April 12, 2025 • 15 mins
We spoke with IEA Executive Director Lori Susi about the school’s programs.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good morning, Thank you for listening to Community Access. My
guest today is Lori Susci. She is executive director at
the Intensive Education Academy, a special education school.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Good morning, good morning, thank you for having me today.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
I'm so happy you could be here. April is Autism
Awareness Month and we need to let everybody know about
this amazing school. How did it originate?
Speaker 3 (00:22):
Well, it's a long story that I'll make short for you.
In nineteen seventy one is our you know, origination or
when the school had started.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
It's a very nice story.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
Sister Helen Dowd, who is a sister of the Sisters
of Saint Joseph, went to her provincial and said, you know,
she had a passion for working with students with special needs.
So she kind of said, hey, I have an idea.
I'd like to start this school in the basement of
the convent, and she was able to do so. I
(00:53):
was lucky enough to meet Sister Helen before she passed
away my first year at the school, and she had
said it was really kind of a cute little catchphrase.
She said, well, I was just shy of a baker's
dozen because she started with three teachers and eleven students.
So that's how her story began with me, and I
think she was way ahead of her time. She understood inclusion,
(01:15):
she understood the importance of helping students be the best
that they could be, help them reach their full potential.
But she also really wanted to help the families. Because
if you think about fifty three years ago, the difference
for me, even as a child, I think I was
about in third grade, I didn't understand it. They were
all in one room at one part of the building
(01:36):
in my school, and it wasn't until you get a
little bit older where you have those chances to meet.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
People that you're like, oh, that they should be with us.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
And so again, she was so ahead of her time
and that it's just it's nice to know that she
had that vision. And then we continue to have that
same vision at the school of helping students reach their
full potential and help their families along the journey of education.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
So tell me how the school helps the children and
helps the parents.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
Sure, there's a lot of different ways that we look
at it.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
So if you came to our school and we're looking
to place your child or as a child in your
district in our building, we really look.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
At lots of the holistic child.
Speaker 3 (02:16):
So when we look at academics, you know, we've worked
really hard to align our curriculum looking at individual instruction
and differentiated instructions, so meeting the students where they are
and being able to talk with the staff and the
parents of where we want them to go, so academically
helping them reach and meet their needs the best way possible.
So I'll give you an example. We've spent a lot
(02:37):
of time kind of building up our reading programs so
our students and our building get two hours of reading
every day, and if they need additional instruction for intervention,
we do have two reading specialists or instruction interventionists that
will help those students have even more reading. So we've
done that in different parts of our curriculum. But that's
for me, that's one part. You know, I work with
(02:57):
a great leadership team. We're all versed in in curriculum
and assessment. That's really important. But for me coming in
as a newer director, I wanted the whole piece. I
wanted the engagement piece. So we look at growth mindset
and really having students understand that they're gonna have a
tough time at different times. We want them to rise
up to each challenge, so we present different things and
(03:21):
programming that's unique. So for example, we just finished up
a songwriting program which was from the foundation for the
Elngene Foundation from the Gold ARBs, and it's amazing. We
have students that thrive in that musical venue and they
can find their voice. And then we have another area
that's the maker space that we've kind of brought in
(03:41):
the last couple of years. We're looking to put in
stem and other things that we just had a robotics
program common we have students that are enthralled and they
want to grow in that area. So for me, in
increasing engagement and opportunities for students to find themselves and
understand their passion. Because if you're not a divergent, it
doesn't mean things a deficit. Sometimes you have strengths over
(04:03):
other people and that we're trying to find those strengths
for each one of those children.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Let's talk some more about engagement. You have family engagement
activities once a month.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
What's that like?
Speaker 3 (04:13):
So that's one of my favorite parts of the month.
Our two directors downstairs have a theme each month and
so it's family engagement after school, like later at night,
we provide dinner for the families. And when we say families,
we have one student, I absolutely love him. He brings grandma, grandpa, cousins, what,
we don't care. He's the Italian No, I'm just Ques blonde.
(04:35):
Ever he brings his family and we absolutely love it.
And so there's that, and then we sometimes have structured activities,
like we had a balloon that does balloon art and
they taught everybody that one night. Our one that's coming
up this Friday is there'll be ping pong tables and
pool tables and all different things out there for the
kids to do, karaoke, all fun things that they can
(04:55):
just interact.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
Because if you think about.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
It, students that are on the spectrum, and we have
all different types of neurodivergent type students in our building,
but a lot of them struggled with that social interaction.
