Summer Matters - Valley Forge Educational Services
Main Line Suburban Life: VFES is still going strong
July 29, 2009
For more than 20 years Valley Forge Educational Services (VFES), a nonprofit organization in Malvern, has been offering a wide variety of specialized educational opportunities to students of differing social and educational abilities.
Its 26 acres house both the Vanguard School, which focuses on programming for students in the autistic spectrum and children with mild behavior disorders, and the Crossroads School, which specializes in assisting students with language-based learning differences such as dyslexia.
VFES offers a variety of programs year round, including its three main summer programs, Summer L.I.F.E., the Extended School Year Program at the Vanguard School and the Summer at Crossroads Program. These programs vary in many ways and cover the spectrum of offerings for every child regardless of age, ability or learning style.
The newest program, Summer L.I.F.E., which stands for Learning is for Everyone, is open to youth and young adults of all abilities.
“The program, which was established in 2007 and was formerly called Summer Matters, is an experiential learning program offered to youth ages 6-24 with and without special needs,” said Holly Henry, director of communications at VFES. “Some youth who benefit are classified with one or more of the following disabilities: autism-spectrum disorders (ASD), mild emotional disturbance and mild neurological impairments. Family members and neighborhood friends join in to provide age-appropriate social and behavioral models.”
These students are placed in engaging and unique learning experiences. Among the programming planned for 2009 is sailing in Connecticut, hiking in New Hampshire, horseback riding and film school. Summer L.I.F.E. offers day camps, overnight camping experiences and week-long travel excursions in nearby states.
“These students are provided with a varied cross-section of ‘real world’ experiences that allows them to generalize and transfer academic, social and behavioral skills in a number of community settings,” said Henry.
The goal of the program is to empower each student to be independent and productive, and encourage them to cultivate dynamic, healthy relationships.
“The focus of Summer L.I.F.E. is to get these students ready for life,” said Holly Zipperer,director of the summer programs at VFES. “They are being prepared for week-long travel programs, they are learning problem-solving skills, they are getting to experience typical recreational activities that aren’t always awarded to students with learning disabilities.”
While the program has been up and running since July, there are still some openings in some of the day camps being offered Aug. 10-14 and Aug. 17-21.
Not new to VFES, a program that has been in existence for 10 years now is the Extended School Year (ESY) Program at the Vanguard School.
This program, which will be running this summer through Aug. 7, is geared toward children ages 6 to 21 with special needs. To qualify for this program a student must have an Individualized Educational Plan (IEP). Many participating students have autism-spectrum disorders and/or neurological impairments. The program offers class groupings by age and ability.
“The program is designed to meet the academic, social and emotional needs of students through their IEP goals,” said Henry. “The lower-school program is designed to be fun and engaging and strives to meet IEP goals through academic, social and enrichment activities. The middle and high-school program focuses on academic skills, personal independence, building healthy relationships with others and vocational training and community service.”
The purpose of the ESY Program is to maintain skills and to reduce regression during the summer months. The school day begins at 9 a.m. and ends at 2 p.m.
The oldest summer program offered through VFES is called Summer at Crossroads. This program, which is scheduled to end this summer on July 31, is open to everyone.
“The Summer at Crossroads Program supports all students in kindergarten through sixth grade,” said Henry. “The program was established over 20 years ago for children who need help with reading, writing, math, kindergarten readiness and/or speech-language instruction. The program is specifically designed to help build academic skills and boost each child’s school confidence.”
Regardless of which program they participate in, “all campers experience various degrees of learning and fun,” said Henry. “Each program is unique and the students attending the programs have different needs. Some campers receive academic remediation, which helps to build self-confidence in the classroom, other campers receive academic remediation to help them maintain their academic level, and others yet improve their social skills and learn how to manage themselves in ‘real life’ experiences,” Zipperer adds, “Our ultimate goal is to better these students to get them ready for the real world.”
