Volunteers primarily focus on establishing academic programs to help the poorest and most unprepared students in the school. They also help with student activities, campus ministry, student leadership, service immersions, class moderating, and technology support. There are no volunteers serving at the school this year.
The Martin de Porres School serves co-ed special education students, ages 7 to 15, in 15 classes staffed by 70 people. Programs are available at the elementary and beginning secondary level depending on student ability. Classes consist of 12 students in a 12:1:1 classroom ratio. The certified special education teacher has one full-time teaching assistant. The NYS Learning Standards and NYS Curriculum are used as a basic framework for designing content, with adaptations made relative to the range of student cognitive ability and learning styles. A thematic learning approach focusing on school-wide themes has been effectively used for nearly a decade.
The students and families benefit from the services of one of the school’s full-time social workers. Counseling in-group occurs at least once a week, and complemented with frequent family, agency collaboration, individual student and milieu-based contacts. An anger management program has been added recently, which compliments the unified behavioral management & behavioral reporting system along with daily home contact. Other support staff includes a registered nurse, speech teacher, school psychologist, transitional services coordinator, and three Crisis Intervention Workers.
