Head Start Programs

Even before birth, a child changes the world for parents. And parents make the world for their children. We help make sure that every child has a good start, from prenatal care for moms to exciting opportunities for children to learn as they grow.

Every child should be well prepared for school. Yet, children born into low-income families and high-needs neighborhoods often lag behind their higher-income peers because their environments have fewer resources. In the first few years – when intellectual, emotional and social development progress most rapidly – this disadvantage grows.

Our Bronx-based Head Start and Early Head Start programs meets the needs of our communities by giving children and their families the resources, knowledge, and skills to close that gap and build a solid foundation for a successful future.

Early Head Start: Ensuring the Earliest Steps to Success

For Infants, Toddlers and Pregnant Women

The path to success begins at birth so we support pregnant women with prenatal education to ensure they have access to all the medical and other services they need to give birth to a healthy baby. Then our bilingual Early Head Start program provides critical early childhood services to children from birth to 3 years old when their physical, educational and social-emotional development start. We support children in Family Child Care settings as well as providing Home-Based visiting services depending upon the needs of each family.

At each of our Family Child Care sites, up to four children explore a wide array of enriching social and educational activities as well as eat nutritious meals and snacks. Home visiting services focus on supporting parents as they learn to guide healthy child development and foster pre-literacy skills as well as nurture the parent-child relationship.

Children in both programs receive hearing, vision and dental screenings and families are provided with referrals to free/low-cost health clinics, food banks and other social services as needed.

Head Start: Inspiring a Love of Learning

For Children Ages 2 Years 9 Months to 5 Years & Their Families

Our center-based Head Start program in the Bronx inspires children to love learning through an exciting variety of activities. Our teachers encourage children to explore and express their creativity in an environment rich in colors, textures, sounds and, most importantly, possibilities. Recognizing that each child’s personality and learning style is unique, we ensure that children have the freedom to develop in their own ways.

We invite parents to volunteer and join their children in the classroom for presentations and special programs so they, too, can enjoy learning and socializing with their peers. We provide support services for families including assistance with job training, food stamps, housing, access to health and mental health services, and educational supports, such as linkage with ESL or GED classes.

Head Start Program Features

New York State certified teachers
Teacher assistants in every classroom
Use of the evidence-based Creative Curriculum
Spacious, well equipped facility
Indoor and outdoor play areas
Field trips
Nutritious breakfast, lunch and snacks
Bilingual services

Family & Parent Support for Early Head Start & Head Start

Support and training for parents and families so they can fully participate in and contribute to the development of their children.
Referrals to job training, assistance with housing, access to health and mental health services, educational supports and other social services as needed.

Location

2165 Randall Avenue, Bronx, NY

Contact

Carolyn De Los Santos

718-991-1500

cdelossantos@leakeandwatts.org

Residential Treatment Center

Structure for Success

Our Residential Treatment Center, located on a serene 33-acre campus along the Hudson River in Yonkers, provides 24-hour residential care to youth who require intensive therapeutic and educational support. We help youth cope with mental-health challenges, emotional difficulties, developmental disabilities, and challenging behaviors and/or the trauma caused by abuse and neglect. In a therapeutic setting, residents learn effective problem solving, healthy coping skills, and adaptive behaviors. Self-esteem is enhanced as is their ability to trust others and relate positively to the world.

Our program provides structure and support to youth who have long histories of placements in psychiatric hospitals and other mental-health facilities but have not yet accomplished all the progress they wish to make. Attendance at the Biondi Middle & High School is coupled with recreational and therapeutic activities and clinical services to help each youth strengthen his or her ability to participate in the community and to return to a less restrictive environment as quickly as possible.

A Home Away from Home

We create an environment that is welcoming and homelike. Youth live in cottages that provide a warm, supportive home in which to move their lives forward. Here, each youth has the ability to decorate his or her own room, participates in meal planning and has a say in the activities that residents participate in. We take the time to learn each youth’s likes, dislikes, dreams and personal goals, and we respect them.

Personalized Support and Interventions

Our approach isn’t one-size-fits-all. We develop an individual treatment plan for each youth that includes specialized therapeutic supports tailored to specific challenges and a choice of personalized activities, and after-school and weekend recreation. Each youth participates in therapy — individual and group — as well as in a behavior modification program to help them develop the tools they need to succeed.

