collaborating at the Individual Education Plan meetings. Family Therapy services are offered where indicated and requested by Solano County Mental Health Service Coordinators and the IEP team.

Family Support: Sierra Therapists are the main point of contact between the family and the Day Rehabilitation program. Contact between the Therapist and caregiver will occur at a minimum of one time per month. Contacting a family member includes but is not limited to: Collateral phone contact, IEP support, annual treatment review with Solano County PSC and parent and Family Therapy (if authorized). 

In the Day Rehab program we incorporate transition skills within the program to support our students. Students are given the opportunity on a weekly basis to select an independent living skill that would best augment their future independence. Often times, these skills are also covered during community meetings as well as journal topics that are followed up by a group discussion along with show and tell activities. Students are instructed on various skills such as cooking, transportation, job hunting, interviews, higher education and hygiene that are needed to aid them in becoming self sufficient. Students are required to demonstrate their knowledge and their ability to adapt to the various challenges that will confront them as they enter the private sector on their own. Students are able to be more readily facilitated and taught these skills with repetition and constant involvement by themselves with assistance from mental health staff as an additional source of information, instruction and guidance.  The day Rehab program provides the intensive Mental Health treatment while incorporating some of these transitional services to help them get their individual needs met.  Often the Mental Health team will assess how the students Mental Health needs are affecting their ability to be involved in transitional services and aid in providing coping skills for these. Often our students are affected by their anxiety and this impedes them from succeeding in their transition goals. The goal of the Day Rehab program is to help them through these challenges so that they can get to the place where they can develop the proper coping skills and social skills so that they can be productive within society.

Compass Learning Odyssey information

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School Accountability Report Cards

Sierra School is pleased to announce that our School Accountability Report Cards (SARC) are available for review.  Sierra School has made their SARC available to you in two different formats: 1) you may review the document via the link below or 2) you may request a paper copy by contacting your school office.

Sierra School of Solano County 2009-2010 SARC