children’s
the
institute
Annual Report 2013-14
Innovation
Innovation
Ready for “What If…” “Innovation.” Webster defines it as “a new idea or method; the art or process of introducing new ideas.” At TCI, innovation is part of our history and our culture. Since we opened our doors 51 years ago, we have seen many changes, and at every turn, we have responded with innovative ways to address new problems and meet new needs. I believe the innovation at TCI has three essential elements. First, innovation requires a willingness to take risks. In the last three years, TCI has expanded our school to two campuses, doubling in size while launching a new program in the challenging and uncertain world of services for adults. Second, innovation requires curiosity and a “what if” frame of mind. Some were surprised when our small video studio caught the attention of so many students, allowing it to grow into a full-fledged production company, acting school, and film school for young people on the autism spectrum. Third, innovation requires trust. We must be able to trust our own skills as well as those of our fellow administrators, our teachers, our parents, our community, and, most of all, our students and adults. That trust extends to you, our founders and donors. Your support allows us to continue our work, prepared for the next innovative opportunity and ready to ask the question: “What if…?”
Thank you,
Bruce Ettinger, Ed.D., Superintendent and Executive Director The Children’s Institute
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Administration Executive Director/Superintendent................. Dr. Bruce Ettinger, Ed.D.
Verona School:
Preschool, Elementary & Middle School Principal....................................................... Gina Catania, MA, M.Ed. Assistant Principal....................................... Tara Ann Hayek, MA, M.Ed.
Livingston School:
High School & Young Adult Program Principal....................................................... Lynn Muir, MA, M.Ed. Supervisor of Curriculum & Instruction....... Kelly Cue, MA
The Center for Independence:
Program Director......................................... Kimberley Mitchell-Rushmore, MSW, LCSW Assistant Director........................................ Mary Perez, BA
Business and Development Office:
Business Manager....................................... Jenine Murray, MBA Director of Development............................. Diane Berry, BS
Board of Directors:
TCI is governed by a Board of Directors comprised of volunteers with a range of diverse experience including business owners, professionals, corporate executives, community leaders and other concerned and caring individuals.
Executive Committee:
President..................................................... Michael J. Reimer, Esq. Vice President.............................................. Richard Kaplan Treasurer‌.................................................. Kristen Olson Secretary..................................................... Aileen Boyle Past President............................................. Alan D. Sobel
Members:
J. Daniel Adkinson, Dr. Kenneth M. Blumberg, Vincent Howell, Wayne Mandel, Marc Reimer, Dirk van der Sterre, and Jonah Zimiles, Esq.
Honorary Board Member: Nat Conti
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Innovation
Our Innovative Team Dear Friends: Earlier this fall, The Children’s Institute’s Executive Director, Dr. Bruce Ettinger, was honored by his peers as a leader in the field of special education at a statewide ceremony. In true TCI style, he did not accept the award alone. He brought his team of school leaders and shared the recognition, saying with great humility, “I could never have done this alone!” And so it is with all of our work. Everything we do at The Children’s Institute is done in teams, groups, and pairs. We do it in conjunction with researchers, community organizations, parents, local business leaders, other schools and elected officials. And of course, we do it with you, our friends and supporters. Within this report, you will read about cutting-edge technologies and research-based educational interventions. You will also read about the school play and sleepovers. You are part of the team that fueled the innovations that made the sleepover and school play possible, that helped a child learn to read, and that allowed a young man with autism to earn his first pay check. You are part of the team that Dr. Ettinger acknowledged as he accepted the honor that day, because none of this would be possible without you. We are thankful, grateful and humbled by your support. It allows us to move forward with the next great idea, and to forge ahead with the next innovative way to meet the needs of those on the autism spectrum. Michael J. Reimer, Esq.
President, Board of Trustees
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Innovation
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Verona School
Preschool, Elementary, Middle School, and Freshman Transition Program Our hilltop Verona school serves preschoolers and elementary students and middle school students on the autism spectrum. Our instruction is based on the most current research in the field of special education. Here, students get the highly individualized instruction they need to make quick gains. Our 9th graders, on the cusp of high school, spend a final year here as they prepare to transition to the Livingston School.
