A Message from the Principal 

Thank you for your interest in the Children’s Learning Center. Through our web site, you will see and read about the array of services offered, the bright, colorful, energized look and feel of our school, and the joyous determination of our accomplished students. So please take a look. I hope you enjoy perusing the site.

By way of summarizing the school, CLC offers full-day, center-based educational services to children from the ages of 18 months to 21 years. Approximately 250 children receive such services from a committed, highly qualified faculty of 200 multi-disciplinary staff, including special education teachers, clinicians, and paraprofessionals. In addition to IEP-based services, all students receive art therapy, music therapy, adapted physical education, and computer training. Students enjoy visits to the school library, field trips throughout the New York metropolitan area, and fabulous assembly programs, including visits from football teams, jazz bands, choirs, and local theater groups.

The students enrolled in CLC have differing developmental delays and disabilities, including speech language delays, cerebral palsy, neurological and orthopedic conditions, and cognitive delays. Some have physical disabilities and some do not. Referrals to CLC for evaluations and/or enrollment are made by local school districts in Nassau and Suffolk counties, as well as New York City.

There are three programmatic divisions within CLC: Early Intervention for young children up to the age of 3; Preschool for the 3-5 year olds; and School-Age for children ages 5-21. The school’s physical structure is comprised of a Lower School for the younger students and an Upper School for the older ones. While some activities are for a particular age group, i.e. (Lower School) Pajama Day and (Upper School) Prom, most special events are school-wide which facilitates CLC as being a cohesive, learning-community.

Each year, approximately 40 students are determined by the multi-disciplinary teams to be ready to graduate CLC and head toward their local elementary school. Consistent with CLC’s mission, these students graduate with pre-academic/academic knowledge, enhanced social skills, clinical accomplishments, and (very important to us) tolerance toward people with disabilities, having had great experiences (and fun!) with children from other classes within CLC.

Families are integral to the students’ accomplishments. Parents are invited to Open School Night, parent-teacher conferences, case conferences, to visit classes during American Education Week, and to participate in our special events. Grandparents love coming to Grandparents Day and siblings enjoy spending the day at their brothers’/sisters’ school at Sibling Day and during our agency-wide Trick or Treat event.

Speaking of special events, we have so many events that we need a special school calendar just to list them! The events that are loved and valued by the students include Homecoming (including a football clinic), Cultural Creativity Day, Spring Fling Dance, Field Day, Art Exhibit, the Prom, Upper School-wide participation in the Empire State Games for the Physically Challenged, and the kick-off Pep Rally for the Games.

If you would like more information about the Children’s Learning Center, please send me an email @ dberger@ucpn.org or call us at 516-378-2000 ext. 310.

Dee Berger

Diane Berger, Principal