The Calais School is a leading therapeutic special education school in northern New Jersey where students and young adults with special needs can gain confidence and achieve their full potential. This mission and purpose is not only the solid foundation on which our school was built 50 years ago but also our guide for the future.

As we continue our 50th Anniversary Special, we explore the legacy of Calais — what makes Calais a special place? What has shaped Calais into what it is today? What is in store for Calais’s future? First of all, a major part of Calais that we are very grateful for is support from The Calais Foundation, students and families, faculty and staff, case managers, and the surrounding community. Without such support, we could not have reached this incredible milestone. Our school community brings us great joy!

Of course, the past fifty years have not been without hardship. Teachers at Calais have had to work out of suitcases in the early 1970s and on online school and video platforms in the early 2020s. Students and staff have come to school during personal struggles as well as national struggles. However, the members of our Cougar family have supported each other at all times, through happiness, sadness, and uncertainty. This is an essential part of who we are.

On the other hand, our joys outweigh our challenges by far, and we have experienced so many of them through the years. There are the simple everyday moments of making a classmate laugh, playing a fun game in physical education, bonding with a favorite faculty or staff member, or learning a new skill on the job during Work-Based Learning. There are also Calais traditions such as the Thanksgiving feast, Red Nose Day, school dances, and basketball games.

We also delight in opportunities to come alongside our students, families, and staff to celebrate important milestones:

An elementary school student who once hated reading meets an Animal Assisted Interventions dog that helps her grow a love for reading. 

An eighth-grader always dreamed of being in the school band, but his anxiety about performing for others had stopped him. With help from the school counselor and the band teacher, he enjoyed being in the winter concert and can’t wait to perform again in the spring.

A high school student who thought his depression and learning disability meant he would never go to college ends his graduation speech by sharing his excitement about studying biology at a local university in the fall.

A mother who once cried with sorrow and fear about her daughter’s social struggles cries with joy when her daughter’s friend from class invites her to spend a fun Saturday afternoon at the park.

It’s all possible at Calais because Calais is a place of opportunity!

Place of Opportunity graphic with pictures of 12 Plus Program, AAI, Counseling, and Performing and Visual Arts

Here at The Calais School, our faculty and staff compassionately work to help students with special needs build academic, social, emotional, vocational, and life skills that they can use here and beyond, no matter where they go or what they do. Part of our legacy is evolving and enhancing our programs to meet the needs of our students. In the future, for example, we plan to expand our Animal Assisted Interventions (AAI) program by offering crisis management, physical therapy, and virtual sessions. We are especially pleased to announce that the future of Calais includes the Calais Adult Transition Program, projected to begin in Fall 2021!

To learn more about referring a student or about the services we provide, consider registering for our next Virtual Open House on Thursday, May 13.

This post was written by Katie G., Marketing Intern for The Calais School.