Life at Kolburne is 24/7. From the moment students wake up in the morning and prepare themselves for the start of their day, and once they return at the end of the school day until bedtime, student life is managed under our Residential Program.
The objective of Kolburne’s residential program is to coordinate with and further the student’s educational and behavioral goals as outlined in the student’s IEP.
Kolburne offers residential settings in the Burritt Hall Dormitory on the Woodruff Campus in New Marlborough and the Brigham Center Community Group homes in Lee. Students are assigned to Burritt Hall or one of the community group homes on the Brigham Campus based on age, gender, developmental, and treatment needs. Within their residence, each student is also a member of a team comprised of age and developmentally-appropriate peers.
The weekday residential day begins with a daily community meeting designed to check-in with students about their schedule for the day and to discuss the evening’s activities. After breakfast, students are supported in cleaning their rooms and doing their chores before leaving for school.
After school, students gather again with their team to share about the day, talk about what’s on their minds, and prepare themselves for the transition to after-school activities. Typical after-school activities might include outdoor team sports, board games, town walks, and exercise programs.
Evenings at Kolburne slow down a bit. Students may watch television in a community lounge, play video games, play board games, listen to music, read, or just sit and talk before heading off to bed for the rest they will need for the next day.
The weekend schedule at Kolburne is structured but allows students more activity and leisure time. Weekend mornings begin with a later breakfast, after which students do a thorough cleaning of their team or house before starting their day’s activities. Community trips of all kinds take place on weekends, including going to the movies, dinners out, amusement parks, shopping, fishing, boating, skiing, swimming, and much more.
Kolburne’s residential program is licensed for up to 84 students, and is supported by three shifts a day for a round-the-clock ratio of one staff to three students.