Innovations: Increased emphasis on early reading: Academic success requires a solid foundation in reading, and this year, TCI hired a second full-time reading specialist at the Verona school to coordinate our efforts. We trained our key staff and teachers on the Lindamood Bell Visualizing and Verbalizing Reading Program®, a well-researched and proven approach to reading instruction. Increased accountability for outcomes: While students with autism need instruction in speech, communication, social skills, and self-management, they must also show yearly gains in the “three R’s” and are required to take part in state testing. TCI’s testing coordinators were trained by the New Jersey Department of Education on new mandates and on how to use computer programs for testing. We also implemented the Assessment of Functional Living Skills (AFLS), recommended for students ages 12 and up, and developed program goals for each student in the areas of self-help and life skills. “Innovation is what happens when we merge the best in educational research with years of practical, hands-on experience.” - Gina Catania, BA, MA, M.Ed., Principal
Technology infusion: The 1-1 iPad program in the middle school allowed teachers to introduce Noteability, a popular note-taking application that is used with students to help develop their note-taking skills.
Research for the future: We are researching the effects of “NAO the Robot,” brought to TCI to help our younger students with their language skills and social development. This will help shape the best practices of tomorrow. Real career learning: TCI’s Career Education Program launched a new school store and a mock grocery store where our Verona school students receive hands-on instruction before going out for Community Based Learning. The world is our classroom: We expanded Community-Based Instruction (CBI) through our relationships with the Caldwell Community Center for swimming instruction and area stores such as Foodtown, Subway, DiPaolo’s Bakery, and Amazing Savings so students can use skills they learn in school in real-life situations. DO YOU KNOW? Our students constantly amaze us with creative ideas. This year, two students stepped forward to lead dismissal at the end of the day. Rather than staff writing down bus numbers and calling them out over a megaphone, the boys asked if they could try it. Students and teachers were interested in listening to his announcements, making the bus group more efficient and effective. It may seem like a small innovation, but it was a student-generated idea, coming from two 13-year-olds who don’t always have the confidence to try new things.
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Livingston High School including the Young Adult Program (YAP) Our newest campus, located in a wooded office park in Livingston, provides highly specialized services and support to high school students and young adults ages 18 to 21. Here, our older students enjoy a “typical high school” experience, complete with challenging academics, school dances, musicals, a prom, and team sports. What makes TCI’s Livingston school innovative is not only that which is visible but also that which is not seen: the specialized support services we use to make students successful.
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Innovation
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Innovations: Culinary program: TCI’s Culinary Program is directed by a chef trained at the Culinary Institute of America who believes in educating students using all their senses. Students learn a vast number of aspects about the dishes they create and thoroughly enjoy the “edible curriculum.” Instruction focuses on helping students make healthy and nutritious choices about food. Students chop, cook, and taste their way across time, learning about the history and geography of food, kitchen safety, cooking skills, food preparation, and budgeting, along with math skills, measurement, and weights. Staying safe: In an era of school violence and bullying, it is more important than ever that vulnerable students learn the best and latest strategies to stay safe. We created and implemented new procedures to maintain personal safety, updated trip protocols, and enhanced school-wide security measures. Pre-Vocational Skills: Through our Community-Based Work Experience, serving both young adults and high school aged students, TCI now has 33 job sites; the program’s expansion required the hiring of a second transition coordinator to help students make connections to adult services. Lights, camera, action!: Our high school students put on a full production of the classic musical, The Wizard of Oz, entertaining hundreds of guests. Student performances were enhanced by staff support, implementation of individual accommodations, technological advancements, and hours of rehearsing.
DO YOU KNOW? TCI received a donation of a poster-maker printer to allow students to launch an entrepreneurial enterprise to support local businesses. The middle school purchased a poster-maker printer as well and is working to launch a similar program!
“Our motto, ‘Educating the whole child,’ includes teaching pre-vocational skills as a means to be an independent, productive member of society.” - Lynn Muir, MA, M.Ed. Principal, TCI High School.
Innovation
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The Center for Independence (CFI)
TCI’s program for adults on the autism spectrum, now entering its third year, merges innovation with time-tested strategies. We combine training in life skills, social skills, and personal development with a unique tiered vocational program that leads to supported employment in the community. The adults at TCI are treated like adults. We recognize their rights to make choices, pursue their dreams and passions, and engage in meaningful work. Our participants push the envelope to try new things. This year, five adults who had never before slept away from home participated in our overnight respite programs. Each challenged his or her fears and anxieties head on and succeeded in developing a new level of independence.
Innovations: The Royal Oak Gift and Flower Shop: At our fully functioning retail space, adults with autism learned work skills associated with retail, flower design, and marketing. Adult participants exercised their independence as employees in the shop, while others secured paid positions outside of TCI in retail and event design. With specialized support from TCI, several of our adults secured jobs at a cardiologist’s office, the Westminster Hotel, Walgreen’s, and CVS.
