The power of Crotched Mountain Foundation’s supporters has transformed the lives of children who are struggling the most during the pandemic.
“You are a lifesaver, we have struggled so much in the last month and we appreciate the financial support as well as the support with learning and accommodations you are able to make for him.” – Parent of a kindergartener
To say the pandemic has placed an immense strain on education is an understatement. While all children have been impacted by the effects of school disruption and the scarcity of in-person education, students with special needs have faced increased adversity,
According to a parent survey published in NPR last summer, 35% of parents of children with special needs reported that their children are doing little to no remote learning, compared with 17% of their general education peers. And, 40% of parents of children with special needs are concerned about their child’s mental health (versus 23% of parents of other children).
Recognizing this, Crotched Mountain Foundation reached out to two prominent community partners – the Granite YMCA and the Upper Room – and developed a partnership built around special, emergency grants. The purpose of the grants? To reach New Hampshire families of children with special needs struggling with distance learning.
“The disability community has been hit especially hard by the pandemic,” said Ned Olney, CEO of Crotched Mountain Foundation. “As we have since our inception, Crotched Mountain is committed to supporting the most vulnerable among us. Our generous donors heeded the call and rallied to support children with disabilities and help them succeed despite such adverse circumstances.”
The Upper Room has begun accepting referrals from local school districts to enroll children in their expanded special education program at their Derry location and the Granite YMCA has been able to leverage the funding to immediately support current children enrolled in their on-site remote learning program.
At the Granite YMCA, the funding has allowed the organization to bring on additional staff to focus on children with disabilities. Take Simon for example. A whip-smart five year old boy with ADD/ADHD and speech delays, Simon has been able to receive his one-to-one Speech therapy over the computer, but with a YMCA staff assisting him and keeping him on task.
In addition, he also attends a small reading group with another student twice a week. To help him focus, and with the support staff, Simon uses noise cancelling headphones, privacy screens, and sensory items.
“We are so happy by the ongoing progress he was able to make during these last five weeks of remote learning,” said Stacy Neville, Granite YMCAs Association Child Care Director.
It doesn’t stop with Simon, however – the extra staff funded through the grant have allowed the YMCA to keep ratios at one-to-one for special education services. Children who require support like Speech therapy can get their own staff-supervised quiet space to work on their lessons.
“We have been able to help so many kids with the funds,” Stacy says. “One of the teachers told us today how great it is that their student hadn’t lost his skills and has been able to still get his services in a way that shows progress during this remote time. It has been super helpful and we can’t thank you Crotched Mountain Foundation and your donors and supporters enough for this.”
But you don’t have to take Stacy’s – or our – word for it. This, from the mother of a third grade student, says it all:
“I have cashed in all of my PTO just to be able to afford sending her to the remote program so I am still able to work. This is so nice of you and the foundation to think of us parents and our kids who are struggling during this time.”