$1 Million Freddie Mac Foundation Grant to Help Build DC-Based School for Severely Disabled Children
18 Mai 2005 - 6:00PM
PR Newswire (US)
$1 Million Freddie Mac Foundation Grant to Help Build DC-Based
School for Severely Disabled Children St. Coletta to Reach
Underserved Children Where They Live MCLEAN, Va., May 18
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Freddie Mac Foundation has made a $1
million grant to help St. Coletta of Greater Washington build a new
school in southeast Washington, D.C. serving children with mental
retardation and autism. Slated to open in mid-2006, the school will
be located at a site adjacent to D.C. General Hospital and near RFK
Stadium. St. Coletta is the area's most prominent school and
resource for children and adults with moderate to severe cognitive
disabilities. "We believe in encouraging talent, celebrating
success and building self- esteem. Having the whole family engaged
in the educational process is imperative to St. Coletta's success.
For many families, being involved has been very difficult since
their children travel from the city to the suburbs for schooling.
The Freddie Mac Foundation's support will ensure that more families
reap the full benefits of our program by bringing our services
closer to them," explained Sharon Raimo, executive director, St.
Coletta. "The Freddie Mac Foundation is focused on strengthening
families and helping children and young people reach their full
potential. Ensuring that children with severe disabilities and
their families have access to educational opportunities is critical
to creating stronger families. Our grant to St. Coletta reflects
our determination to invest in children so that they may have
brighter futures," explained Ralph F. Boyd, chairman, Freddie Mac
Foundation. With the help of this grant, St. Coletta is
constructing a state-of-the- art, 99,000 square foot facility to
house a special education charter school and private school serving
260 children. The Foundation's investment will also help increase
enrollment by 100 children and improve the educational and
therapeutic efforts with better-designed and equipped classrooms,
music/art studios, physical/occupational therapy areas, and
vocational training stations. The majority of the student
population will be physically closer to their homes and community,
allowing St. Coletta to incorporate the families and caretakers
more fully in students' education and overall development.
Currently, St. Coletta serves 165 students from throughout the
region at its location in Old Town, Alexandria -- 68 percent of
whom are from D.C. Nearly 25 percent of their students are in the
foster care system and an additional 25 percent live with only one
parent or an extended family member. The D.C. Public School System
has more than 2,400 cognitively disabled students. As a charter
school, St. Coletta will be the first District facility to offer
school choice to parents and caretakers of children with severe
cognitive disabilities. Families of these children will now have
the ability to enroll them as they would in any public school. St.
Coletta's new facility will be fully accessible, providing an
excellent alternative to helping this vulnerable population.
Founded in 1959, St. Coletta provides functional academics with
life skills and vocational training to children and adults with
mental retardation and autism to help them gain independence. A
majority of St. Coletta students graduate and receive exemplary
life skills training necessary to successfully transition to
adulthood -- which complements the Freddie Mac Foundation's mission
to provide hope and opportunity for children and youth. Typically,
the Foundation supports programs that strengthen families by
preventing child abuse and neglect, finding homes for foster
children, and developing youth to their fullest potential. Another
highlight of this project is that Michael Graves, a nationally and
internationally recognized architect, designed the building to
capture the spirit of St. Coletta's mission and the children
served. While working on the design, Graves became paralyzed
through illness and must use a wheelchair. His new perspective
influenced the project's design. To see renderings of the school,
visit http://www.stcoletta.org/ or
http://www.freddiemacfoundation.org/. Created by Freddie Mac in
1991, the Freddie Mac Foundation is dedicated to opening the doors
to hope and opportunity for children and their families. As one of
the largest corporate funders in the Washington, DC metropolitan
area, Freddie Mac and the Freddie Mac Foundation have invested
nearly $250 million in organizations serving the community.
DATASOURCE: Freddie Mac Foundation CONTACT: Shawn Flaherty of the
Freddie Mac Foundation, +1-703-903-4384 or Jeff Graubard of
Graubard Group/St. Coletta, +1-212-966-9000 Web site:
http://www.freddiemac.com/ http://www.freddiemacfoundation.org/
http://www.stcoletta.org/
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