The Oshawa Learning Academy is an on-site educational program located within the Leo A. Hoffmann Center serving students identified with severe mental health issues requiring treatment in a Psychological Residential Treatment Facility (PRTF). The program is designed to serve male students in grades 4-12 who are in the PRTF program. The program is staffed with certified teachers from the Saint Peter Public School District (ISD 508) with Special Education oversight provided by the Minnesota Valley Educational District (ISD 6027).

Educational programming is individualized to the student's educational and mental health needs but based on the curriculum and standards used at the other Saint Peter Public Schools buildings that serve students in the same grades. Core subjects of math, science, social studies, and English language arts are delivered each day. Specialists in the area of physical education, health, and electives (such as art, music, etc.) are delivered on a rotation that reflects an equivalent of what is delivered at other buildings in the Saint Peter Public Schools. Students in grades 9-12 earn credit towards graduation for their classroom achievements. Students receive educational and career planning services through counseling services appropriate for their grade level. Students participate in benchmark and state assessments (MCA’s) that other students in Saint Peter Schools participate in.

The Oshawa Learning Academy works in close collaboration with the Minnesota Valley Education District (MVED) to provide special education services for students with IEP’s in the program. All available records are evaluated when students enroll and special education team meetings are held when students are enrolled to review accommodations and services to ensure they are receiving a free appropriate public education (FAPE).

The Oshawa Learning Academy works in close collaboration with the Leo A. Hoffmann Center, which is delivering the mental health program of treatment to address the mental health needs of the students in the program. Collaboration efforts include providing access to educational staff to families when students are enrolled in the program, weekly collaborative meetings between Oshawa and Leo A. Hoffmann program leaders to discuss student needs and educational programming, and brief, daily collaboration between teachers and supervision staff to discuss the immediate, daily mental health needs of the students in the program.

As recommended by the Leo A. Hoffmann Center as part of each student’s plan: students will be released during the school day once per week for an hour of therapy and once per month for an hour-long progress monitoring conference. Every effort will be made to schedule these release times to minimize the impact on the student’s education. Additional schedule modifications may be made based on the students IEP plan and recommendations from the care team at the Leo A. Hoffmann Center.

All teachers are licensed and every effort is made to hire highly qualified licensed teachers in the content area they are assigned to. The program principal will oversee the daily operations of the educational program and program faculty and staff. The principal will be responsible for recruiting, hiring, and evaluating the program faculty and staff. The general oversight of the program will include, but not be limited to: instruction, curriculum, testing, special education, student discipline, and serve and a liaison to the Leo A. Hoffmann Treatment Center.

The school calendar will mirror the calendar used by the Saint Peter School District. It will include 175 instructional days and 185 teacher contract days. The Oshawa calendar will be expanded to include 18 days of ESY and summer school to meet the needs of students with IEPs and those receiving treatment in a PRTF facility. The length of day will reflect those of other Saint Peter programs