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 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE St. Anthony School Programs Identified as the ONLY School of its kind in the NationOctober 7, 2003 - St. Anthony School Programs has recently been identified as a one-of-a-kind model of inclusive Catholic special education. No other program in the United States provides inclusive Catholic Special Education to students with intellectual disabilities and autism in environments with their same age general education peers from the ages of 5 through 21. St. Anthony School Programs has gained national attention. For example, the Diocese of Norwich Connecticut, the Diocese of Wilmington, DE, and the Diocese of Columbus, OH have all sought consultation to replicate the successful methods of St. Anthony's.The Program: St. Anthony School Programs helps both Catholic and non-Catholic students with developmental disabilities to live their life to its fullest potential intellectually, socially, academically, vocationally and spiritually. Using resource rooms as a support base, St. Anthony students receive academic instruction, and attend social, recreational and sporting activities, as well as lunch and assemblies with their general education peers. The resource room is staffed with a certified Special Education Teacher supported by aides and job coaches. St. Anthony resource rooms in each host school have the high staff to student ratio of 1:3. Recent Growth: St. Anthony's has grown by 55% over the past five years. Currently, 110 students are being served in 7 elementary schools, three high schools and at Duquesne University. The beginning of the 2003-2004 school year saw the opening of the North Catholic High School site. The Future: A strategic plan is being completed that when implemented will make St. Anthony School Programs accessible to all students within the six-counties of the Diocese of Pittsburgh. Future locations include sites in Beaver, Butler, Green, Lawrence and Washington counties. At the completion of the plan, St. Anthony School Programs will be further distanced from other Catholic Special Education programs. 50 Years of Providing Special Education: In 1921, St. Anthony Village, an orphanage, was opened on 20 acres in Oakmont, Pennsylvania. It was established by a group of Italian language parishes in the Diocese. The Village provided a home and education for children primarily of Italian descent. By 1950 the trends for caring for dependent children began to change with the government taking a supportive role in their care. Thus in 1953, St. Anthony Village changed its name and its mission to St. Anthony School for Exceptional Children and began educating children with intellectual disabilities. By the mid-1980's trends in education changed from segregated schooling for exceptional children to mainstreaming. In 1992, the St. Anthony School for Exceptional Children site in Oakmont was vacated in favor of an inclusive program housed within nine elementary schools in the Diocese known today as St. Anthony School Programs. The program has since broadened to include students with a wider range of developmental disabilities including autism. In 1995, a post secondary site was opened at Duquesne University. St. Anthony's continues its mission of inclusive Catholic Special Education. |
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