VARIETY CHILD LEARNING CENTER
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Mission Statement
A variety of families coming together in a loving and safe community, learning to grow along the journey of changes in early childhood.
About This Cause
Variety Child Learning Center (VCLC) is a 501 (c) (3) not-for-profit agency chartered by the Board of Regents and approved by the New York State Department of Health (DOH) and New York State Education Department (SED) as an Early Intervention, Preschool Special Education Program and School-Age Special Education Program and as an evaluation site for young children with disabilities. VCLC has two campuses in Syosset and Levittown. Both facilities are licensed by the New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) as child care centers. VCLC has been at the Syosset location since 1977 and at the Levittown location since July 2015. VCLC is a multi-faceted agency providing early intervention, special education, and related therapies to young children with disabilities (birth to 8) and support services for their families. In addition, VCLC: (1) has a Sunday respite program for children (3-10 years) and their families from Nassau and Suffolk Counties, funded by the New York State Office of People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) and Medicaid; and (2) runs a limited number of fee-based programs including childcare, professional training seminars for early childhood and early childhood special education educators, Social Skills Training Groups and Saturday art and movement classes. All teachers and therapists have their New York State certifications/licenses. VCLC has provided programs and services for young children with disabilities and their families for 49 years. Judith Bloch founded the school in 1966, almost ten years prior to federal legislation giving children with disabilities the entitlement to receive a free appropriate public education (FAPE). Ms. Bloch developed a child-centered, family-focused program based on the concept that early identification and intervention with parental involvement can make a lasting impact on a child’s later development that is not possible if services are delayed. This philosophy and model, the Home/School Collaborative Model, remains the cornerstone of VCLC’s current programs. VCLC’s Home/School Collaborative Model was designated a “Sharing Success Validated Program” by SED in 1997. VCLC expanded, and leased the Geneva Gallow School from the Island Trees School District in July 2015. In September 2015, VCLC moved its school-age program from Syosset to the Gallow School. The new building provided additional opportunities to prepare the school-age children for transitions back to their school districts and/or larger classroom groups. The children eat with their peers in a lunch room and use other facilities similar to the ones they find in the community. In addition, VCLC opened inclusionary preschool classes approved by SED and a fee-based Child Care Program (licensed by OCFS) for children 6 weeks to 5 years. Today, VCLC, with an annual budget exceeding $20 million, serves more than 750 children with learning, language and behavior challenges, including autism, and their families each year. VCLC’s programs include evaluations for children birth to eight; early intervention; preschool full-day classes, both self-contained and inclusionary; full-day school-age classes; SEIS (Special Education Itinerant Services); Family Respite (OPWDD and Medicaid funded program);Related Services; and Childcare. VCLC also collaborates with a local district, overseeing it's UPK program and providing additional inclusionary opportunities for children with and without disabilities. In all programs and services, parents and professionals are viewed as equal partners. Services and programs are provided at no cost to families (except for childcare, some after-school and weekend programs) eliminating cost as a barrier to service. VCLC consistently develops new programs and provides services to traditionally disadvantaged and under-served populations. VCLC’s demographics show a diverse ethnic and socio-economic composition, including multi-ethnic families, non-English-speaking families, families with incomes at or below the poverty level, foster families, homeless families and single parent families. The Lufrano Training Program provides on- and off-site staff development training to early childhood and early childhood special education personnel yearly. Participants in the workshops come from local preschools, UPK programs, special education programs, Head Start, school districts and local government agencies. These seminars focus on practical knowledge to help teachers and therapists work with young children with disabilities and include them in less restrictive community settings. Topics include early childhood development and red flag behaviors, working with families, behavior management, social skill development, evaluations, autism, setting up learning environments, learning styles, among others. VCLC has SED approval to provide the workshop, Training in the Needs of Children with Autism, to teachers seeking certification in special education and newly certified administrators working in special education. Historically, VCLC has provided extensive workshops for families about early intervention, preschool special education and school-age special education, including transitioning from one system to the next; the CPSE and the CSE processes; understanding the IEP; working with the school districts; advocacy; LRE and instructional models. Each year, the Family Services Department offers a series of parent education groups focused on daily routines, child development and behavior management which include, but not limited to, such topics as: toilet training, autism, language development, social-emotional development, behavior management, sibling issues, attention deficit disorder (ADD), literacy, and psychological testing. The bilingual/bicultural social worker and speech pathologist conduct many of the listed workshops in Spanish. VCLC developed a pediatric resident training program in collaboration with Winthrop University Hospital. Pediatric residents visited VCLC during their behavioral pediatric rotation to learn about early childhood development and red flag behaviors; autism; working with families of children with disabilities; the referral processes; and community resources. COVID interrupted this program. Since 1981, VCLC has a Sunday Family Respite Program, funded by OPWDD and Medicaid, for families of children with disabilities (ages 3 -10) from Nassau and Suffolk Counties. This program meets the respite needs of parents and provides the children with recreational and social experiences. The program takes place on 18 Sundays from September through June and five vacation (non-school) days during school breaks. Over the years, VCLC has received many foundation grants, including two Kresge Challenge grants. These challenge grants were used for building expansion and renovation to accommodate VCLC’s growing programs. Two grants from the Bishop John R. McGann Mission of Caring Fund provided staff development for early childhood educators throughout the Diocese of Rockville Centre and parent education in three under-served communities: Central Islip, Westbury and the Inwood section of Cedarhurst. VCLC’s Vision is: VCLC is committed to providing high quality programs for young children with disabilities and their families that focus on the educational, social-emotional and physical growth of the children, and home/school collaboration. We believe that all children are capable of learning. Our programs respect each child’s individuality. Staff is responsible for developing relationships with each child. Decisions about programs and interventions must be based on the needs of the children. Always ask “Whose needs are being met?”