So now we're teaching them different things in school to
give them the opportunity to practice and make friends. And
if you came out to our building, a lot of
them will say it's the first time that they had friends.
(05:17):
And the other magical piece is you see the parents
starting to make connections because if you think back, you know,
I have two boys that are on the spectrum, and
our journey was a little tough at different times, and
it's hard if you don't have play dates or going
to birthday parties and things like that. So having another
parent to sit and talk to about either just hello,
(05:38):
or about their journey or what are they doing for this?
You know, it could be anything my child like art art,
what do you do with your child? Because I saw
that they had a great painting. So again, it's like
really giving those that engagement gives that opportunity to kind
of feed the soul and make connections and feel accepted.
So I think that's like something we can pride ourselves on,
is giving them the opportunities. We also do it engagement.
(06:00):
I'm kind of a stickler too. I want engagement during
the month, so we always do at least one minimum engagement.
So it could be someone coming and doing storytelling. It
could be the students from High Hopes coming not High Hopes,
the students from Yukon coming to sing with our students.
It's just all Disney happy music, you know, things like that,
all different things we want them to come in to
(06:22):
have that experience. We had someone that came last year
to design sneakers and showed the kids how to design
their own sneakers and how to use the right paint
and things like that, so really unique ways to kind
of ignite something inside them and have those conversations. So
we do engagement during the month, and we do we
call it the Phoenix Huddles because that's our mascot.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
At the Phoenix Huddles.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
We kind of push for learning about each other, like
celebrating our differences and kind of focusing on different parts
of growth mindset. And my two directors downstairs for education
have kind of taken out a program called No Place
for Hay eight, so it's really kind of talking to
kids about collaboration and what they want in the building.
So again, these Phoenix Huddles kind of bring us together
(07:07):
kind of like a town meeting to kind of build
that acceptance and cohesiveness. And it's amazing when you come
our school. It's older kids working with younger kids and
younger kids being like the bright spot for an older
students for mentorships. So there's a lot of fun things
going on.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
But a lot of purposeful fun things going for everyone,
including the parents. Yes, absolutely, And you have a personal
connection to this. I don't know if you want to
share or not.
Speaker 3 (07:33):
I definitely have a very big personal connection to IA
because I was able to, like I said, met sister
Helen and sat on her porch. She was ninety three
years old, and she would talk about like why she
started this school. It was so important and she wanted
to make sure that I knew this so that I
could carry on the vision and the mission that she.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
Had inside her heart.
Speaker 3 (07:53):
And I think we made a really nice kind of
bonding connection because I have two children that are on
the spectrum and they've been the blood, sweat and tears
sometimes for myself and my husband, and they're amazing. But
I will say I was really fortunate, very very fortunate.
My husband and I are both educators. We had a
lot of people kind of help and guide us when
(08:14):
we didn't know what to do on certain things. And
I will I'm really happy for both my boys are
going to be going to Yukon.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
They're going to be going to the engineering.
Speaker 3 (08:22):
Program, and you know, they have these talents that like
I don't, I don't even have.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
But but it's a happy place I.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
Mean, I would say that when I meet parents coming
to our school, they're in a journey that I was in,
which is you put armor on every day because you want.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
The best for your child.
Speaker 3 (08:40):
Sure, you know that phone's going to ring, you don't
know who's going to be on the other end. Did
my child do something? Did someone do something to my child?
Speaker 2 (08:46):
Was it that? And it's just this turmoil that you
just kind of walk walk around with. Sure, I don't
have that anymore.
Speaker 3 (08:52):
I'm so blessed to be in a place where my
my kids are thriving. And it's hard to because you
have to step back and let them do it. But
my connection to the school is, you know, I left
Yukon for the Center for Students with Disabilities to come
here because I wanted to pay it forward. I wanted
to help other people with the collaboration of staff and
(09:14):
faculty and my board, to help families have that journey
that Sister Helen envisioned and not just the child but
the family. And we do that every day mindfully, and
so it's important for me that to make this connection
for families with my staff.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
Let's talk about the growth mindset and the phoenix, the
phoenix says in that rises from the ashes.
