Harris County Department of Education’s innovative leadership in the Disciplinary Alternative Education Programs (DAEP) arena was on full display this week at the National Alternative Education Association (NAEA) Conference in Tampa, Florida. Earlier this year, event organizers invited Highpoint School Principal Courtney Waters and Senior Director of Schools Dr. Charles Ned to lead a workshop on what Harris County Department of Education and Highpoint do differently to respond to student behavior and create a positive campus culture.

Every year, the NAEA conference welcomes hundreds of alternative education campus leaders from around the country to share best practices, information on public policy and advocacy, and participate in professional development.

Waters and Ned headed a standing-room-only seminar, “Pushing Past Punitive: A Think Tank for DAEP Programming.” The presentation addressed how to reframe DAEP programs and showcased how Highpoint’s equine therapy, educational planning, and mentorship initiatives empower and rehabilitate students to achieve personal and academic success. Highpoint leaders delivered a similar presentation in June at the Texas Association of Secondary School Principals (TASSP) Summer Workshop in Austin.

“One of the biggest compliments we can get as educators is when other schools desire to mirror our campus programs,” Waters said proudly. “This tells me that Highpoint students and staff are reaching our goals and steadily making an impact in the DAEP community.”

To learn more about HCDE’s Special Schools, visit hcde-texas.org/special-schools.