The Watson Institute is committed to providing exceptional special education programs and services to children with special needs in Western Pennsylvania. To demonstrate our commitment to excellence, Watson voluntarily seeks accreditation from NCASES (National Commission for the Accreditation of Special Education Services) every five years. The Watson Institute Education Center program encompasses our special education … Read More
At the Watson Institute, helping children with special needs reach their educational and developmental goals is our priority. Each students’ goals are unique and individualized based on their needs and abilities. For one student at the Education Center Sewickley, this school year has opened up a world of possibilities for him as he is now … Read More
The Watson Institute supports students with special needs through various academic and social initiatives and incorporates IEP goal-work into every aspect of our students’ school day. These types of initiatives and classroom projects can vary within each special education school program at the Watson Institute. In celebration of National Mentoring Month, we are highlighting how … Read More
What are Child Behavioral Health Services? Child mental and behavioral health can be defined as the complete well-being and optimal development of a child in the emotional, behavioral, social, and cognitive demains. (Barwick & Urajnik, 2013). Child mental and behavioral health services target the emotional and behavioral wellbeing of children to thrive and live to … Read More
What is Makerspace? A makerspace is a collaborative work space inside a school, library or separate public/private facility for making, learning, exploring and sharing that uses high tech to no tech tools. (1) Makerspaces in education transform teaching and are an innovative approach for fostering creative project learning – which allows students to explore interests, … Read More
At the Watson Institute’s family of special education schools, teachers and support staff strive to embed students’ IEP goals into daily activities in the classroom. One initiative born of this effort is the School Store. The School Store has been set up in the school cafeteria at the Education Center South and opens to students … Read More
Every year, students with special needs at the Watson Institute’s Education Center Sewickley participate in classroom projects to develop their vocational and life skills. A few times a year, these projects are created to also support charitable activities to teach the importance of supporting the local community and citizenship. Students in Gabrielle Sikora’s classroom follow … Read More
Does your child with special needs engage in concerning behaviors such as throat clearing, vocal tics or finger crossing? In today’s Teacher Tips newsletter, learn how to identify repetitive behaviors in your child and how to seek out interventions. Start by addressing your concerns over your child’s behaviors with his/her medical team as well as … Read More
At the Watson Institute, our special education teachers and staff work to adapt educational programming to best serve our students’ individualized needs. In the WISCA program, students with high functioning autism spectrum disorder receive therapeutic supports to help them work through assignments and learn social and behavior skills. Throughout the last school year, Jennifer Do, … Read More
Do you have a student who needs continuous prompting to do their school work or follow along in class? In today’s Teacher Tips newsletter, learn how to use “Countoons”, a visual tool, to teach your students to self-monitor their behaviors and stay on task. Countoons uses stick figures and picture icons to model the appropriate … Read More