Ripple Effects is a web-based program that consists of 428 learning modules. The modules contain various topics that are meaningful to adolescents and address some of the non-academic barriers to school success.
Dennis Mills, Treatment Coordinator, is the person leading this effort. He has provided training to all of the Mental Health Workers at Colonial Academy and has partnered with technical assistance staff from Ripple Effects to personalize this project to the goals of Colonial Academy. According to Mr. Mills, “Colonial Academy is looking forward to using this web-based treatment approach for the betterment of our students”.
As the CIU 20 region begins to recover from COVID-19, Ripple Effects will be an important tool. For those students who return to school in-person, the Ripple Effects curriculum will be available to them. For those students who remain in a cyber or hybrid model, Ripple Effects will still be accessible. The flexibility and quality of this product make it an ideal answer for our current public health crisis.
Ripple Effects is an empirically-based program that has been endorsed by the National Institute of Health (NIH), the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA), and the National Drop-out Prevention Center (NDPC). Ripple Effects easily aligns with some of the other treatment options available at Colonial Academy, such as Restorative Practices, Trauma-Informed approaches, and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy.