Five Components of the Program:
- Life Centered Education (LCE) Transition Curriculum developed by the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) to guide education in three main areas: Self-Determination, Interpersonal Skills, and Employment Skills;
- LINKS Curriculum, an empirically supported and comprehensive approach to 47 adaptive life skills every young adult needs for independence;
- On the Job Training and Support - Onsite internships and entrepreneurship opportunities at local businesses committed to employing our students;
- Vision Planning - A person-centered approach to planning for life after Intermountain Academy;
- Problem Based Learning (PBL) - a method of instruction that is predicated on the belief that memorized facts are not inherently generalizable to the workforce, that it is instead being able to apply the knowledge to critical real-life problems that makes the difference.
Four Tracts
This school year (2017-2018) the Academy will have four classrooms with students of transition age, and will be structured as follows:
7-9 Transitional
For students who have academic abilities but who also have functional living skills as a priority. Students here could transition into an academic or vocational classroom.
7-12 Academic
For students who expect to go to college upon graduation. They will earn either a general high school diploma which mirrors the requirements for admission into a community college or a honors high school diploma which meets the admission requirements for major universities.
7-12 Functional
For students who are more severely impacted by symptoms of autism. The classroom is geared toward teaching skills that allow for maximum independence in living environments and for building the capacity for assisted employment post graduation. Students who meet the requirements will earn a graduation certificate.
10-12 Vocational
Students here have chosen to focus on employment post high school graduation, and will participate in off-site internships and work, as well as continue with their academic coursework. They will earn a vocational diploma, which is a special education high school diploma or a general diploma which provides them with the credits required to attend a community college.