~ Maya AngelouÂ
All Bellcate Staff support special education students to make progress in academic, personal development, and transition goal areas as outlined in their Individualized Education Plans (IEPs).
Bellcate School utilizes a three-stage personal development model that draws on a number of effective theories and strategies. This is not a fixed system, but rather a way of understanding change within a context. Bellcate School understands growth and change to be a slow and challenging process for anyone.
Read more about our three-stage personal development model
The primary focus of the exploration stage is to build a strong therapeutic relationship as a foundation to facilitate and support growth and change. We use nonjudgmental acceptance and communicate empathy, respect, and genuine care so students can come to accept themselves and unblock their own natural potential.
Students are often ready to move into the Understanding Stage when they have developed strong, trusting, and safe therapeutic relationships with staff. The goal of this stage is to support students in constructing new insight and understanding. Staff assist students in determining their own role in their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
Thoughts and behaviors are learned according to learning principles and thus can be changed using the same learning principles. In the Action Stage, staff assist students in making decisions that benefit themselves. Staff refer to the stages of change model as a resource to further understand where the student is in the change process.