“We continue to push the limits of adult services and set an example for what exceptional services for adults with autism can be. - Kimberley Rushmore, LCSW, Director, The Center for Independence
Horticulture program: A horticulture specialist from the award-winning company GreEn’ergy, worked with TCI adults. They have learned to care for plants and flowers and planted outdoor gardens where they grow fresh vegetables. Integrated soccer league: Working with other providers of adult services, our soccer program engaged our participants in fitness and fun. Students from Seton Hall University, NJIT, New Jersey City College, and St. Benedict’s Prep lined up to play with our adults. Capelli of New York donated their indoor space, t-shirts, and coaching staff to help get our program up and running, adding a community involvement and awareness component.
DO YOU KNOW? Our newly constructed state-of-the-art greenhouse will create even more opportunities for innovation. We plan to contract with local businesses to care for their plants.
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Clinical and Behavioral Services To support the work of educators, our clinical and behavioral program brings compassion, understanding, and the best of science-based intervention to our students. We continued and expanded direct support from outside experts to better meet the complex behavioral needs of our students, and to ensure peer review of our own work. Through our relationship with the nationally respected leaders in the field of autism, psychiatry, social skills and Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), our staff learned from the region’s top professionals.
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Innovation
Innovations: Behavior department: In order to intensify and streamline our behavioral support, TCI established a new Behavior Department, including a number of Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) with an ABA trainer and a department coordinator.
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“Some of the most important tools we can give our students are the ability to ask for help when they need it and new ways to solve problems.” - Sarah Caverly, M.Ed., NCC, Clinician
Social skills curriculum: Using the a new Social Thinking Curriculum®, TCI students moved from a 1:1 teaching environment to small-group learning, helping each student to gain new social perspectives. TCI trained all of the speech and clinician staff in the use of this curriculum and its applications. Peer review: To better ensure human rights and clinical fidelity of our work, TCI established a Behavior Review Committee at each school. The new process ensures peer review before specific student’s individual behavior support plans are implemented, providing an additional system of safeguards. New strategies: Our clinical department introduced new counseling strategies for students, including Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) and Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT), designed to help a full range of students.
DO YOU KNOW: Our “Train-the-Trainer” program allowed behavior specialists to learn from experts how to train and supervise staff, conduct competency checklists, and provide corrective feedback and instruction to fellow educators. DO YOU KNOW? Our clinical program re-structured social skills groups for students and introduced Parent Support Groups.
“Social skills are all about ‘educating the whole child’ because it is such a personal education, not an academic one. It gives each and every student a foundation from which they can go out in the world and build relationships.” - Beth Mananey, MA., School Clinician
“The safety and well being of our students has always been a top priority at TCI. Our new Behavior Review Committee helps to reinforce ethical guidelines.” - Valerie Triano, M.Ed., BCBA, Behavior Analyst
Innovation
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Technology Nowhere is innovation more apparent than in TCI’s technology. TCI’s implementation of iPod/iPad technology ranges from our youngest preschooler to our adults, and at each level, the devices are programmed to match the developmental needs of each student. Students in our high school program are learning to communicate and collaborate with one another using a suite of online tools called Google Apps for Education. Our cutting-edge technology cuts across the curriculum, and our popular blog is used to share tips and applications.
Innovations: Growing Independence with iPads: TCI partnered with a foundation to participate in a project that provides iPads to students at our high school, young adult program and The Center for Independence in order to help them develop communication and career skills. While all three groups of students are learning job skills in the community, each is using a different aspect of the iPad technology to develop and expand independence and career skills. One group of students is using Facetime, a live video chat program, to communicate with his or her job coach. Other students use video modeling to provide support with employment and on-the-job procedures. Device management: TCI implemented a new mobile device management system to streamline the management of iPads. The system allows apps to be installed and removed from a remote terminal, without ever having to touch the iPad. “The iPad allows us to provide traditional supports, but now in a more personal and less stigmatizing package.” - Randall Palmer, MA. Ed.S. Computer Specialist
Dissemination of best practices: TCI’s computer specialist coordinated a number of workshops and presentations at state, local and national conferences at which he and TCI staff shared successful strategies with other educators and school leaders.
Professional and Staff Development Staff training and support are a vital foundation in any organization but especially in one serving more than 250 individuals with disabilities. With more than 220 full- and part-time staff members, and two locations, it is critical that each person working at TCI, from custodians to clinicians, paraprofessionals to principals, understands our mission and our students.
