July 2020 Newsletter
A Message From Our President & CEO
The COVID – 19 pandemic is the most significant health crisis in the past 100 years. It upended every aspect of society and required our professional staff to shift education and counseling into a distance format overnight. The response of our staff has been powerful but not unexpected because they specialize in resourcefulness. We see opportunity in every challenge.
Our founder was faced with a challenge. In 1967, Dr. Lakin Phillips saw a need and created a solution for students for whom the public schools could not accommodate. Over the past five decades, PHILLIPS Programs went from serving our first four students to offering four special education day schools, career and technical education and home- and community-based counseling to 500 people with behavioral health needs and their families.
This month we have some exciting news to share:
Whenever there is a gap in services, we have pivoted to find a solution to the problem. This month we are pleased to announce a new therapy for parents with children who are exhibiting difficult behaviors.
Learn about the results of our 3D Design and Print team and the outstanding outcomes achieved despite unusual circumstances.
Take a moment to celebrate the retirement of three staff with a combined total of over 60 years of service to our youth and their families.
We are immensely proud of our past accomplishments and our vision for the future.
We deliver promise for the hopeless, a platform for the voiceless and are taking the next logical step by creating apprenticeships and jobs with fair wages and meaningful work for the chronically under- and unemployed. When our founder determined to educate those, who were not offered a seat in the classroom, he created a paradigm shift in special education. Following on that tradition, we are changing the employment landscape and hope you will join us as we continue to demand accountability, action, and equity for all members of our community.
As you read this month’s newsletter, I hope you are personally inspired by the work that we are doing. I would love to hear from you!
Stay safe and well and thank you for your part in providing solutions for our youth.
Sincerely,
Unexpected Outcomes this Summer in our Designing Futures Program
Matthew admits that, were this a normal summer, he’d be spending most of it playing video games and sleeping.
Because of COVID-19, this summer is anything but normal. While the pandemic presents enormous challenges. it’s also produced some unexpected benefits for Matthew and the other students and staff involved in Designing Futures, our Career and Technical Education (CTE) program that teaches 3D design and printing.
We were gearing up to open the Designing Futures lab at our Fairfax campus when the virus forced us to close all school buildings and switch to distance learning in mid-March. Professional 3D printers we had just received for the lab were redirected to Designing Futures team members, who immediately started creating Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). Within weeks, PHILLIPS donated hundreds of 3D-printed face shields and ear saver straps to local first responders, senior care facilities, grocery stores and other essential organizations.
The project demonstrated the real-world value of the skills our Designing Futures students are learning. PPE is the first example of the products we can create with the 3D printing social enterprise we are launching.
After working with Designing Futures Program Manager Sam Son to perfect our face shield designs, newly hired 3D specialist Tom Meeks began testing ways to replace in-person instruction with online training. Matthew was his first student.
Matthew asked members of his family what they’d like him to make for them and Tom guided him through hour-long project-based learning sessions via Zoom twice a week. Matthew’s 3D creations included a dragon for his sister, a topographical map of Colombia for his cousin and a bowl decorated with a drawing of a cat for his grandmother.
Team members downloaded Matthew’s design files and built the pieces with the same 3D printers they used for the PPE project, then delivered them to Matthew’s home. Having the finished items in hand is crucial to the teaching process, explained Tom, because it allows students to evaluate their designs and learn from failures as well as successes.
“With Tom, I’m doing a lot more than I did at school,” said Matthew.
In fact, he made so much progress during the first few weeks of remote instruction that Tom asked Matthew to help teach three other students in the ESY Designing Futures class that started in July.
Matthew is looking forward to giving his loved ones their 3D-printed gifts.
“I think they’ll be pretty impressed,” he said. “I’m the only one in my family that knows how to 3D print.”
“That’s a powerful position to be in,” noted Career Partners Director Lindsay Harris. “Most people don’t know anything about 3D printing, so it allows Matthew to be the expert in a field and to share knowledge with others.”
Using his expertise in this way gives Matthew “a place in the family,” she added. Those who receive the gifts will become interested in 3D printing and ask questions about how he made them.
“This opens up a dialogue which is really nice because those on the autism spectrum often want to connect but may lack the social communication skills to do so,” said Lindsay.
Matthew knows he’s developing valuable skills while he makes some good memories of this unforgettable summer.
“It’s something nice to do besides playing my Xbox. And it can help later on in life.”
We Need Chromebooks and Groceries
You are here because you are a giver. Your belief in our mission and sense of responsibility for their success is the reason we are able to do what we do. Thanks to two grants, we have come close to covering the cost of 300 Chromebooks and 60 hotspots to provide distance learning. However, we still need to raise an additional $8,000.
Since March 16, we have been providing 70 families with grocery gift cards based on the donations of friends like you.
If you would like to contribute to these ongoing efforts, please click here and select Grocery Gift Card Program or Chromebooks in the Program Menu section. Thank you for your support!
PCIT: A New Evidence-Based Parent Training Offered by Family Partners Promotes Positive Interactions
Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) is an empirically-supported treatment that places emphasis on improving the quality of the parent-child relationship and changing parent-child interaction patterns. Watch this video to learn more about Family Partners and this new service or visit https://www.phillipsprograms.org/pcit.
Family Partners helps families cope with and meet the challenges associated with their children's individual needs. Whether it be mental health, behavioral difficulties at home or school, developmental disabilities, autism spectrum disorders, or adjustment to traumatic life events, children and their families count on the support of our expert staff to help them succeed. Learn more about Family Partners: https://www.phillipsprograms.org/about-family-partners.
PHILLIPS School~Laurel's Karen Nickles & PHILLIPS School~Annandale's Valerie Dennis & Nancy Ford retire
With a combined total of over 60 years of commitment to PHILLIPS Programs, Karen Nickles, Valerie Dennis and Nancy Ford are retiring this year.
After 33 years at PHILLIPS School~Laurel, Karen's dedication to her students and to the Laurel staff was exceptional.
Karen's commitment over the years to PHILLIPS is reinforced in her own words:
I have loved working together as we strive to educate and meet the diverse needs of our students. Many of you have heard me say through the years that I believe the beauty of PHILLIPS is that no matter how difficult and challenging our students’ behaviors can be, there is always at least one staff member who has a special bond and rapport with each student, making our students feel heard, validated, and loved. That is an amazing gift for a child.
After 20 years at PHILLIPS School~Annandale in the counseling department, Valerie's devotion to the students and commitment to the staff was seen daily in the hallways.
Valerie shared the following thought:
Everyday may not be a good day but there is good in everyday! (author unknown)
Valerie continued,
This is so true in every aspect of our life. Remember to always look for the bright spot in everything you do, especially when interacting with the students! Always seek the positive!
After 18 years at PHILLIPS School~Annandale, Nancy's significant contribution and dedication to her work in the school library has made a lasting positive impact on not only the students, but also on the staff at Annandale.
Nancy shared the following quote, a sentiment that she believes is relevant to all PHILLIPS Programs staff:
When you teach a child two people learn.
Best wishes to Karen, Valerie and Nancy in their future endeavors. PHILLIPS School staff and students will miss them!
PHILLIPS Programs for Children and Families is a private, non-profit organization serving the complex needs of children and youth living with cognitive, emotional and/or behavioral challenges in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Area. Through excellence in specialized education, community programs and individualized support services, we provide our children and families every advantage to ensure they develop to achieve their greatest individual success. Their potential is our commitment.