Speaker 2 (09:38):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
So after my first year here, I had a couple
teachers come up to me in the summer and said,
you know, we don't have a mascot. I'm like, uh,
you know, we don't have a mascot. What are you thinking?
And they said, we want to use the phoenix. I said, okay,
So I'm a big Harry Potter fan, I know fox,
So what are you thinking? And they said, no. We
want them to understand our students that they all have
(10:00):
a journey. They always have a path, and sometimes the
pass much harder than other children, and so we want
them to accept that the past might be hard for them,
but we want them to rise to every challenge and
understand that it's a continuous learning and they're always growing,
and that it's okay not to have it done right
the first time. So for us, we kind of embraced
(10:24):
the idea of the phoenix. And I had done a
lot of research on growth mindset and really wanted to
bring that growth mindset purposely into the building. And that's
a great way. The phoenix is really the heart of
our school's mindset philosophy. So it's the kids get it,
the parents get it, so it's going really well. We
actually named our phoenix this year. The student councils had it,
(10:46):
you know, we call them student voices, and they went
out and talked to kids and they voted on it,
and the name is Blaze.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
Like as in the fire but fire right.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
Yeah. I love that.
Speaker 3 (10:56):
It's really kind of putting together the no place for hate,
putting together other like what they do in their social skills,
because everybody gets social skills once a week. There's a
program I would love to say that we brought to
our program. We also use Socialized, which is Robin Fox
out of Old Saybrook, And what she does is she
comes in once a week and she does it's really
(11:19):
pragmatic practice is really what it is, but through improv.
So for example, if you and I are struggling with
eye contact, she's going to do improv classes like games
so that they work on their their I you know,
contact with others. And they almost don't realize it, but
then they as they get older, they begin to realize
how they're taking that goal and actually using it. At
(11:41):
my job site, using it in my classroom, we have
students that are at Tungs's Community College using it, you know,
for the for the professor or the teaching assistant that's
working with me.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
Wow, that is just amazing. You've sold me. If I
had anybody who was on the spectrum, this is where
I would send my child.
Speaker 3 (11:58):
It's a really unique in environment. We have such a
small school. Purposely we have and that's that's sometimes just
what some students need is a quieter environment. So we
have anywhere from four to eight students, eight being a
lot of students.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
In a classroom.
Speaker 3 (12:12):
We have specialized if if a student is working on behavior,
we have RBTs and BCBAs. But really it's such a
quiet school. Our lane is really taking students that just
need that quiet environment and that kind of individualized instruction
to help them kind of relax and kind of open up.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
The portal of like where is their passion? What is
my interest? So that I can thrive? Now, we don't
look at a.
Speaker 3 (12:38):
Child as having deficits, because if you do that, you
have to that's what you teach to is you know,
covering it up and figuring it out. We really want
to teach to you know, what are their strengths and
what are there It's like asset based so that they
can really thrive and understand that they have a lot
to offer.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
Absolutely, you have a gala that's coming up.
Speaker 3 (12:58):
Yes, we did, and this year our is Wings of
Possibility to kind of rite on the idea of the Phoenix.
So we have a great development person that's brought in
lots of different you know, live auctions and things like that.
I will say I bid on the chef last year's
chef Nolan. It was unbelievable, was like a ten course meal.
It was at our friend's house that we had it at,
(13:19):
you know, wine pairings And this is the coolest thing
that happened that night. So as I'm talking to.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
The chef, there's a chef, a Sioux chef, a server,
and then a helper for the server. And the helper
looked at me and he goes, do you work at
a A.
Speaker 3 (13:34):
I said, I do work at IA. I said, do
you know anybody at I A? He goes, I was
one of the first students for sister Helen. I was like, own, really,
I said, I know these students, do you know?
Speaker 2 (13:46):
And do you know?
Speaker 3 (13:47):
He's like yeah, And so it just made that night
even more special and I felt like sister Helen was
shaking some kind of unicorn tree right, kind of making
that connection for us. So you know, he's going to
come out to the school and kind of revisit and
because he hasn't been there in a long time. So
it's so nice to see that, like the success of
our students continues and that it's nice that like I
(14:09):
made that connection with him.
Speaker 1 (14:10):
What is your web address so people can make a
donation or volunteer attend the galley.
