Center for Learning And Growth

The Center for Learning and Growth (C4LG) is Albemarle County Public Schools's alternative education program. C4LG is housed within the Trailhead Learning Community located at 225 Lambs Lane, Charlottesville VA.

Mission & Vision
Our mission is to offer specialized, intensive restorative interventions that support each student's unique needs, helping them process their behavior, develop problem-solving skills, and achieve personal success.
We envision a compassionate and supportive learning environment where every student, regardless of their challenges, has the opportunity to thrive. Interventions are grounded in restorative practices through meaningful relationships and engaging instruction. We aim to empower students to take responsibility for their actions, manage stressors, and resolve conflicts. Ultimately leading to their growth and reintegration into their school communities.

Who we serve
"We support students in crisis or/and are in trauma
by figuring out what works for them,
which results in success."

We serve students in grades 6-12, who require a placement away from their base school communities in order to process the behavior that resulted in disciplinary action. Students at the Center for Learning and Growth are enrolled in the program as a result of disciplinary action taken by the Discipline officer and/or School Board and Superintendent.

Emily Uosseph
Cell: (434) 833 5970
euosseph@k12albemarle.org

On-Site Program Administrator

Program Structures

"How We Want Our Program To Be..."

Students and staff define their hopes and aspirations for their experiences at the Center for Learning and Growth. Presently, the goal is to have a program to be a place where…

Everyone is safe and treated kindly
Everyone grows from mistakes
Everyone is welcomed and comfortable
Everyone is focused on working and learning in their own way

Students and staff meet regularly with an agenda that consists of items students or staff raise as concerns because the conflict with how we want our program to be. The concerns are addressed by students and staff in order to collaboratively work through listening, discussion and brainstorming to develop a solution, typically in the form of a plan with a purpose of bringing us closer to how we want our program to be.

Hours of Operation

Student Outcomes

Student Outcomes
We aim to have every student achieve the following in order to return to their base schools:

Be self directed learners that acquire, integrate, and use restorative practices in all aspects of their lives.
Build self-esteem and build positive relationships by using process skills such as:
- Positive group dynamics
- Problem solving
- Conflict resolution
- Decision-making

Our instructional model is rooted in Developmental Designs by the Origins program. Students participate in a variety of social emotional learning opportunities to meet their unique needs including Aggression Replacement Training, cooperative games, book studies, and individualized behavior plans.

The Four P's

All students will be expected to follow the “Four P’s” while in the program, in addition to any in-class expectations set by teachers.

Problem Solving: We will utilize talking, listening and problem solving to resolve conflicts, issues and decrease stress.
Positive Behavior: We will allow all (including myself) the opportunity to learn by behaving in a positive and caring way towards others.
Participation: We will arrive on time, willing and prepared to participate in all the school day activities.
Proper Tech Use: Personal electronic devices (i.e cell phones, tablets, air pods, etc) will be kept in a secure location upon entry to program during the day and any school technology used is supervised and appropriate.

Restorative Practices

In Albemarle County Public Schools, we believe restorative practices are based on intrinsic motivation. The philosophy, proceedures and protocols are based on Diane Gossen work and William Glasser’s Control theory principles. This process helps students to develop self-discipline and ultimately, schools and staff to teachers to become better managers and mentors.

Restorative practices are utilized whenever possible to support students through repairing the harm that was done within themselves first, and then with the community that was impacted by their behavior. The practices focus on how people can creatively correct their mistakes emphasizing positive solutions. Mistakes are viewed by all as opportunities to learn and grow. We learn to make things right with people.

We understand that all behavior is purposeful and that we are making choices to meet (satisfy) our needs of love and belonging, power, freedom, fun and survival. We have pictures in our minds that are uniquely personal and specific about what will meet our needs. Often a behavior that is seen as disruptive is simply another person trying to meet their needs in the best way they know how. While we believe that students do the best they can at any given time, we also recognized that they can learn better ways to meet thier needs that do not hurt ourselves or others.

Our philosophy and practice helps students and teachers understand their behavior and how to meet their needs in a more responsible way (e.g. we can get our needs met while not interfering with others geting their needs met). When a child is misbehaving rather than saying, “What can I do to this child to make him/her behave.” we ask “What is the need behind the behavior?”

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