Weare staff describe new "Eagle Center" to support students with disruptive or unsafe behavior at Center Woods

Center Woods staff on Dec. 17 told the Weare School Board they have launched an "Eagle Center," a tiered program of behavioral supports aimed at students whose disruptive or unsafe behaviors repeatedly interfere with their learning or the learning of others.

The presentation, given by Shannon Filion, behavior analyst at Center Woods, and Ariel Friedman, special-education case manager and Eagle Center teacher, explained that Eagle Center operates alongside the school's MTSS (multi-tiered system of supports) framework to provide short-term, individualized interventions intended to return students to full classroom participation.

School administrators said the program was created after a small number of students accounted for a disproportionate share of administrative behavior logs and support needs this fall. District administration reported 176 administrative behavior logs from the start of the school year through Dec. 16, compared with 103 logs for the same period last year; staff said 49% of this year's logged behaviors came from seven students, many of whom were new to the school this year.

Filion said MTSS remains the primary process for identifying need and arranging supports. "Tier 1 is universal instruction," she said in the meeting. "Tier 2 would be next with targeted support that could be in all different areas. And then also tier 3, which would be the most intensive level of support." Ariel Friedman said the Eagle Center is intended to be explicitly nonpunitive: "This is not a punishment. It's not a punitive" program, she said, adding that the center has a therapeutic orientation compared with traditional in-school suspension.

How the Eagle Center works

- Levels and phases: The program uses levels 1–5 (least to most restrictive) and multiple phases at each level. Level 1 students remain in class about 80–100% of the day and may receive check-ins or token-based supports. Level 2 addresses disruptive behavior with either partial- or full-day supports, beginning with push-in assistance and escalating to 1–3 days in the center if needed. Level 3 addresses unsafe behaviors (minor and major), with part- and full-day placements and structured reentry criteria. Levels 4–5 begin with larger placements in the Eagle Center and progress back to classroom participation as students meet criteria.

- Typical program flow: Staff said an individual may receive push-in support first; if that is insufficient the student can be scheduled for one to three days in the Eagle Center with close adult support, counseling sessions and a quieter environment. As students meet objective criteria they are reintroduced to scheduled classroom activities with staff support, then with progressively less staff support.

- Intended outcomes: Staff said the center supports regulation, relationship restoration and skill building so students can access academics when ready. Filion and Friedman emphasized that criteria-driven transitions are central: students progress to less restrictive phases only after meeting specified behavior and academic markers.

Staffing, timing and parent involvement

Presenters said the Eagle Center has been used since early December — "about 10 days," Friedman said — and that the district has already held MTSS decision meetings to identify students for the program. Staff said parents have generally supported the approach; because tier 3 and higher interventions involve more intensive placement, parental involvement and agreements are part of the process.

Both presenters said the center's capacity is limited right now by staffing. Jackie (staff member) and other administrators told the board the budget proposal includes funding for the Eagle Center and that hiring a special-education teacher and additional paraprofessionals would make the model sustainable; staff described the proposed budget as necessary to make the presented model "doable." Board members and staff also said the district temporarily redistributed existing staff responsibilities to create and operate the program while recruitment continues.

Why the board discussed Eagle Center now

Administrators described a concentrated need among a small number of newly enrolled students whose behaviors required intensive staff response, pulling paraprofessional and counseling capacity away from other work. "SSC was not functioning as designed, being able to push in with more academic; they really have been working as a full time response staff responding to big events," a staff presenter said, describing the student-success-coach role being consumed by urgent incidents.

Questions from the board focused on whether the Eagle Center replaces in-school suspension (it does not; staff said both remain in place), how parental consent is handled for tiered placement (staff said parents have been engaged through the MTSS process and have been supportive) and the timeline for hiring necessary staff (staff said the budget request includes positions to reach full implementation).

Board members and administrators said they will include Eagle Center staffing as part of the proposed budget to be presented at the district public hearing in January.

Ending

Presenters asked the board to consider the Eagle Center staffing and funding in the upcoming budget process; staff said they will continue to refine the center's documents and criteria and will return to the board with implementation updates. The board did not take a formal vote on the program at the Dec. 17 meeting.