Speaker 3 (14:15):
Yeah, it's ie Academy dot org. One of our other
parts of our philosophy is we know that ADA is
really important. It's in the news, it's everywhere you need
to understand if you're in special education. I would say
what we try to do really well at IA is
teach our own ADA. And I say that it's not
like super special, but what it is is we want
(14:36):
our kids to come in and learn their awareness.
Speaker 2 (14:39):
Who am I.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
So if I'm a first grader, that awareness is totally
different than if I'm a high school or I'm eighteen
years old. But we want them to understand who they are,
aware of who they are, and then the second step
is to understand and determine what they need. So I'm
in this class at Tungsus or I'm having a rough day,
like it's just this is I'm not where I need
(15:01):
to be right now, so I'm aware of who I am.
I'm determining what I need right now in a classroom
or wherever. And then the last step is advocacy so
that I can go out and make sure that I
ask what I need so I'm successful. So we call
that you know eighty A because it aligns to ADA.
But those are the three stages that we want our
(15:21):
students to do as they come to our school and
kind of grow as.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
A person wonderful. I'm speaking with Lori Susci, executive director
at the Intensive Education Academy. Their gallus April twenty fifth
at the Hartford Golf Club. They have live auctions, silent auctions,
games like heads or Tails, a photo booth, and more.
If you'd like to attend, If you'd like to make
a donation or volunteer or find out more about the school,
(15:45):
go to IEA dot org. Thank you so much for
being here and for the amazing work you're doing.
Speaker 2 (15:52):
Thank you so much for having us
Good morning, Thank you for listening to Community Access. My
guest today is Lori Susci. She is executive director at
the Intensive Education Academy, a special education school.
Speaker 2 (00:11):
Good morning, good morning, thank you for having me today.
Speaker 1 (00:13):
I'm so happy you could be here. April is Autism
Awareness Month and we need to let everybody know about
this amazing school. How did it originate?
Speaker 3 (00:22):
Well, it's a long story that I'll make short for you.
In nineteen seventy one is our you know, origination or
when the school had started.
Speaker 2 (00:31):
It's a very nice story.
Speaker 3 (00:32):
Sister Helen Dowd, who is a sister of the Sisters
of Saint Joseph, went to her provincial and said, you know,
she had a passion for working with students with special needs.
So she kind of said, hey, I have an idea.
I'd like to start this school in the basement of
the convent, and she was able to do so. I
(00:53):
was lucky enough to meet Sister Helen before she passed
away my first year at the school, and she had
said it was really kind of a cute little catchphrase.
She said, well, I was just shy of a baker's
dozen because she started with three teachers and eleven students.
So that's how her story began with me, and I
think she was way ahead of her time. She understood inclusion,
(01:15):
she understood the importance of helping students be the best
that they could be, help them reach their full potential.
But she also really wanted to help the families. Because
if you think about fifty three years ago, the difference
for me, even as a child, I think I was
about in third grade, I didn't understand it. They were
all in one room at one part of the building
(01:36):
in my school, and it wasn't until you get a
little bit older where you have those chances to meet.
Speaker 2 (01:41):
People that you're like, oh, that they should be with us.
Speaker 3 (01:44):
And so again, she was so ahead of her time
and that it's just it's nice to know that she
had that vision. And then we continue to have that
same vision at the school of helping students reach their
full potential and help their families along the journey of education.
Speaker 1 (02:00):
So tell me how the school helps the children and
helps the parents.
Speaker 2 (02:03):
Sure, there's a lot of different ways that we look
at it.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
So if you came to our school and we're looking
to place your child or as a child in your
district in our building, we really look.
Speaker 2 (02:13):
At lots of the holistic child.
Speaker 3 (02:16):
So when we look at academics, you know, we've worked
really hard to align our curriculum looking at individual instruction
and differentiated instructions, so meeting the students where they are
and being able to talk with the staff and the
parents of where we want them to go, so academically
helping them reach and meet their needs the best way possible.