Going Beyond the Basics

Treatment is not our only goal. We also want graduates to be good neighbors and good citizens, so we provide community service opportunities through partnerships with the Yonkers Police Department, the Food Bank for Westchester, and other community partners. To ensure academic success, we have an After-School Learning Center that focuses on preparation for the Regents exam, credit recovery and academic enrichment.

Achieving Success Beyond Our Doors

As a result of the supportive, individualized treatment they receive, many of our residents are successfully able to the return to their homes in the community, graduate from high school, and go on to job skills training and employment. Youth with mental health challenges and disabilities gain the skills needed to live as independently as possible and thrive.

Location

463 Hawthorne Avenue, Yonkers, NY

Contact

Virginia Velazquez, Admissions Coordinator

914-375-8880

admissions@leakeandwatts.org

Biondi Elementary School

Some Kids Need a Boost

Not all students learn the same way. Some students face challenges that make it more difficult to learn. They may struggle to focus. Or are easily frustrated. If they feel they are unsuccessful in learning, a downward spiral can take over. For students like these, a smaller school with more individualized instruction, and a faculty and staff especially trained to serve students with emotional disorders and learning disabilities, offers hope and opportunity for a young student to successfully learn. Biondi Elementary is that school.

Giving Kids a Fresh Start

Biondi Eementary

At Biondi Elementary, children with emotional disorders, learning disabilities, and other challenges who were falling behind, not receiving the attention or support they needed, have a fresh start and a chance to learn skills to succeed in the classroom – and the world around them. With support from teachers in classrooms no larger than 12 students per class, students learn to overcome their frustrations, improve their self-esteem, and build academic skills.

Faculty and staff create a nurturing, positive environment in order to engage young people. Using the evidence-based Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports (PBIS) method reinforces students’ strengths and increases positive behaviors to build confidence and inspire achievement.

The Right Environment for Growth

Biondi Elementary School is the right environment to support the educational and personal growth for those who need it the most:

To get kids on track to go to and graduate from high school, Biondi Elementary School is a fully-accredited, non-public school offering a rich curriculum of academic and creative arts skills.
To give each child the individual attention they need, class sizes are small, with at least 1 teacher and 1 teaching assistant for every 12 students.
To promote advancement, we use methodologies proven effective with students who have had difficulty learning to read or are behind.
To encourage expression and enhance a sense of self, students participate in art, and other activities suited to their interests.
To help parents provide the support their children need to thrive, we provide coaching and workshops to build their skills.
To help parents take a more active role in their child’s development, we support an active PTA.

The Therapeutic and Clinical Support Children Need

Students receive comprehensive support:

Licensed social workers support the well-being of students and work closely with families as needed.
Licensed clinical psychologists help structure the school experience and provide therapy for students who need help.
Board certified psychiatrists assist students with wide ranging clinical challenges and administer medications as needed.
Crisis prevention/intervention specialists help students in stressful circumstances.
Registered nurses tend to students’ medical needs.

Location

1529 Williamsbridge Road, Bronx

Contact

Roland Lewis, Principal

718-794-8282

rlewis@leakeandwatts.org

Biondi Middle & High School

Personal Support for Individual Success

The right support in the appropriate environment is critical to everyone’s success. When students have not found the support or environment they need in traditional public schools, our Biondi Middle and High School offers them individualized attention so they can increase their confidence, which helps them learn and achieve academic and personal success. By identifying what motivates and excites each student, we differentiate our program elements to engage students as active participants in their own learning process and foster individual student success.

A New York State Education Department accredited, year-round special education school, the Biondi Middle and High School provides educational and therapeutic support to both residential and day students from the New York City and Westchester areas who have behavioral and emotional challenges, learning disabilities, or intellectual/developmental disabilities. Students enjoy the opportunity to join our Young Men’s Academy, Young Women’s Academy, or our Academy for Career and Occupational Studies. We help our students overcome severe academic deficits and complete high school, prepared with the academic and vocational tools they need to enter college and career. Our graduates are ready to succeed.

Well-Rounded Education

In small classes and with individualized attention, students at the Biondi School participate in a full academic program and receive therapeutic support to address behavioral challenges and increase their emotional stability and coping skills.

