Auberle recognizes that education is one of the life domains vital to the comprehensive development of those we serve.

We believe that education is a process that must be designed to address the needs and the strengths of each person in order to provide a comprehensive understanding and appreciation of all individuals, communities and cultures.

Auberle believes that education is a pathway to the future in that it provides for the development of the intellect, life and reasoning skills, career and vocational training and for the actualization of the potential of the student.

Today, many school districts find that they struggle to educate students whose special behavioral and emotional needs interfere with success in a traditional classroom setting.

Students that consistently demonstrate antisocial behavior, physical aggression and are generally unmanageable in the classroom can also present problems at home and in the larger community.

Traditional methods to deal with these issues, including detention, suspension, homebound instruction and expulsion, have met with very little success for the individual and the school district.

Evidence has shown that a more sound solution is to provide students with a comprehensive education program. Challenging instruction will instill the social and behavioral skills necessary to meet success in the community school, and, at the same time, help students to become productive citizens in the future.

Alternative Education Services
Twenty-two school districts refer children to our Auberle Education Center, located in Homestead. These are children who have not been successful in a typical community classroom. With a teacher and a behavior specialist in each room, we have been successful in helping them improve academically and better appreciate the value of a good education. We consider ourselves most successful when they are able to return to their home school district and not remain in alternative education, though some who thrive in our setting choose individually to remain there. During the 2006-2007 school year, we also pioneered alternative classrooms for the Duquesne School District within their facility.
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Education Support Services
We currently have staff that focus on education but do not teach. They monitor each child’s attendance and performance in the schools in which they are enrolled and proactively work with the child on any concerns, educational or behavioral, expressed by the school. Based on each child’s progress, they arrange for professional or volunteer tutoring. They devise positive reward systems that allow children to celebrate their success. Regular education banquets are held to recognize honor roll, achieving "A" grades in subjects and simply for improvement. Groups that work together and excel as a whole win additional prizes so that teamwork and leadership are encouraged. Staff in both our residential education and vocation departments encourage our children to explore post-secondary education and connect them with resources to help them do so.
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Vocational Education
Our Vocational Education Department gets creative with our youth to expose them to options that will excite them. Many times, it is identification with a particular career that stimulates their academic success. Our vocation staff identify opportunities for vocational education in the school districts our children attend and provide the child with necessary tools, clothes, transportation and equipment. They host life skills sessions twice each week bringing in community members to talk about careers ranging from undertakers to radio personalities. They also mix into the life skills sessions various individuals who have had experiences in life that our children may relate to such that they can model behavior and learn work ethic. Diverse educational experiences that our students must be exposed to also run the range from financial basics to driver’s education (many jobs that our children are otherwise qualified for require a driver’s license, something we started providing for residential children in our last fiscal year). We currently run two vocational programs at both our Main Campus and our Auberle Education Center, culinary arts and computer graphics and design, which help to expand their transferable skills. Finally, staff seek out community service activities from which the children can learn and through which those who are delinquent can repay their community service debt.
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