So I'll give you an example. We've spent a lot
(02:37):
of time kind of building up our reading programs so
our students and our building get two hours of reading
every day, and if they need additional instruction for intervention,
we do have two reading specialists or instruction interventionists that
will help those students have even more reading. So we've
done that in different parts of our curriculum. But that's
for me, that's one part. You know, I work with
(02:57):
a great leadership team. We're all versed in in curriculum
and assessment. That's really important. But for me coming in
as a newer director, I wanted the whole piece. I
wanted the engagement piece. So we look at growth mindset
and really having students understand that they're gonna have a
tough time at different times. We want them to rise
up to each challenge, so we present different things and
(03:21):
programming that's unique. So for example, we just finished up
a songwriting program which was from the foundation for the
Elngene Foundation from the Gold ARBs, and it's amazing. We
have students that thrive in that musical venue and they
can find their voice. And then we have another area
that's the maker space that we've kind of brought in
(03:41):
the last couple of years. We're looking to put in
stem and other things that we just had a robotics
program common we have students that are enthralled and they
want to grow in that area. So for me, in
increasing engagement and opportunities for students to find themselves and
understand their passion. Because if you're not a divergent, it
doesn't mean things a deficit. Sometimes you have strengths over
(04:03):
other people and that we're trying to find those strengths
for each one of those children.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Let's talk some more about engagement. You have family engagement
activities once a month.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
What's that like?
Speaker 3 (04:13):
So that's one of my favorite parts of the month.
Our two directors downstairs have a theme each month and
so it's family engagement after school, like later at night,
we provide dinner for the families. And when we say families,
we have one student, I absolutely love him. He brings grandma, grandpa, cousins, what,
we don't care. He's the Italian No, I'm just Ques blonde.
(04:35):
Ever he brings his family and we absolutely love it.
And so there's that, and then we sometimes have structured activities,
like we had a balloon that does balloon art and
they taught everybody that one night. Our one that's coming
up this Friday is there'll be ping pong tables and
pool tables and all different things out there for the
kids to do, karaoke, all fun things that they can
(04:55):
just interact.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
Because if you think about.
Speaker 3 (04:57):
It, students that are on the spectrum, and we have
all different types of neurodivergent type students in our building,
but a lot of them struggled with that social interaction.
So now we're teaching them different things in school to
give them the opportunity to practice and make friends. And
if you came out to our building, a lot of
them will say it's the first time that they had friends.
(05:17):
And the other magical piece is you see the parents
starting to make connections because if you think back, you know,
I have two boys that are on the spectrum, and
our journey was a little tough at different times, and
it's hard if you don't have play dates or going
to birthday parties and things like that. So having another
parent to sit and talk to about either just hello,
(05:38):
or about their journey or what are they doing for this?
You know, it could be anything my child like art art,
what do you do with your child? Because I saw
that they had a great painting. So again, it's like
really giving those that engagement gives that opportunity to kind
of feed the soul and make connections and feel accepted.
So I think that's like something we can pride ourselves on,
is giving them the opportunities. We also do it engagement.
(06:00):
I'm kind of a stickler too. I want engagement during
the month, so we always do at least one minimum engagement.
So it could be someone coming and doing storytelling. It
could be the students from High Hopes coming not High Hopes,
the students from Yukon coming to sing with our students.
It's just all Disney happy music, you know, things like that,
all different things we want them to come in to
(06:22):
have that experience. We had someone that came last year
to design sneakers and showed the kids how to design
their own sneakers and how to use the right paint
and things like that, so really unique ways to kind
of ignite something inside them and have those conversations. So
we do engagement during the month, and we do we
call it the Phoenix Huddles because that's our mascot.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
At the Phoenix Huddles.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
We kind of push for learning about each other, like
celebrating our differences and kind of focusing on different parts
of growth mindset. And my two directors downstairs for education
have kind of taken out a program called No Place
for Hay eight, so it's really kind of talking to
kids about collaboration and what they want in the building.
So again, these Phoenix Huddles kind of bring us together
(07:07):
kind of like a town meeting to kind of build
that acceptance and cohesiveness. And it's amazing when you come
our school. It's older kids working with younger kids and
younger kids being like the bright spot for an older
students for mentorships. So there's a lot of fun things
going on.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
But a lot of purposeful fun things going for everyone,
including the parents. Yes, absolutely, And you have a personal
connection to this. I don't know if you want to
share or not.
Speaker 3 (07:33):
I definitely have a very big personal connection to IA
because I was able to, like I said, met sister
Helen and sat on her porch. She was ninety three
years old, and she would talk about like why she
started this school. It was so important and she wanted
to make sure that I knew this so that I
could carry on the vision and the mission that she.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
Had inside her heart.
