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Kartini School, an Oregon Alternative School under the Oregon Department of Education, was launched in 2018 and is designed to meet the academic needs of students who are in treatment for eating disorders. It is one of a variety of private and public alternative schools and programs that have been created in Oregon to support the State’s commitment to help students achieve high academic and career-related standards and to pursue their individual goals and interests.
School Philosophy
Academic concerns sometimes play a role in the decision to seek medical treatment for an eating disorder. It is not only valuable, but critical, to do everything we can to minimize the disruption to a student’s life created by time away from their school while in medical treatment. School is, in many ways, a young-person’s job; it is often a large part of their identity. Enabling students to continue moving toward their academic goals is important to the recovery process.
We have found that the best outcomes result from enabling students to continue to progress academically in step with their normal (pre-treatment) academic programs and social support systems. Our goal at the Kartini School is for students to return as seamlessly as possible to those settings, minimizing setbacks often experienced during treatment of a serious illness.
The Kartini approach helps kids in school
When a student is undernourished, it suppresses his or her ability to learn. Kartini Clinic’s integrated treatment program, with its strong emphasis on prompt and adequate weight restoration, enables children and teens to get back to using their brains well as soon as possible. This supports our students’ abilities to complete schoolwork while they are in the PHP.
Staying in touch
It is important for our kids, while they are in treatment, to maintain as much normalcy in their lives as possible. We help them stay in touch with their hometown school teachers
Feedback
Here is some of the feedback we have received about the program so far:
- “I’m a student’s Language Arts teacher… From my perspective, she is doing a WONDERFUL job reintegrating to school… She is academically motivated and has already proven herself to be a strong reader and writer. Socially, [the student] has a solid group of friends established from last year with whom she seems to still be close. She seems happy so far at school.” (Teacher, Centennial Middle School)
- “[Our student] has had no problems re-integrating into French class. She has all of her assignments and is planning to take the chapter exam sometime next week.” (Teacher, Crescent Valley High School)
