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New Perspectives - May,
2002 Issue #93
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F.L. Chamberlain School
Patricia Ferris
- Admissions
Middleboro, MA
508-947-7825
F.L. Chamberlain School is a residential treatment school for adolescents
ages 11-18. They accept referrals for students with various special needs, learning disorders and or diagnoses and are approved as
a residential school for moderate to severely emotionally disturbed, often with overlapping with learning and communication disorders.
It is located on an 11-acre campus between Cape Cod and Boston. Students live in large houses, participate in daily recreational and
sports activities, and are assigned daily living tasks. Educational and social outings are scheduled regularly. The school offers
a highly structured program 24-hours a day, which is geared toward family reunification and transition to community-based living.
The academic program is designed to meet the specific academic needs of each student. A comprehensive curriculum enables students
to benefit from a wide variety of learning experiences in order to build classroom skills and foster social growth. Class sizes are
small with a low staff to student ratio.
Chamberlain School therapists and social workers provide students with on-going weekly individual and group therapy. Family therapy
is also offered, and parents are considered an integral part of a student’s treatment team. All students participate in weekly Residential
Living Group to identify and express feelings and learn how to communicate. The Adolescent Issues Groups focus on topics such as improving
self-esteem and peer relations. A consulting psychiatrist is at the school weekly to meet with students and therapists for medication
monitoring and clinical consultation.
F.L. Chamberlain uses a behavior management system, including level systems and contracts to help students improve individual behavior
and develop social skills. Staff to student, as well as peer feedback, allows students to chart growth, earn rewards, learn from mistakes,
and find ways to take responsibility for their behavior in a “safe, accepting therapeutic environment.”
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