Speaker 3 (07:53):
And I think we made a really nice kind of
bonding connection because I have two children that are on
the spectrum and they've been the blood, sweat and tears
sometimes for myself and my husband, and they're amazing. But
I will say I was really fortunate, very very fortunate.
My husband and I are both educators. We had a
lot of people kind of help and guide us when
(08:14):
we didn't know what to do on certain things. And
I will I'm really happy for both my boys are
going to be going to Yukon.
Speaker 2 (08:21):
They're going to be going to the engineering.
Speaker 3 (08:22):
Program, and you know, they have these talents that like
I don't, I don't even have.
Speaker 2 (08:27):
But but it's a happy place I.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
Mean, I would say that when I meet parents coming
to our school, they're in a journey that I was in,
which is you put armor on every day because you want.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
The best for your child.
Speaker 3 (08:40):
Sure, you know that phone's going to ring, you don't
know who's going to be on the other end. Did
my child do something? Did someone do something to my child?
Speaker 2 (08:46):
Was it that? And it's just this turmoil that you
just kind of walk walk around with. Sure, I don't
have that anymore.
Speaker 3 (08:52):
I'm so blessed to be in a place where my
my kids are thriving. And it's hard to because you
have to step back and let them do it. But
my connection to the school is, you know, I left
Yukon for the Center for Students with Disabilities to come
here because I wanted to pay it forward. I wanted
to help other people with the collaboration of staff and
(09:14):
faculty and my board, to help families have that journey
that Sister Helen envisioned and not just the child but
the family. And we do that every day mindfully, and
so it's important for me that to make this connection
for families with my staff.
Speaker 1 (09:32):
Let's talk about the growth mindset and the phoenix, the
phoenix says in that rises from the ashes.
Speaker 2 (09:38):
Yes.
Speaker 3 (09:38):
So after my first year here, I had a couple
teachers come up to me in the summer and said,
you know, we don't have a mascot. I'm like, uh,
you know, we don't have a mascot. What are you thinking?
And they said, we want to use the phoenix. I said, okay,
So I'm a big Harry Potter fan, I know fox,
So what are you thinking? And they said, no. We
want them to understand our students that they all have
(10:00):
a journey. They always have a path, and sometimes the
pass much harder than other children, and so we want
them to accept that the past might be hard for them,
but we want them to rise to every challenge and
understand that it's a continuous learning and they're always growing,
and that it's okay not to have it done right
the first time. So for us, we kind of embraced
(10:24):
the idea of the phoenix. And I had done a
lot of research on growth mindset and really wanted to
bring that growth mindset purposely into the building. And that's
a great way. The phoenix is really the heart of
our school's mindset philosophy. So it's the kids get it,
the parents get it, so it's going really well. We
actually named our phoenix this year. The student councils had it,
(10:46):
you know, we call them student voices, and they went
out and talked to kids and they voted on it,
and the name is Blaze.
Speaker 1 (10:53):
Like as in the fire but fire right.
Speaker 2 (10:55):
Yeah. I love that.
Speaker 3 (10:56):
It's really kind of putting together the no place for hate,
putting together other like what they do in their social skills,
because everybody gets social skills once a week. There's a
program I would love to say that we brought to
our program. We also use Socialized, which is Robin Fox
out of Old Saybrook, And what she does is she
comes in once a week and she does it's really
(11:19):
pragmatic practice is really what it is, but through improv.
So for example, if you and I are struggling with
eye contact, she's going to do improv classes like games
so that they work on their their I you know,
contact with others. And they almost don't realize it, but
then they as they get older, they begin to realize
how they're taking that goal and actually using it. At
(11:41):
my job site, using it in my classroom, we have
students that are at Tungs's Community College using it, you know,
for the for the professor or the teaching assistant that's
working with me.
Speaker 1 (11:51):
Wow, that is just amazing. You've sold me. If I
had anybody who was on the spectrum, this is where
I would send my child.
Speaker 3 (11:58):
It's a really unique in environment. We have such a
small school. Purposely we have and that's that's sometimes just
what some students need is a quieter environment. So we
have anywhere from four to eight students, eight being a
lot of students.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
In a classroom.
Speaker 3 (12:12):
We have specialized if if a student is working on behavior,
we have RBTs and BCBAs. But really it's such a
quiet school. Our lane is really taking students that just
need that quiet environment and that kind of individualized instruction
to help them kind of relax and kind of open up.
