The High Road School of Wallingford is a privately owned, state-approved special education day school that serves primary to middle school aged students facing social, emotional, and behavioral challenges. To best meet the needs of this particular population, our individualized educational program features one-on-one and small group interactive learning, complimented by self-adjusting computer program used for academic reinforcement. For improved acclimation to the expectations of mainstream society, we offer comprehensive and in-depth social skills training to assist our ED students in recognizing social cues, communicating effectively, interacting with a group, and building healthy and happy peer relationships. And our unique behavioral management system directs challenged students to control their impulses, accept responsibility for their actions, and self-monitor their behavior.

Above all else, we are committed to the success of all of our students, so we design our curriculums and initiatives to focus on the specific strengths and abilities of each child, and then we implement these customized intervention plans in a warm and nurturing environment characterized by small class sizes, personal attention, targeted counseling, and positive reinforcement. By adopting such an individualized approach, we’re able to meet all students at their particular performance level and create new pathways to heightened academic achievement and appropriate, confidence-enhancing behaviors.

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Student and Staff of the Month

Staff & Student of the Month

2010 Fine Arts Festival

The High Road Schools of CT held their second annual Fine Arts Festival on May 14, 2010 at the Sheraton Four Points Hotel in Meriden. The festival brings together all of the schools in the CT region to showcase their art work and creative talents.

The Fine Arts Festival is a culmination of a yearly school project called m-map. It is the Masters March Activity Project which integrates the fine arts into all of the academic disciplines. Norwalk teacher, Pamela Thompson, coordinates the projects for the entire region. Students, as always, are encouraged to “celebrate, cultivate, and challenge, the mind”, which was the slogan adorned on tee-shirts made by Transition Coordinator, Kathy Szabat and the Upper school students for all the student participants.

This year’s theme was “Finding Your Voice.”  One stand out project included a dinner party where each student invited a person of their choice to the dinner table. Each student designed the place settings for their special guest and also wrote a conversation that they think they might take place. The variety of guests included Martin Luther King, Jr., James Bond, Barack Obama, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln.

Besides all of the creative and inspiring art work, students also had an opportunity to show off their musical talents!  Students sang a variety of contemporary songs, as well as, writing and performing original rap songs and skits. A few students also accompanied their performance with guitar or keyboard.

This year the Arts Festival drew close to 300 people including students, parents, district heads and friends. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the art work and was energized by the students’ performances.

The Festival culminated with some fun interactive dancing led by Broadway dancer, Hally McGehean. Ms. McGehean led the students in some line dances including the Cupid Shuffle backed by our very own staff D.J. Jeff Benham.

Shooting For Success

Swoosh!  The High Road School of Connecticut Hornets made the last shots to win the fundraiser basketball game against their staff 51 to 48.

The year started off on a sad note at the High Road School of Norwalk this year.  We unfortunately had to disseminate terrible news to our students on the first day of school; Mr. DeJesus, a well-respected staff member, suffered a heart attack over the summer, and had tragically passed away.  This news was difficult for our students to process, especially given the fact that mortality is something they have rarely thought of.

Mr. Juan DeJesus will always be a part of our High Road family.  What greater way to honor such a respected staff member than to grant immortality in creating a scholarship in his name.  The scholarship will be granted to one graduating senior in Connecticut who will be continuing their education after high school.  An essay contest will be held for all eligible students, and the winner will be the recipient of the scholarship fund. 

In an effort to raise money for our scholarship, our staff challenged the student competitive basketball team, the High Road Hornets, to a basketball game.  The game was hosted at Albertus Magnus, a local college.  Members from the Albertus Magnus basketball team practiced with the students before the game, signed autographs for the admiring students, and were the officials for the Staff vs. Students game.  At game time the stands were filled with parents and fans of all involved.  Members of Mr. DeJesus’ s family even made the long journey from New York to support the event and cheer on the students he had dedicated so much time and energy to. 

Through the donations of the evening, we were able to raise $1000 which will be awarded to a graduating High Road senior in Connecticut who will be continuing their education after high school.  We hope to continue this event in the years to come.

Pep Rally

The High Road Schools of CT intramural sports teams kicked things off this school year with a regional pep rally held at the Wallingford Parks and Recreation Department. Six of our High Road schools came together to cheer on the High Road Hornets versus the High Road staff for a basketball game. 

The Hornets looked fantastic, sporting their new uniforms that they fundraised for last year. In an exciting game, the Jr. Varsity beat the staff 32-28! Although the Varsity team came close, they were not able to claim a victory over the staff. The score ended up 67-58.

All of the other students enjoyed cheering in the sidelines for their favorite teams.

The High Road Hornets take part with students from other non-public special education programs in the area and are bused to selected schools for their games every Friday.  There are a variety of sports for the students to par take in such as flag football, volleyball, track, basket ball, and softball.

