Carousel School : About Us

Maria Davis – Executive Director
Nelly Chavez – Special Education Director

Educational Programming

Carousel’s curriculum and activity programming both exceed California’s state standards, and provide comprehensive educational services designed to best support all children and their families. All students receive daily lessons on reading, math, writing, spelling, social studies, and science. Students also enjoy many of Carousel’s extra curricular activities such as art, dance, social skills group, and physical education. Our educational program supports and encourages children to reach their fullest potential. Each of our students is gifted and many benefit from a more intensive and specialized service plan. In addition to the daily support from our staff, our children who have a developmental or learning delay are paired with typically developing peers. This mentorship program provides all children with an opportunity to teach and learn from each other. Some of our student’s developmental and learning delays include: Autism, Asperger’s Disorder, Downs Syndrome, Communication Disorder, and Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

Transdisciplinary Team

Our professional and education staff is always researching new approaches and interventions to provide our children and families with individualized and innovative supports. In 2002, 2.2% of newborns, 5.6% of preschoolers, and 11.3% of school age children were identified with special needs, across the Nation. Through Carousel’s intensive services and monitoring, we continue to identify developmental risk factors earlier. Our professional staff provides in-service and daily learning opportunities for all staff to learn about these risk factors, and to learn the most effective methods for supporting children with these risk factors.

Our licensed and credentialed transdisciplinary team includes:

Occupational therapists
Speech and language therapists
Physical therapists
Behavioral specialists
Early intervention therapists
Special education teachers

Over the past 3 years, our clinical team has developed a therapeutic program that targets the needs of children with Autism. This program integrates each of child’s recommended therapies, especially occupational therapy and the Rapid Prompting Method (RPM), into the daily routine. Children engage in and learn from these approaches both one on one and in peer groups. Occupational therapists work alongside the teachers and behavioral aides to teach the core concepts of the RPM and how they complement each child’s sensory integration, fine motor, and communication skill development.

Specialized Day Class

Carousel has a unique classroom dedicated to those children with Emotional Disturbances or specific Learning Disabilities that targets their communication and social needs. A structured and broad-based curriculum offers these students regular educational opportunities that reinforce short-term goals and encourage and build toward long-term goals. Our team supports all learning styles, and encourages each child to contribute to the classroom discussion and follow classroom rules. By providing opportunities for children to examine their own behaviors and choices, many of the classroom lessons focus on increasing children’s self-esteem.

Junior High and High School Classes

Our academic classrooms provide Junior High and High School aged students opportunities to prepare for transition from school to another setting, such as their home or community. Academics are taught in the mornings and appropriate vocational themes are established under the guidelines of our Independent Living Skill curriculum, and incorporated into daily living skills lessons. Our students participate in a variety of community based activities, such as, shopping at the local farmers market and touring the Post Office, where they can apply the skills they learned in the classroom.