2023 Year-in-Review

New York Institute for Special Education Community Email Newsletter

Teaching Independence Improving Lives

 

Join us for a look back at 2023, made possible through the dedication of many: our teachers, teacher's assistants, childcare workers, houseparents, psychologists, social workers, coaches, physical, speech, and occupational therapists, and administrative and operational staff. Every day, these committed individuals ensure students have the support needed to engage in learning and build independence. We are incredibly proud of all they accomplished together this past year. As we look ahead, know that we appreciate you and your help in making our work possible in ways big and small. We look forward to keeping you up-to-date on all things NYISE! Warm wishes, The NYISE Team

 

PS: We are designing this year's Valentine's Day Postcard and would love to send you one in the mail. Click here to join our mailing list.

 

2023 Highlights

For a quick glimpse at some of our annual highlights, follow the links below to visit our 2023 Photo Album.

First Day of School Celebrations Photo Album Link: 

https://www.nyise.org/apps/albums/school/0/336148/0?uREC_ID=0&backTitle=&backLink=

Pep Rally Photo Album Link: 

https://www.nyise.org/apps/albums/school/0/341492/0?uREC_ID=0&backTitle=&backLink=

White Cane Day Photo Album Link: 

https://www.nyise.org/apps/albums/school/0/339676/0?uREC_ID=0&backTitle=&backLink=

Spooky-Ooky Day! Photo Album Link: 

https://www.nyise.org/apps/albums/school/0/340626/0?uREC_ID=0&backTitle=&backLink=

Advocacy Day Photo Album Link: 

https://www.nyise.org/apps/albums/school/0/326592/0?uREC_ID=0&backTitle=&backLink=

Science Fair Photo Album Link: 

https://www.nyise.org/apps/albums/school/0/328100/0?uREC_ID=0&backTitle=&backLink=

Prom Photo Album Link: 

https://www.nyise.org/apps/albums/school/0/330231/0?uREC_ID=0&backTitle=&backLink=

Graduation Day Photo Album Link: 

https://www.nyise.org/apps/albums/school/0/331162/0?uREC_ID=0&backTitle=&backLink=

 

Section Title: Schermerhorn Program

With a 190+ year history of serving students with blindness and visual impairments, the Schermerhorn Program offers diverse educational services to meet the needs of children who are legally blind, from the ages of 5 to 21. During 2023, our K-12 students built their knowledge by studying math, science, technology, history, and the English language arts. They explored Vincent Van Gogh and Kandinsky, learned to sing together, celebrated their many musical talents during our school concerts, and read and wrote Braille to cite their research and share their stories (both fiction and non-fiction). Our graduates moved on to pursue their careers, and several are pursuing college degrees at Dominican University, Marymount Manhattan, Hofstra University, Bronx Community College, and Queens College. We are proud to share that we traditionally have a 100% graduation rate and invite Alumni to join our mailing list to stay connected with activities here on campus. To learn more about our Schermerhorn Program, follow this link: 

www.nyise.org/schermerhornprogram/

 

Section Title: Residential Program

Our Residential Program provides a home-like atmosphere for select Schermerhorn students who stay with us on campus during the week, returning home for weekends and holidays. Students live in our dormitories and are involved in shopping, meal planning, food preparation, and care of their living area under the guidance of our supportive and knowledgeable staff. Students also build their social and interpersonal skills through a full roster of therapeutic activities. These activities include cooking, riding bikes around campus, board games, outdoor movie nights, trips to ice skating rinks, hiking trails, beaches, and sightseeing. During 2023, Residential students also celebrated the holidays with a pizza party graciously hosted by the Kiwanis Club, including a performance by a fantastic magician, and visited the nearby Bronx Zoo to experience the Bronx Zoo Holiday Lights Celebration. To learn more about our Residential Program, follow this link:

www.nyise.org/ResidentialProgram/

 

Section Title: Athletics Program

Our Athletics Program includes adaptive physical education for our K-12 students and competitive team and individual sports for our middle and high school students. Throughout the program, students can build their self-confidence, self-esteem, and self-awareness through exploration, practice, and teamwork. During 2023, students traveled to the Virginia School for the Blind to compete against five teams in a "March Madness" Goalball tournament. Our teams were first in the playoffs and had a great tournament, followed by a fantastic reception during which they met players from the other teams. Back on campus, students learned about and played adaptive tennis with a Westchester County-based organization called Hero Adaptive Tennis and competed in Eastern Athletics Association for the Blind (EAAB) Swim and Track and Field Tournaments. To learn more about our team and individual sports, follow this link: www.nyise.org/athletics/ To learn more about Hero Adaptive Tennis, follow this link: www.nyise.org/heroadaptivetennis/

 

Section Title: Vocational and Transition Services

Vocational and Transition Services support our blind and visually impaired students by teaching them the skills necessary to prepare for and find a job, including providing support in selecting and applying for internships, part-time jobs, and two or four-year colleges or universities. As part of our Vocational and Transition Services Program, three high school students were interns for Globe.gov and helped improve its accessibility by providing context and advice on recommended updates based on their personal experiences and previous work in digital accessibility. By the end of their six-month internship, each had redesigned/rewritten at least one page with significant accessibility concerns. To see and listen to our students describe their work, follow this link and fast forward to minute marker 6:34: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNS1FESD9Oo.

 

Section Title: Student Wellness Works Program

The Student Wellness Works Program is a natural expansion of our Expanded Core Curriculum and primarily serves our Schermerhorn middle and high school students. This program aims to engage students in their capacity to learn and access the joy therein while building their self-esteem and understanding of how to relate to others socially and emotionally. Current program activities include residencies, interactive workshops, assemblies, field trips, and social-emotional learning opportunities, including a workshop with the Asase Yaa Cultural Arts Foundation, which met with students to teach them about the culture, purpose, and principles of the Djembe, a traditional percussion instrument from West Africa. To learn more about Student Wellness Works, follow this link: 

www.nyise.org/studentwellnessworks/

 

Section Title: Student Government Association (SGA)

The Student Government Association (SGA) engages students to work with their peers as community leaders, designing and implementing student-led programming at the Institute. SGA Executive Officers are elected in the fall and meet throughout the school year to discuss programming and activities under the guidance of a Faculty Advisor and Institute staff. The SGA's 2023 events focused on fundraising for causes near and dear to our students, including supporting research for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and Breast Cancer. The SGA also hosted a clothing and food drive for a Bronx nonprofit helping residents in need. Thank you to everyone who works to make this program a success!

 

Section Title: Readiness Program

The Readiness Program is a full-day, center-based program for children ages 3 to 5 who display a developmental delay in one or more of the following areas: cognitive, speech and language, fine or gross motor skills, sensory integration, adaptive or social-emotional development. A year of exploratory and sensory learning, one of this year's most exciting experiences was our annual Touch-A-Truck event, during which preschoolers met members of the NYPD Community Affairs Bureau, the NYPD 49th precinct, FDNY, and the NYC Sanitation Department. Students also had a chance to sit in the driver's seat of a DSNY truck and learn about the 24 million pounds of trash, recycling, and compostable material the trucks pick up daily. To learn more about our Readiness Program, follow this link: 

www.nyise.org/readinessprogram/