Besides the opportunity to enjoy sports and learn more about the games, it is a great opportunity for our students to interact with new peers, to exercise good sportsmanship, and to put other social skills into practice.

We are staying tuned for more exciting games between the High Road Hornet vs. the High Road Staff through out the school year.

High Road Hornets

What’s all the buzz about??? The High Road Hornets! Did you know that our school mascot is the hornet?  The students at the Primary/Middle school have worked together on a very special project.  Each student submitted their very own artwork of a hornet.  The school mascot will be chosen from these drawings, and will be used as the main hornet on our very own High Road School t-shirts!  Our students took the time out to research what a hornet is and each class worked together to draw and learn about the mascot.  The teacher and staff members even helped!

Every student’s hornet will be used on the shirt, as every one was original and unique.  Our Gold & Blue level students will even get to wear their shirts at our October 16th Pep Rally!  Out of the entire Hornet drawings one will be the winning hornet to take place on the center of the T-shirt.  But remember, all students will have their hornet represented on the shirt.  Stay tuned to see who the winning hornet is!  Great job, everyone!  Each of our students are ALL amazing artists!

This is just the beginning of the series of events and activities to spread school spirit at our Primary/Middle School!

Fall Family Fun Day

On Friday, October 23, 2009 The High Road Schools of CT held a Fall Family Fun Day at Plaskos Farm in Trumbull, CT. Students, staff, and their families were invited to "come on down" to the farm for a hay ride, corn maze, and a pumpkin to take home. It was a wonderful opportunity for all of our schools (Wallingford, Norwalk and Waterbury campuses) to come together to meet one another and enjoy some old fashion fall activities for the afternoon!
 
All participants also enjoyed a visit to the country store for some fresh apple cider, cider donuts or ice cream. A fun afternoon was had by all.

Related Services 

High Road Schools help the students to make the most of learning opportunities by staffing certified specialists to help each student with additional support as needed.

Our speech and language therapy program includes a coordinated and individualized approach. In group work, as well as individually, our certified speech therapists help the student to correctly produce the sounds in words, increase speech intelligibility, develop vocabulary knowledge and understanding, and utilize appropriate conversational skills. Emphasis is placed on pragmatics; such as turn taking, topic maintenance, asking appropriate questions, and socialization.   Also, grammar, syntax, and written expression are addressed.

Our occupational therapists help students with sensory, perceptual, and motor problems better meet the daily demands of their environment. She uses directed play as the primary method of treatment; however, classroom consultation directly with teachers and assistants regarding the student’s abilities is also key to their success. Directed play includes activities such as mazes or target games to develop the student’s eye and hand coordination or ball games to increase coordination between two sides of the body.  Through the use of movement, touch, and other functional activities, the student better develops the responses needed to function in the classroom, home, and community environments.  As the child ages and his or her needs change, the focus is on the acquisition of specific skills.  These can include learning to measure baking ingredients, personal care, or crossing busy streets, depending on the student’s abilities.

Our social workers help students with emotional and social growth issues.  They focuses on helping the student develop age-appropriate skills and behaviors for the classroom.  Through the use of recreational and other activities, they assist students in building self-esteem, applying social skills, and practicing leadership and team participation.  The students are seen individually and in small group sessions.  It is also not unusual to find social workers in the classroom leading social skills activities.

A consulting psychologist and behaviorist are also available on an as needed basis.

At High Road Student Schools all related services personnel work closely with the classroom teachers to assure integration into all classroom activities.

H1N1 Parent Letter

IEP Management System

High Road Schools of CT is pleased to announce the implementation of IEP Direct web based management system in our Norwalk, Wallingford, and Waterbury locations. The utilization of this program will better serve the needs of districts and students with more efficiency and accuracy in creating individual educational plans.

For more information about the High Road Schools of CT, please contact Carol Revill, Outreach Coordinator @ 203-294-9139 or Brooke Violante, Chief School Director @ 203-840-1030.

Extended School Year

High Roads Schools of CT accepts referrals for our Extended School Year Program
(summer school) from local school districts. The ESY programs are available to our existing students who qualify, as well as, classified students who do not attend our schools during the regular school year.

Each child who is enrolled in the Extended School Year program will receive individual and small group instruction based on their current school year I.E.P. The extended year program addresses academic and social skill maintenance, transitional services (16 years and older), and enrichment activities. Speech and language, occupational and physical therapies, as well as social work services are provided for those who require them.

The school day for extended year is 9:00 A.M. – 1:00 P.M. and the program runs Monday – Friday for approximately 6 weeks.

2010 Extended School Year Dates

Starting Thursday, July 1, 2010 - Friday, August 13, 2010.
No school on Monday, July 5 due to July 4th observance.