EDUCATION PROGRAM

THROUGH OUR 5-DAY-A-WEEK EDUCATION PROGRAM, with an extended school year option of up to 11 months, our goal is to provide students, aged 3 to 21, with the pragmatic skills of personal independence and basic academics needed to live and work in the community—and to make the very best of their unique abilities.

This is an exciting, creative, high-quality special education program, specifically designed to respond to the individual and unique needs of each and every child we serve.

New Jersey's Core Curriculum

We use the State of New Jersey’s Core Curriculum and incorporate math, science, and social studies within our functional independence curriculum.

The School’s James D. Held Enrichment and Technology Center plays a key role in introducing our students to the benefits of adaptive technology. Computers, Closed Circuit Television (CCTV), special software, and other state-of-the-art equipment, including optical and non-optical low vision devices for reading and writing—all open up exciting new opportunities for individual independence.

WE COMPLEMENT our academic skill areas of functional math, history and culture, social studies, and nature studies with continued learning in personal independence skills that are important to social integration, both while at St. Joseph’s and following graduation. These include:

• Recreation and music
• Individual and group communication skills
• Social activities both on and off campus
• Money management
• Cooking, laundry, and personal self-care
• Orientation and mobility

—all provided in an atmosphere of laughter, fun, and learning.

Many activities are conducted at our St. Joe’s Nik-Naks training store.

OUR TEAM of dedicated and experienced multi-cultural special educators assess, custom-design, and implement each student’s Individualized Education Plan (IEP). The team includes:

• Certified teachers of the disabled
• Certified teachers of the visually impaired
• Teacher aides
• Orientation and mobility instructors
• Technology specialists
• Music and recreational teachers
• Social workers
• Speech, occupational, and physical therapists
• Health care specialists

THE MOST IMPORTANT MEMBERS of the St. Joseph’s team are our students and their parents, in addition to representatives of the local school district. Together our combined efforts help ensure our students receive the best possible individual education in the least restrictive environment—with the overall aim to

“LEARN TO BE ALL THEY CAN BE!”