How a new school in Marshfield plans to educate students with social and emotional needs

MARSHFIELD – Across from Marshfield High School, a road climbs a large, sloping hill. To the right is a dog park, athletic fields, a Boys & Girls Club and a preschool under construction. At the top of the hill, overlooking the fields, sits a new, private, for-profit school for students with social and emotional challenges.

Starting Aug. 17, the 30,000-square-foot facility, New England Academy, will serve students in grades 7-12 who struggle with anxiety or depression. Founder and Executive Director Ryan Plosker said 35 students have enrolled, and he’s receiving new referrals daily.

This year, the school will cap enrollment at 45, though Plosker said he hopes to max out at 80 students in the future.

A calming atmosphere and design

Everything about New England Academy − the lighting, the layout, the carpeting, the ceiling height and even the material of the lockers (they’re wooden instead of metal to eliminate harsh clanging noises) – is designed to reduce sensory overstimulation.

“Our students are very bright, very capable, very creative,” said Head of School Suzanne Hynes. “We need an environment like this that allows them to freely be who they are.”

Hynes was the executive director of student services for Hingham Public Schools. She joined New England Academy in June.

A small, central courtyard exemplifies the sense of calm baked into the school's design. Brightly painted Adirondack chairs are arranged on a patio. A walking path meanders through a landscaped green that surrounds a Japanese maple tree.

Everything is quiet, small-scale, unintimidating. As required for all state-approved special education schools, New England Academy has an 8-1 teacher-to-student ratio and a 10-1 counselor-to-student ratio.

Plosker and Hynes said this combination of small class sizes and extensive mental health support is key to student success.

The entire front hall is lined with offices of social workers, psychologists and art and music therapists. Hynes said that although students receive scheduled counseling twice a week, it’s available any time during the day through the school’s open-door policy.

Plosker said the counseling offices were deliberately placed at the front of the building.

“It’s a therapeutic school,” he said. “There’s no stigma attached to seeing your counselor.”

Class gets underway about two weeks before Marshfield Public Schools to create space for New England Academy’s extended school year of 198 days.

“The reason why we start Aug. 17 is so we can have a slow ramp-up into the year,” Plosker said. “Our first week is more team building, getting to know you, getting comfortable with each other.”

“It’s all culture and climate,” Hynes said. “That’s a huge piece. The culture of acceptance and belonging and kindness for all of them.”

'We don't want to turn kids away.' Expanding to fit a need

Marshfield is New England Academy’s second location. Plosker opened the original campus in Beverly 18 years ago. He said the expansion will serve a growing need in the region.

“In Beverly, we had 150 referrals for 30 spots,” Plosker said. “That was part of the motivation for opening in the South Shore. We’re getting referrals from down here.

“We don’t want to turn kids away,” he said. “For example, we had a referral from a district between Beverly and here for ninth grade. Our ninth grade in Beverly is full. We don’t have an opening in Beverly, but we do in Marshfield. The district and parents said, ‘Great!’”

Districts typically refer students who haven’t responded to the special education support available in larger, more traditional schools. Plosker said it’s often not the fault of the sending district.

“A kid last year, the district did everything right,” he said. “No matter what they did, the kid would not walk into high school. We accepted her. She only missed five days all year. She came every day. She’s a gifted, bright, straight-A student. Her SAT scores are so high, she’ll have any college option she wants."

Plosker said she was asked why she was so successful at the school.

"She said, ‘It’s just smaller. And it was really great to know if I’m having a hard day, I can access counseling in that moment,’” he said.

Working with districts and families to cover costs, educate kids

Individualized education and favorable counselor/teacher-to-student ratios are expensive. Plosker said tuition, which is set by the state, was $70,000.

Tuition is paid by referring cities and towns. Hynes said the state’s Circuit Breaker Program helps defray costs, leaving districts to pay about $55,000 per student.

Referring a student to New England Academy can be more cost effective for a district than hiring specialized mental health staff for the one or two students who may need them, Plosker said. He said New England Academy will never accept a student unilaterally without cooperation from the sending district.

Plosker said some, and possibly most, state-approved special education schools accept students unilaterally at the request of parents without first consulting their home districts. In some instances, parents have then turned to the districts to recover tuition costs, which has led to conflicts and even litigation, he said.

If a parent initiates the placement process, New England Academy requires the family to first work with the home district, he said.

“They have to sign a legal agreement that they then won’t go after the district (for the money),” he said.

Thanks to our subscribers, who help make this coverage possible. If you are not a subscriber, please consider supporting quality local journalism with a Patriot Ledger subscription. Here is our latest offer.

Reach Peter Blandino at pblandino@patriotledger.com.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: New England Academy to open special education school in Marshfield