Fifty Years of Educating Children with Special Needs
In celebration of Catherine Laboure Special Education School turning 50 years old, the school community welcomes all families of children with special needs to come visit the program.
Currently located in Canarsie, the school serves children with speech impairments and learning disabilities from ages five to 14, and students with intellectual disabilities from ages five to 21. Small class sizes and personalized attention are what many school families feel is a welcome alternative to a large public school setting.
Skills to Reach Full Potential
Catherine Laboure is a state-funded, center-based program providing guidance counseling, speech, occupational and physical therapy as mandated by each individual child’s IEP. The caring faculty’s primary objective is to provide students with the skills necessary to reach their full potential. Many of younger graduates have gone on to be mainstreamed in both public and private high schools.
Those students with more challenging needs receive independent living and vocational training in and outside of the school. Programs include volunteering at a local food pantry weekly, field trips and independent life skill training with an in-house model apartment. These experiences provide students with a realistic and concrete learning environment to assist them in meeting their individual goals.
Catherine Laboure provides for its students a Common Core-based curriculum with special content areas that include physical education three-times a week, and an on-site reading specialist.
Students are also embracing technology in the classroom. They are carefully monitored as they are taught to use iPads and desktop computers to do research and navigate the Internet responsibly.
With 50 years of education and experience, Catherine Laboure Special Education School looks forward to a bright future ahead, continuing with the same dedication, promise and sensitivity necessary to meet the needs of its very special students and their families.