Certified teachers, licensed and certified psychologists, social workers, and crisis intervention specialists work with students and parents to set academic, social and behavioral goals, and work on solutions to challenges. Using the evidence-based Positive Behavior and Supports (PBIS) method, our culture celebrates achievement as we focus on student strengths and increased positive behaviors.

Non-academic courses and activities play a large role in strengthening self-confidence and giving students the tools to succeed. Participation in art, music, computer and science labs, team sports as well as field trips to artistic performances, museums and other enriching opportunities open students’ eyes to new learning experiences that enhance what is learned in the classroom. These richly diverse experiences encourage them to develop skills, work with others and increase self-esteem through accomplishment.

Preparing for the Future

Students have the opportunity to earn a Regents diploma — which can lead to college enrollment — as well as pursue vocational studies to enter the workforce directly upon graduation. Many of the students we support come to us several grade levels behind in reading and math. No matter the challenge, we work with students and their families to determine the best pathway to a successful future through the various offerings within the New York State Core Curriculum. Then we help them start down that path by providing academic and vocational training.

For students who want an alternative pathway to success, we offer vocational and work-study opportunities in many areas, such as cosmetology, HVAC and plumbing, and our upcoming culinary arts. We will soon expand to retail customer service, barbering and graphic design.

With our holistic supports, 100% of Biondi High School graduates go on to college, vocational training programs or employment after graduation. They are well prepared to succeed on their own, personalized path to success.

Location

463 Hawthorne Avenue, Yonkers, NY

Contact

Marya Baker, Principal

914-375-8949

mbaker@leakeandwatts.org

BIONDI MIDDLE & HIGH SCHOOL

From Bullying to High Fives

Just a few years ago, Bryan hated going to school. He was regularly bullied and, to avoid the fights, he often just skipped class. He didn’t expect to graduate. then he transfered to the Biondi School everything changed. The teachers and staff gave him the support he needed to regain his confidence. He found he liked class and made the Honor Roll. He loves his cosmetology vocational training program and has made many friends. He’s also learning valuable skills and gained high self-esteem from his job at Applebee’s, which he got thanks to the support of his teachers.

BRYAN

Juvenile Justice Services

Understanding Causes Means Better Solutions

Life can throw up roadblocks that seem insurmountable. Abuse, neglect, or serious trauma may lead young people to make poor choices and to involvement with the juvenile justice system. Many of the youth we support come from families and communities that face challenges with poverty, violence and lack of educational resources. But the cycle doesn’t have to continue. Youth in our juvenile justice programs discover their inner strengths and demonstrate tremendous resilience.

With support and new opportunities, youth learn to make positive decisions. Both our residential and our community-based juvenile justice programs give them a chance to rise above the obstacles they face so they can change the trajectory of their lives.

Brain research tells us that cognitive development continues until age 25 and beyond. The young people we support are still developing. While being held accountable, they can also learn new skills and how to make positive decisions in the supervised and nurturing environment of our programs.

When the Court refers youth to our programs, we give them a chance to discover the root causes of their delinquency, examine the choices they have made and acquire the tools they need to make better choices. They can start down a new path, one that leads to a productive, healthy life.

Ask Troy, 16, who said, “I am more than one bad decision that I made one day.” We gave him another day, other options — like learning to control his anger, finishing his high school diploma, and pursuing his dream of becoming an airline pilot.

Creating a Supportive Culture

Using the Missouri Approach, a proven model to reduce recidivism, we create a supportive community of peers within our residential programs. Youth hold one another responsible for their actions, and the community of peers helps each other hone skills in making positive choices.

Youth participate in individual, family, and group therapy as well as continue their schooling. They learn how to resolve conflicts and deal with challenges while working toward their middle and high school diplomas. Through community partnership opportunities and therapeutic recreation, our youth also discover new talents and build self-esteem.

Our community-based respite program uses an evidence-based model to reduce recidivism for youth who would otherwise increase their involvement with the juvenile justice system. It is an effective alternative to incarceration.

Look Forward, Not Back

Everything the young people in our program do is focused on successful re-entry into the community. We help them keep in touch with the positive aspects of family by bringing parents and caregivers to see them. With a clear understanding of themselves, recidivism drops.

In our juvenile justice programs, young people gain the confidence and skills they need to rise above the challenges they face.

Contact

Lisa Crook, Director

914-885-7381

lcrook@leakeandwatts.org