Long Island's Vincent Smith School, a special school for special-

Long Island Business News, May 21, 2004 by Ryan McCormick

Vincent Smith School opened in 1924 as an independent day school and has evolved over the years into a school for children with special learning needs. Serving children from 5th through 12th grades, this unique setting provides tailored learning methods, small, intimate classes and the opportunity for students to develop both academically and emotionally.

We are concerned with the total person here at Vincent Smith, said Arlene Wishnew, head of the school. We offer academic and social opportunities that these children most often would not receive in a public school setting. Wishnew was joined by Ellen Forrest, a member of the school's board of trustees, in an interview.

Cerini: To what extent does your curriculum coincide with New York State educational mandates?

Wishnew: We are accredited by the NYS Board of Regents as well as the NYS Association of Independent Schools, and our curriculum runs side by side with the curriculum found in public schools. We do, however, modify the curriculum to make it easier for our students to absorb and understand.

Our student population is composed of children with special needs such as dyslexia and attention deficit disorder (ADD), so their attention span and learning speed are not the same as your average student.

But we do have four years of English and four years of Social Studies, just like public schools. We cover all the same topics but may not go into as much detail with things. For instance, our science classes include labs and experiments, but while public-school children may do 20 labs a year, here we'll only require 10. With all that said, our students still graduate with 22.5 credits, and though we are accredited by the board of regents, we do not give regents exams.

Our programs are really modified to fit the needs of our students. In public schools, organization and research skills may be things children learn on their own, but we work with our students to teach them these necessary skills. We teach more than just content; we focus on how to do things - how to learn, how to follow instructions, how to study and take tests. It's a truly well-rounded curriculum, and at least 85 percent of our kids go on to college, which is really remarkable and something we are very proud of.

Cerini: You don't typically see middle schools and high schools dedicated to special-needs children. It's more common in younger children, who are then integrated into the public-school system. What are some of the benefits for children of this age group to attend Vincent Smith?

Wishnew: As I said earlier, we focus on more than just academics. Adolescence is a time when many children struggle. It's a time when you need to be more independent, both academically and socially. For children with special needs, this time can be even more difficult, especially if they're in a public-school setting. While it's great to provide specialized programs for the younger children, it's still important that children at the high-school level have a place to go where they can feel more confident and have more opportunities.

Forrest: At Vincent Smith, we provide many of the same activities as a public school. We have sports teams, yearbook committees, student council, class trips, and the list goes on. These children, however, may feel intimidated to join the student council at a public school or may never make the cut for the football team, which is unfortunate, because extracurricular activities are so important to be involved in at that age.

Cerini: In what ways to do you interact with the community?

Forrest: We've really become a special resource for the community. For the past few years, we've been hosting an annual special- education fair every October. We typically have more than 50 service providers there from all across Long Island that take tables exhibiting the various services they provide to special-education students. It's free and open to the public, and we encourage anyone with a special-needs student to attend.

We also have lectures throughout the year. In the past, we've had Dr. David Dillon, a psychiatrist, speak on pharmacology issues as they relate to special-education students. We've had an Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder trainer speak on the parent-child relationship and how to be an effective parent for a child with ADHD or ADD. The list goes on and on. We're very well-received in the community, and we feel it's important to give back and provide as much education and resources as we can.