Speaker 2 (12:31):
The portal of like where is their passion? What is
my interest? So that I can thrive? Now, we don't
look at a.
Speaker 3 (12:38):
Child as having deficits, because if you do that, you
have to that's what you teach to is you know,
covering it up and figuring it out. We really want
to teach to you know, what are their strengths and
what are there It's like asset based so that they
can really thrive and understand that they have a lot
to offer.
Speaker 1 (12:55):
Absolutely, you have a gala that's coming up.
Speaker 3 (12:58):
Yes, we did, and this year our is Wings of
Possibility to kind of rite on the idea of the Phoenix.
So we have a great development person that's brought in
lots of different you know, live auctions and things like that.
I will say I bid on the chef last year's
chef Nolan. It was unbelievable, was like a ten course meal.
It was at our friend's house that we had it at,
(13:19):
you know, wine pairings And this is the coolest thing
that happened that night. So as I'm talking to.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
The chef, there's a chef, a Sioux chef, a server,
and then a helper for the server. And the helper
looked at me and he goes, do you work at
a A.
Speaker 3 (13:34):
I said, I do work at IA. I said, do
you know anybody at I A? He goes, I was
one of the first students for sister Helen. I was like, own, really,
I said, I know these students, do you know?
Speaker 2 (13:46):
And do you know?
Speaker 3 (13:47):
He's like yeah, And so it just made that night
even more special and I felt like sister Helen was
shaking some kind of unicorn tree right, kind of making
that connection for us. So you know, he's going to
come out to the school and kind of revisit and
because he hasn't been there in a long time. So
it's so nice to see that, like the success of
our students continues and that it's nice that like I
(14:09):
made that connection with him.
Speaker 1 (14:10):
What is your web address so people can make a
donation or volunteer attend the galley.
Speaker 3 (14:15):
Yeah, it's ie Academy dot org. One of our other
parts of our philosophy is we know that ADA is
really important. It's in the news, it's everywhere you need
to understand if you're in special education. I would say
what we try to do really well at IA is
teach our own ADA. And I say that it's not
like super special, but what it is is we want
(14:36):
our kids to come in and learn their awareness.
Speaker 2 (14:39):
Who am I.
Speaker 3 (14:40):
So if I'm a first grader, that awareness is totally
different than if I'm a high school or I'm eighteen
years old. But we want them to understand who they are,
aware of who they are, and then the second step
is to understand and determine what they need. So I'm
in this class at Tungsus or I'm having a rough day,
like it's just this is I'm not where I need
(15:01):
to be right now, so I'm aware of who I am.
I'm determining what I need right now in a classroom
or wherever. And then the last step is advocacy so
that I can go out and make sure that I
ask what I need so I'm successful. So we call
that you know eighty A because it aligns to ADA.
But those are the three stages that we want our
(15:21):
students to do as they come to our school and
kind of grow as.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
A person wonderful. I'm speaking with Lori Susci, executive director
at the Intensive Education Academy. Their gallus April twenty fifth
at the Hartford Golf Club. They have live auctions, silent auctions,
games like heads or Tails, a photo booth, and more.
If you'd like to attend, If you'd like to make
a donation or volunteer or find out more about the school,
(15:45):
go to IEA dot org. Thank you so much for
being here and for the amazing work you're doing.
Speaker 2 (15:52):
Thank you so much for having us
Popular Podcasts
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy And Charlamagne Tha God!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Decisions, Decisions
Welcome to "Decisions, Decisions," the podcast where boundaries are pushed, and conversations get candid! Join your favorite hosts, Mandii B and WeezyWTF, as they dive deep into the world of non-traditional relationships and explore the often-taboo topics surrounding dating, sex, and love. Every Monday, Mandii and Weezy invite you to unlearn the outdated narratives dictated by traditional patriarchal norms. With a blend of humor, vulnerability, and authenticity, they share their personal journeys navigating their 30s, tackling the complexities of modern relationships, and engaging in thought-provoking discussions that challenge societal expectations. From groundbreaking interviews with diverse guests to relatable stories that resonate with your experiences, "Decisions, Decisions" is your go-to source for open dialogue about what it truly means to love and connect in today's world. Get ready to reshape your understanding of relationships and embrace the freedom of authentic connections—tune in and join the conversation!