Innovations: Training the next generation of educators: TCI accommodated and trained approximately 20 student teachers and 12 volunteers this year. Tuesday Trainings: TCI leveraged the skills and knowledge of our own in-house experts to cross-train their colleagues during two Tuesdays per month. Topics included speech, reading strategies, assessment, technology, and more. Leading Others: Staff members submitted and presented work at state and national conferences, helping to share best practices. Learning to Teach “Essentials for Living�: Staff from both schools received intensive training in the use of an innovative behavioral tool designed to assess and teach skills for everyday living – how to do laundry, self-care, and even how to use a hammer and screwdriver. The tool is backed by research and allows TCI to better measure and report individual gains in skills. DO YOU KNOW? Our staff is frequently considered for local, state, and national recognition. This year, several staff members were nominated for Teacher, Paraprofessional, and Related Service Providers of the Year.
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Film School, Acting Program, and Video Production Studio The very fact that TCI offers a film school and an acting program for students and adults on the autism spectrum is innovation at its best: TCI is one of the only school of its kind to offer such a program. At the film school, students are learning high-value job skills and creating content that advances their potential for a career. Their challenges related to autism are redefined through the lens of their unique skills and assets and are thus seen as a difference rather than a disability.
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Innovation
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Innovations: “Acting Normal”: Our Acting for the Camera social skills program used video to help students of all abilities see themselves as others do, and helped them improve communication and social skills. Film school staff partnered with TCI clinical staff and outside consultants to create a program in which students learn to use their voices and bodies for more confident and effective communication. College connections: In partnership with local community colleges, universities, and private film schools with certificate or degree programs in film and media, the TCI film school coordinated curriculum and equipment purchases. This gives TCI film school participants a distinct advantage for dual enrollment should they decide to transition to higher education. Local partnerships: Our advanced program participants worked on “in-house” projects. In addition, we supported outside work experiences in volunteer and paid freelance positions with local broadcasters and independent production companies, including TV35 Woodbridge; TV34 Montclair; Livingston TV; Troy Hall, AFI award-winning independent producer; and the Mothers Load Channel.
DO YOU KNOW? TCI Film School has staff members who are professionally trained in TV and film production, as well as certified teachers and credentialed clinicians. This unique combination of training and skill allows leaders at the film school to design activities that leverage the skills and abilities of those on the spectrum.
“The film school is a place where students with abilities and challenges related to autism spectrum disorders, attention issues, and social anxiety are able to thrive by being engaged and involved in creative group work.” - David DiIanni, TCI Film School Director
Innovation
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After-school and Respite Programs, Clubs, and Scouts Through TCI’s After-school Program, students on the autism spectrum have a chance to learn things that they cannot typically learn during the school day and spend structured “down time” with friends, helping them to use and generalize skills. These experiences can promote independence, build coping skills, and solidify social skills, all leading to personal growth. Because of our strong and on-going relationships with other schools and community organizations in the area, TCI students who take part in activities after school have the chance to be in the community and fully included with their neuro-typical peers. Our respite program offers families and caregivers a break from the responsibilities of caring for their loved one, but it also does much more. Respite overnights give our students the chance to apply social skills and daily living skills – cooking, shopping, laundry, and personal care – while exploring all that their communities have to offer.
“It is vital for TCI to provide a variety of after-school programs to our students, not only so they can have fun but so they can become more confident. I hope that, after our students try a new activity at TCI, they become involved in these activities in their own communities.” –Daniela DiCarlo, After-school Program/ Respite Coordinator Verona
Our scouting program, the first one of its kind, allows our Girl Scouts to cultivate friendships and connections that are so often missing in the lives of girls on the autism spectrum. Additionally, our Special Olympics team expanded this year to include soccer and basketball, and TCI players took part in an all-state event at Montclair State College.
Innovations: Expansion: At our Verona school, we added a third day of after-school program and offered late pickup for parents. Dinner was served on site at TCI, so students got to enjoy an evening meal together. At our Livingston school the program was expanded to four days a week, and a winter session was added, ensuring an after-school program for the entire academic year.
