First Ever College and Post-Secondary School Fair at Craig

On the evening of Tuesday, March 28th the Craig Upper School in Lincoln Park held its first College and Post-Secondary Fair for LD students. The exhibitors represented a variety of learning venues for students with learning differences and included two and four year colleges with comprehensive support programs as well as vocational schools, structured living experiences, and school-to-work programs.

Traditionally, the colleges represented at such fairs are four year institutions with basic support services available to their learning disabled students. Often the admissions representatives are not current or familiar with the support services offered to the learning disabled student. The College Fair at Craig was organized for the purpose of giving students the opportunity to become fully informed about post-secondary options offering comprehensive support for their academic, social and emotional needs and to seek out the best match for their personal learning needs and career choices.

The exhibitors included representatives from four-year colleges such as St. Thomas Aquinas, Fairleigh Dickinson, Centenary College Southern Vermont College and American International College which all offer traditional majors with a comprehensive support program for the LD student. Two-year colleges with academic support such as Mitchell College, Landmark College and County College of Morris, were present as well. Programs for more hands-on students such as Johnson College and Morris County Vocational (Adult) were represented in addition to structured post secondary environments such as the New York School of Technology Vocational Independence Program, Maplebrook School CAPS program and The Berkshire Center College Internship. For students interested in school-to-work programs, there were representatives from Employment Horizons and Department of Vocational Rehabilitation.

“Finding the right college match is difficult enough for a traditional learner; imagine what it is like when someone learns differently and requires accommodations to ‘level the playing field’? Programs change from year to year and it is important that the guidance given to the learning disabled student and their parents is up-to-date and relevant," remarked Dawn DeSimone, Craig’s Director of Counseling who organized the fair. “Craig School believes its students deserve the chance to be successful in whatever they choose to do after high school graduation and we feel a fair such as this is the most effective way we can help make them aware of their choices.”