The New England Center for Children is a private, nonprofit school serving 215 students with autism, pervasive development disorder, behavior disorder and related disabilities. Providing educational services to this historically underserved and challenging group of children requires specialized services delivered by competent professionals at all levels of the school.

The efforts of the Center are driven by its mission "To create a work environment in which all staff members are valued and respected and able to achieve their professional potential." The Center has developed a professional development model that fosters the optimum growth of each employee through the provision of expert supervision and mentoring, extensive training opportunities, participation in advanced degree programs on-site, and periodic attendance at professional meetings and conferences.

Program directors and specialists attend biweekly meetings that provide a forum for reviewing ongoing research projects, discussing recent publications, sharing effective program strategies, and discussing and evaluating curriculum issues. Staff members engage in ongoing professional development through the acquisition of continuing education credits and participation in advanced accreditation and certification programs. The Center supports a minimum of two yearly in-services with guest speakers who are selected on the basis of their expertise in particular educational or clinical areas relevant to student needs.

The evidence of success for the Center is unique because of the nature of the population that it serves. Over half of the enrolled students at the Center have failed in prior placements; no students have failed placement at the Center for educational reasons. More importantly, progress report data from the 1998-1999 school year indicate that students have met or made significant progress on 75% of their educational objectives. This is not the only evidence of success. Vocational skills data from students who have graduated in the past three years indicate that over 75% have successfully worked in paid jobs in the community while at the Center and over 85% of graduating students have completed volunteer internship positions in local businesses and public agencies.

Contact Information

The New England Center for Children, Inc.
Myrna E. Libby, PhD, Program Director
33 Turnpike Road
Southboro, Massachusetts 01772
508-481-1015
508-485-3421 (fax)
MLibby@NECC.org

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