Impact Academy
 Call us at: 330-493-9157
Special Education
Impact Academy Services
Behavior Modification Interventions
Informal Therapeutic Services
Impact Academy independently contracts with local school districts in Stark County (and beyond) to perform special education duties on their behalf. We serve as an off-site classroom for any school district for students as yound as 5 years old (and, at least, in Kindergarten) all the way up to 21 years old (and, at most, in grade 12). We have certified teachers who provide education to students in all major subject/course areas, as well as elective courses in PE, Health, and Personal Living Skills. High school-level students can earn up to 6.5 credits in a single academic year. We also provide semi-quarterly and quarterly IEP Progress Reports, in addition to Mid-Term Reports and Report Cards; while each new student undergoes a series of academic assessments at initial placement, in order to establish a baseline measure, and is repeatedly assessed to track academic progress throughout placement.
At Impact Academy, we take great care to provide our students with high quality, special education services personalized for their unique needs. Our staff members are professional, courteous and efficient in assisting students with their academic, behavioral, emotional, and social issues.

Our specialized services include:
Impact Academy prides itself in implementing effective Behavior Modification strategies throughout every academic day for every student placed in our program. Particularly through the vehicle of our 12-tier, INDEPENDENCE Level System, students progress through their levels by achieving ratings in several academic, behavioral, emotional, and social categories on a semi-daily basis. It is only by achieving each level's minimum required rating that they can access various programmatic rewards and privileges; and it is only by rising to the highest levels that any student can begin discussions with his/her IEP Team regarding transitioning to a less restrictive academic setting. If a student does not achieve the minimum required rating on a level, for however long, he/she simply remains at that spot on the level. There is never backwards movement on the Impact Level System related to negative or maladaptive behavior performance. Our philosophy is to never punish past success because of present problems.

In addition, our facilities are adapted to accommodate our Behavior Modification Interventions. For instance, we have both a Recreation (Wreck-Creation) Zone & a Video Game Arena where access is solely based on each student's specific position on the Impact Level System, as well as their earned ratings for each academic day's morning or afternoon. Students learn quickly that access to all rewards and privileges must be earned, and they can only be earned by making the Level System ratings, academically and behaviorally, necessary for the level on which they find themselves.
Mostly all of our students have pressing behavioral and emotional issues that need to be addressed on varying levels of frequency and intensity. While our therapeutic services are not a mandatory aspect of our program, we believe in a holistic approach to treating student issues by making informal individual & family counseling services availaible to students & their families throughout their placement. In addition to this, we also provide daily informal group counseling/training and "psycho-education" in all of our classrooms, focusing on needs, such as: emotions management, social skills development, relationship establishment & maintenance, hygiene & self-care, independent living skills, personal responsibility, etc.

A small minority of our students also require Speech Therapy Services, typically articulated in their IEP's. To assist such students, each student's school district is responsible to send one of their own therapists to our sites to conduct the treatment; this also includes any student's need for Occupational or Physical Therapy Services.

There is no cost to our students or their families for any auxiliary services we provide.
School District Training Workshops
At Impact Academy, we firmly believe that students ideally need to be in the least restrictive academic setting if at all possible. To assist school districts in minimizing their need for having to ever use alternative special education placements like ours, we provide around-the-year workshops, at our facilities or in the districts themselves. Such seminars can cover a half-day (4 hours) of training or a full-day (8-9 hours), and include the following topics:

  • Behavior Management Strategies
  • Level System Implementation & Maintenance
  • Mental Health Disorders in the Classroom
  • Crisis/Safety Intervention Techniques

Many Stark & Summit County, and surrounding area, school districts have taken advantage of these workshops, noting great success in being able to assist students in maintaining their least restrictive academic placement much longer, if not indefinitely.

Please feel free to contact our Main Office if you are a school district interested in attending or hosting any of the above workshops.