Rockland BOCES has received a three-year grant from the US Department of Education to pilot, refine and systematize the evidence-based Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) model of cognitive therapy in grades K-5 to improve academic, social and behavioral outcomes for the county’s most challenged elementary school students.
Funding will be used to build capacity of Rockland BOCES clinical staff to implement the DBT model with students with severe emotional disabilities at the Hilltop School and in three district-based classes (Lakewood, Sloatsburg and Montebello).
Successful implementation will promote improved self-regulation and, in turn, improved academic and behavioral outcomes, increasing the likelihood of students transitioning to less restrictive environments.