New programs: We expanded our after-school offerings at both locations. Our Verona school added Spanish culture, iPad applications, Zumba dance, and culinary arts, as well as 4-H and fitness programs, and our Livingston school added activities like rock climbing, golf, yoga and Taekwondo. Integrated program: Our integrated after-school program for students at TCI’s Verona campus, offered at Heritage Middle School in Livingston, allowed students to enjoy after-school experiences with typical peers. Our high school also offers integrated programs where our students interact with and form friendships with typical peers who attend Livingston High School, Montclair Kimberly Academy, Seton Hall Prep and Mount Saint Dominic Academy. 24/7: Girl Scouts from our high school took a weekend trip – a first for nearly all of them - to a YMCA equestrian camp program, where they learned to ride and care for horses, shared a campfire, and ate s’mores. DO YOU KNOW? TCI’s Girl Scout troop is the only troop in New Jersey comprised solely of girls on the autism spectrum. Because autism is much more common in boys than it is in girls, it can be a challenge to create support and programs designed for girls.
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Parent/Staff Organization (PSO) The PSO supports The Children’s Institute by providing special opportunities for students at both schools. The PSO provided financial support for school dances, alumni events, weekend movies for families, T-shirts for sports teams and field day, and our school prom. They even made a donation to support The Center for Independence. The PSO hosted two staff appreciation luncheons and supported fund-raising events, including the walk-a-thon.
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Innovation
Parent and Community Education Outreach and education is a vital part of the work of TCI. Through our Spectrum of Options Speaker Series, we continued our tradition of offering free programs not only to TCI parents, but also to community members at large.
Innovations: Innovative Topics: Every year, we use an electronic survey to ask our families about the topics that most interest them. This year, we introduced a new parent workshop topic on kinesthetic classrooms, bringing a local expert to TCI to help parents and professionals understand the role of physical movement in learning. Responding to a Changing World: TCI welcomed experts from Children’s Specialized Hospital to talk to parents about emergency preparedness, elopement and how to keep vulnerable children and adults safe in uncertain and sometimes dangerous times. Helping To Create New Programs: Educators at TCI were invited to consult with teachers in order to help a Jersey City Public School develop a public school program for preschoolers with autism. Sharing Behavioral Expertise: Staff members in TCI’s Behavior Intervention Department trained staff at a private school for individuals with disabilities in Belleville, NJ, providing guidance on behavior management.
DO YOU KNOW: TCI is often asked to help others learn more about ASD and related disabilities. Leaders at St. Barnabas Medical Center invited TCI to educate more than 50 nurses and doctors at their ambulatory care center about autism. Trainers from TCI developed a 50-page manual with accompanying videos and delivered training across several days.
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Innovation
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Development 2014 was a year marked by continued traditions—our successful Fore the Kids Golf Outing, which raised more than $100,000 for the school, and our vibrant community-wide Walk for A Lifetime Walk-a-Thon—as well as a year of rebuilding. From the staff to software to strategy, the Development Department laid a firm foundation for innovation. One of the fundamental concepts woven through all that we did was to better tell the story of The Children’s Institute in order to show how donations make a real difference in our organization and in the lives of those we serve.
Innovations: “Out of the Office”: TCI brought the Development Department into the schools, spending a few days each week at each campus. By walking the halls with our staff and students, we were better able to tell the TCI story to donors and prospective donors.
“While I firmly believe that being fully integrated into the schools is essential to the success of our Development Department, I have to say that it makes our work day unbelievably fun! It’s wonderful to see our students and adults succeed and to know that, in some small way, we could be part of it!” - Diane Berry, BS Director of Development
Income
July 1, 2013 - June 30, 2014 3.2%
3.2% 2.4% 0.5%
90.8%
Video storytelling: Working with TCI’s own production studio, we developed a short video that tells the story of one family and integrated the video into the automatic responses that go out when people donate to our golf tournament. While the video could add value to any of our donor thank-you emails, we focused on golf because many of those who donate and participate in our golf tournament are somewhat removed from the mission of TCI. We want them to know our story and to feel confident that their donation of time and money is going to an important cause! Sharing the moment: This spring, we invited one of our potential funders to the campus to see the dress rehearsal of TCI’s production of The Wizard of Oz. She was able to see first-hand what our school is all about – providing typical experiences to our students with the support they need to be successful! She LOVED it! Tuition Income Capital Campaign Contributions Annual Fund DDD Revenue Other Program Fees
In an effort to reduce costs and as part of our Green Initiative, our donor list can be found at: www.tcischool.org/donors
children’s
the
institute
1 Sunset Avenue, Verona, NJ 07044 | 973-509-3050, FAX 973-509-3060 6 Regent Street, Livingston, NJ 07039 | 973-509-3050, FAX 973-740-2021
www.tcischool.org