Collaborative & Proactive Solutions

"Kids do well if they can.  [Challenging kids are challenging] because they're lacking the skills not to be challenging.  If they had the skills, they wouldn't be challenging."

- Dr. Ross Greene

Helping Students Improve Skills & Meet Expectations

At The Quaker School at Horsham, we recognize that many students come to us without the skills they need to meet certain demands and expectations -- and when that occurs, it can manifest as challenging behavior.

For that reason, we have spent the past several years building our capacity to implement The Collaborative & Proactive Solutions Model (CPS), a non-punitive, non-adversarial, trauma-informed model of care created by Dr. Ross Greene.

Rather than emphasizing a child's challenging behavior, CPS focuses on:

  • Identifying the skills a student is lacking and the expectations they are struggling to meet.
  • Helping students solve those problems without the use of rewards or punishments

TQS is proud to be the first Pennsylvania school with CPS certified practitioners.

Our goal is to engage students in a collaborative partnership with TQS teachers to help them find solutions to the problems they're having with meeting expectations.

We do this by following Dr. Greene's three-step model, which includes:

  1. Examining our beliefs about a student's challenging behavior in order to gain a more accurate and compassionate understanding of where it's originating.
  2. Identifying a student's lagging skills and unsolved problems to prepare for proactive intervention.
  3. Using collaborative problem-solving techniques to help address platforms with individual students as well as the entire class.
Want to learn more about how The Quaker School at Horsham is using CPS in the classroom -- or how you can use the model at home?  Contact Nicole Negro for more information.

“Leading the Change is the most far-reaching strategic plan in our school's history,  yet I have never been more confident in our community's ability to accomplish our goals. Together, we will deliver bold leadership, authentic engagement, emboldened people, unparalleled programs, and audacious innovation - and we will impact the lives of even more individuals with complex challenges.” -Alex Brosowsky, Head of School

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Shine Together Blog

The Importance of Executive Functions: Expert Talk with Dr. Cheryl Chase

Navigating the complexities of parenting children with ADHD, learning disabilities, autism, and expressive challenges can be an ongoing challenge – which is why here at TQS, we aim to not only champion our students, but also our parents and educators. 

That’s why we've partnered with Dr. Cheryl Chase, a renowned clinical psychologist, to help TQS families and faculty better understand a topic of critical importance to our student community: executive functioning.

Read More about The Importance of Executive Functions: Expert Talk with Dr. Cheryl Chase
What's Next? Navigating Options after K-12 for Students with Complex Challenges

Recently, I was mesmerized by a father’s powerful story about his son with learning disabilities — but what made this one different for me is that it happened beyond the K-12 classroom walls. 

I have had many conversations with our TQS parents who are pondering the path their children will tread as they edge toward adulthood. The good news is that TQS is not the end of the road! If you’re beginning to chart these unexplored waters, you’re probably asking this common question: “What’s next?”

Read More about What's Next? Navigating Options after K-12 for Students with Complex Challenges