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Hello Everyone,
I hope this newsletter finds everyone in good spirits and good health. I believe that fall is our campus’s most beautiful time of year. Some might argue it is spring, but for me, it’s fall! These past several weeks have been picture-perfect, with bright sunshine and just the hint of chill in the air. We are fortunate to have a variety of outside activities all our students can enjoy on perfect fall days. From the Gaga Ball Pits to the swings to the playground area outside of the elementary school and much, much more, kids and staff have been outside as much as possible taking advantage of the fresh air and crunchy leaves.
While staff and students have been busy with full work and school days, the campus experienced a mild COVID-19 outbreak starting the week of October 18. We found ourselves dealing with our first in-school transmissions in October. Our Upper School Building (Mierley Building) was the focus of a concentrated cluster of positive cases. Due to the proactivity of several staff members coupled with the immeasurable support of our COVID Case Managers (CCMs), we were able to contain the issue to just one hallway in the High School. We temporarily closed 7 classrooms from October 19, 2021 through October 29, 2021. This event impacted mostly High School students with a few Vanguard Transition Center (VTC) students also involved. While closing several classrooms was extremely discouraging and I know, frustrating, to some of our families, I made the decision with the intention of ending the spread. I referenced PDE’s decision chart (https://www.education.pa.gov/Documents/K-12/Safe%20Schools/COVID/OutbreakFlowchart.pdf) that indicated if 3 classrooms are impacted by positive cases, a 14-day closure is recommended. As I write this, positive cases have slowed down. We have worked to develop a Zoom-based instruction platform for the students impacted by this outbreak for the next two weeks, through Friday, October 29. We are anxiously awaiting everyone’s return to in-person instruction. As of this writing, we anticipate all students back in person on Monday, November 1. We are revising groupings and other approaches in some areas of programming in the Upper School in an attempt to reduce the likelihood of such an outbreak occurring again. Although, I caution all of us, there is no guarantee this will not happen again.
On to some good news...I am excited to share we are adding a new service to our Adult and Recreation Services (ARS) program. Many of you are familiar with Customized Workforce Solutions (CWS), the branch of ARS that provides employment support services to adults with disabilities. The Director of ARS, Sascha Baello, is now certified to provide benefits counseling through her attainment of the Work Incentive Practitioner Certificate (WIP-C). The WIP-C allows practitioners to evaluate the effect employment will have on a participant’s Social Security and Medicaid benefits. It also allows for the exploration of various work incentives that may be offered through Social Security to allow for either extended benefits or other lesser-known benefits. Sascha will now be able to work one-on-one with participants and their identified representatives to help explore all viable options to help them decide what level of employment works best for their particular financial situations. If you are interested in learning more about this new service, please contact Sascha Baello at albaello@vfes.net.
As of this writing, the Mt. Gilead Retreat is still scheduled for November. Specialized Recreation Services (SRS) is accepting registrations for the weekend respite retreat at Mt. Gilead in Reeders, PA for ages 10-21. This is an all-weekend retreat from Friday, November 19 - Sunday, November 21. All COVID-19 precautions will be in place along with required testing prior to departure. Registration is open on our website at www.vfes.net/ars.
On Saturday, October 16, VFES joined thousands of people and several organizations at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia for the annual Autism Speaks Walk. VFES was a sponsor of this event and had a great show of staff, students and friends who attended. Autism Speaks provides research and connections to critical lifelong support services for the Autism Community and we are thankful to "Team VFES" for representing our organization at the walk.
With most of October behind us and the colder months right around the corner, I hope everyone is keeping themselves healthy in mind and body. This continues to be a stressful time. We are not back to a new normal and it begins to wear you down. It is vital to take care of yourselves. October is Mental Health Awareness Month and I've compiled a list of resources below to help should you need direction or support along your journey. Please forward this newsletter to your friends and families as well to share these resources:
Thank you again for your ongoing support. We hope you follow us on Facebook and Twitter. There is always something going on at VFES that is worth sharing!
Best,
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