About Rebecca School

Special Education School in New York City

Building meaningful, respectful relationships is the foundation for learning. With collaboration between school, home, and the community, the learning goes beyond the classroom. Our goal is to move a student up the developmental ladder to become autonomous, relating communicating members of their community.

The Rebecca School experience is one of respect, acceptance, and challenge. Using an interdisciplinary approach, a student’s core deficits of relating and communicating are addressed continuously throughout the day.

Whether in an individual, dyad or small group activity the focus of the staff is to support the students’ difficulties and challenge their strengths. To move them up the developmental ladder, our team works to help the student integrate all areas of development.

Rebecca School was created to address the needs of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders who were underserved in New York. Tina McCourt was chosen as Program Director, having had extensive experience with DIRFloortime®, attending trainings since 1994. She had a strong belief that a relationship-based approach was the best way to serve and help children diagnosed on the spectrum relate and communicate. The program at Rebecca School fully integrates the DIRFloortime® model.

In April 2005, Dr. Stanley Greenspan, the founder of DIRFloortime®, signed on as a consultant to the school. The building was found at the end of 2005 and construction started in February 2006. This resulted in a state of the art facility that includes large sensory gyms, multiple art and music rooms, large sunny classrooms with amplification systems and a rooftop playground.

In the spring of 2006, Tina began to interview and hire staff, perform assessments and place children in classrooms. The school opened in September 2006 with 48 students and 53 staff members. Since then the student population has more than doubled and continues to grow each year.

Rebecca School is located at 40 East 30th Street in New York City.

Our 50,000 square foot facility encompasses 6 floors and 18 classrooms. Each floor has the classrooms situated around the perimeter of the building with therapist’s offices and Quiet Rooms in the center of the floor. The school has an art studio, a library and three music studios. The school contains a large gym with a rock climbing wall, two sensory gyms, and a rooftop playground. Thoughtful consideration of sensory and environmental experience was used in designing and choosing colors and fixtures.

Our exceptional teachers all have or are pursuing a Masters Degree in Special Education. All assistants have their Bachelors Degrees and many are pursuing their Masters Degree. On staff are Occupational Therapists, Speech/Language Pathologists, Physical Therapists, Psychologists, Social Workers, Music Therapists, two full-time Nurses, Adaptive Physical Education Teachers, an Art Therapist, and a Dance Movement Therapist. All therapists are certified in their field. Weekly staff development and team meetings enable our staff to work more effectively as a team to provide a comprehensive program to each student.

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Rebecca School
35 E 21st St
New York, NY 10010
(212) 810-4120

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