Specialized Programs
The Portland Public Schools offers specialized programs, within our district schools, for students whose needs cannot be met in the general education environment. These programs are served by dedicated staff with particular expertise in the students’ areas of need.
Our Guiding Ethos
The guiding values and principles of our specialized programs are:
- Dignity
- Connection
- Trust
- Compassion
- Joy
We each have the responsibility to ensure that we act, with our students, families, and each other, according to these values and principles.
Beach
Beach is a skill-building program which focuses on developing communication skills as a way to prevent and reduce behaviors in the classroom and to support emotional regulation/use of appropriate coping strategies. It is designed for students who have: (1) a current diagnosis of Autism/ASD or other neurodevelopmental disorder; (2) significant developmental delays; (3) behavioral needs that cannot be accommodated in a less restrictive environment, even with significant support.
In the Beach program, activities-of-daily-living instruction are embedded within the student’s academic school day. Students in Beach have their own classroom with dedicated staff, but the program strives to increase mainstream access over time, in order to transition back to the student’s home school with support from appropriate special education and related services providers.
