The Roberts Assistance Program (RAP), a model program for student assistance and suicide prevention established in 1988 by the Owen J. Roberts School District in Chester County, Pennsylvania provides services to students in kindergarten through grade 12. Core teams of school professionals from the high school and middle school have received…

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Amendments of 1997 mandated a shift from reactive strategies toward proactive interventions with students who experience both disability and behavioral challenges. The author describes how the methodology of Life Space Crisis Intervention can provide a source of data for functional assessment…

In schools, youngsters with serious emotional and learning problems usually are assisted under the auspices of "special education." Of course, many students with behavior, learning, and emotional problems don't meet the criteria for special education. Their needs must be addressed through support programs and other accommodations. This…

Given the range of student learning, behavior, and emotional problems experienced each day by teachers and families, meeting the challenge of supplying appropriate support is complex. Efforts to do so may be handicapped by the way in which student support interventions currently are conceived, organized, and implemented. Student supports are…