The goals and model of the Safety Harbor (Florida) Exceptional Student Center for severely emotionally disturbed children are based on three major assumptions: success in school has a high positive correlation with success in society; most severely disturbed students can be returned to mainstream school programs; and the majority of severely disturbed students are capable of learning appropriate self-control skills. Goals for the student as well as for the center are specified. The program model is built upon six consecutive phases: behavior management system (including a token system and a response cost system), affective intervention, academic curriculum, therapeutic intervention, therapeutic curriculum, and additional services. (CL)