Mt. Healthy City Schools and SESI Present at BASA Conference

A six-year partnership between Mt. Healthy City Schools and Specialized Education Services, Inc. has helped the district expand support for students with behavioral and academic needs while reducing its reliance on out-of-district placements.

Leaders from Mount Healthy and SESI recently shared lessons from the partnership at the Buckeye Association of School Administrators (BASA) conference in Ohio. Superintendent Dr. Sarah Wilson, SESI Director of Partnerships Janelle Ruhe, and SESI Regional Director Anna Boggs discussed how the collaboration has evolved alongside the district’s needs and allowed more students to receive specialized support within their home community.

A Six-Year Partnership Supporting Student Needs

Six years ago, Mt. Healthy City Schools was exploring ways to strengthen support for students with behavioral and academic needs. The district also wanted to help more students remain in their home community. District leaders saw an opportunity to expand specialized programming and create a more sustainable approach to serving students who needed additional support.

“We value our partnership with SESI, which has grown and adapted as the needs of our district have evolved,” said Wilson. “We appreciate their willingness to work alongside us and respond to those changing needs, with a shared focus on supporting our students and helping them succeed.”

Expanding Specialized Support Within the District

Mt. Healthy partnered with SESI to develop specialized programming within the district. The program incorporates positive behavioral interventions and supports, crisis prevention, and social-emotional learning strategies to create a structured and predictable environment for students.

Keeping specialized services within district facilities also helped Mt. Healthy address the costs associated with out-of-district placements and transportation. By leasing an underutilized building to SESI, the district created an additional source of revenue. The space also allows SESI to serve students from Mt. Healthy and surrounding communities.

Student Outcomes Highlight Partnership Impact

Over the past six years, the partnership has served 267 Mt. Healthy students. District and program data shared during the BASA presentation highlighted several outcomes:

• 90% of students demonstrated progress on their Individualized Education Programs in both academics and behavior.
• 80% of enrolled courses resulted in passing grades.
• 100% of participating high school seniors graduated through the credit recovery room.
• Students showed improvements in self-regulation and overall attendance.

Individualized Support Helps Students Build Skills

The impact of that support can also be seen in students such as McKenna, who had struggled with anger and bullying in larger school settings before entering the program. With individualized support and relationships with staff, she learned strategies to better manage her emotions and respond to difficult situations.

“I learned how not to act out and to stay calm,” McKenna said.

Building a Sustainable Partnership

As the partnership developed, district leaders were able to spend less time responding to immediate challenges and more time planning for students’ long-term needs.

“Sustainable support is as important as immediate solutions,” Wilson said, comparing the evolution of the partnership to moving from active firefighting to fire prevention.

Regular meetings and open communication between district and SESI leaders remain an important part of the partnership. This allows the program to adjust as student and district needs change.

High Road School of Mt. Healthy Expands the Collaboration

That collaboration expanded again with the opening of High Road School of Mt. Healthy for the 2025-2026 school year. The school operates in a 40,000-square-foot district-owned facility and serves K-12 students and young adults up to age 22 with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). It is SESI’s fourth private day school in Ohio and its first in the Tri-State region.

High Road School of Mt. Healthy provides a structured learning environment for students. The school helps students build academic, behavioral, and social skills for success in school and beyond.