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Parents, teachers, staff unite so Jacksonville school for special needs students stays open

Florida Times-Union - 3/16/2019

March 16-- Mar. 16--Bonny Fershtman is fighting for her 10-year-old son Jeremiah's future.

Diagnosed with Down syndrome, Jeremiah struggled through four public and private schools before finally finding the one -- Mainspring Academy in Jacksonville -- that meets his special needs, including being oversensitive to sound, pitch and volume, and a reluctance to be around his peers.

In his a month-and-a half at the nonprofit, private Mainspring, Jeremiah has come a long way. He now interacts with classmates, sits with them at the same table for lunch and no longer walks away or pushes back against something that doesn't interest him, Fershtman said.

"Our kids are unique. They're all unique and each of their needs are different. For Jeremiah to grow, he needed some additional support that the other schools were not able to provide," Fershtman said.

But the strides Jeremiah and other Mainspring students have made are in jeopardy.

Mainspring will close unless it relocates and raises enough money to keep the doors open until a new site is ready, according to its governing board.

That possibility devastates Fershtman and other parents. Their children have nowhere else to go if Mainspring shuts its doors. Many say they've tried other public and private schools for their children, but none helped them as much as Mainspring.

"My son needs structure. He also needs behavioral support so he can function," Fershtman said. "There is not another school in Jacksonville that will help him work on those areas that Mainspring has been able to do. I don't want to have to go anywhere else because now he can focus on his academics, focus on speech and be able to work on the other things he can work on because he's not focused on his peers."

Fershtman is at the forefront of a group of parents, teachers and other supporters rallying to raise at least a half-million dollars needed to relocate the school currently at 6867 Southpoint Drive N. in the Southpoint neighborhood.

"I'm doing whatever I can, trying to get the word out to the public, 'Please, please support our school,' " she said. "You don't know what it's like until your child is misplaced in a school system. It's a terrible feeling, You want your children to be able to succeed in life, to be able to function in life."

SMALL SCHOOL, BIG IMPACT

"We never give up on our students," is the philosophy and mission shared by Mainspring teachers and support team members.

Mainspring serves 54 students ages 5 to 22 years old from Duval, Clay, Nassau and St. Johns counties. They have been diagnosed with learning, emotional, physical, neurological or developmental disabilities such as autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy and some rare genetic disorders.

"We're trying to get them as ready for life as they can be," said Dina Parisi, head of school. "For some kids, that might mean they go on and are gainfully employed. And for others, that might mean that they live in a group home and be as independent as possible."

The school has 20 teachers and support team members, including paraprofessionals and behavior specialists. Its student-teacher ratio averages 5-2, said Parisi, whose 13-year-old son, Luke, has autism and attends the school.

Some students have severe disabilities including those with little to no independent functioning skills, who need help with all aspects of their lives.

Parents say the school is important to their children even if they can't always express their feelings in words.

"We don't just sit them in a room," said Parisi, noting life skills as well as art, dance, music and yoga along with academics and team sports -- including participating in the Special Olympics -- are offered.

"Here, we try to keep them active and doing a lot of different things, having a lot of different experiences because you never know when you provide those experiences, some might really enjoy it and you might find something they are great at that they can use later on in life," she said.

Many students have attended the school at least six years, and most have had the same teachers in that time. Changing schools -- leaving teachers they know and going into a new environment -- can be difficult for special needs children and often represents a major lifestyle change for them, parents say.

REPRIEVE

Citing financial challenges and constraints that put the outlook of the school into question, the Mainspring governing board on Feb. 7 notified parents, teachers and support staff by letter and email the school would close at the end of May.

Parents and school employees united. On Feb. 25, they convinced the board to reconsider closure. The board agreed to keep the school open but at a new location.

It plans to relocate the school by the start of the 2019-20 school year. The board currently envisions enrollment will increase by 25 percent to 30 percent within the next three years.

All they need is money.

The initial goal is to raise $150,000 by May 31. The longer-term goal is to raise $500,000 by May 31, 2020. The capital campaign has raised $51,000 by this week -- within two weeks of its launch, Parisi said.

"The capital campaign is really what's going to keep us running," said Parisi, noting parents raised most of the money.

Parents, teachers and other school supporters also have established a GoFundMe account https://www.gofundme.com/HelpSaveOurSpecialNeedsSchool that features emotional video testimonials about the vital role the school plays in the lives of its students.

Donations totaling $1,135 had been pledged at the GoFundMe page as of Saturday.

The board's plan calls for the new site to be designed with a focus on learning differences and strategies to better address the students' needs, abilities and capabilities. It also calls for adaptive technologies, a sensory room and a playground accessible to students with a disability.

In addition, the board also plans to expand Mainspring's services to include school break and summer programs for students who would benefit from small group programs and therapy support.

FINANCIAL CHALLENGES

Mainspring receives much of its revenue from paid services such as base tuition -- about $21,000 -- and government grants. Much of its tuition comes through the state's McKay and Gardiner scholarship programs for students with special needs, Parisi said.

She said the school also gets some money from private donors, foundations and fundraisers. In January, the Florida Blue Foundation gave $10,000 to the school after it received more than 15,000 online votes from people saying it was their favorite nonprofit.

The school reported revenue totaling about $1.44 million on its federal 990 tax form filed Nov. 11, 2017. That's a decrease from roughly $1.77 million the previous year. As reported, the school's expenses were listed at nearly $1.54 million -- an increase from approximately $1.32 million the previous year.

Parisi said the board's initial decision to close Mainspring resulted from concern about the annual "summer drought" when tuition isn't coming in -- a situation experienced by many independent schools. Mainspring has always experienced "cash flow dips." From year-to-year some students leave for various reasons, such as they move on to a different type of facility, and that impacts revenue.

"We haven't taken out loans. We haven't over-extended ourselves or anything like that. We've been diligent in making sure the school is able to operate," Parisi said.

Nonetheless, she said, this year's budget projections gave the board pause resulting in the initial closure decision.

"We wanted to make sure that the kids landed safely. If we would have waited until April to make that kind of announcement then that could have really changed the course and limited where the kids could go to after they left here," Parisi said.

The Florida Department of Education doesn't regulate, grade, license or accredit private schools. Some independent organizations such as Private School Review, however, prepare profiles and a guide to private schools nationwide based on data and information by the institutions.

Mainspring is listed among the top 20 percent of Florida private schools for having the highest percentage of faculty with advanced degrees. At least 95 percent of its teachers have an advanced degrees. For comparison, the statewide average is half, according to the review.

The school's highest praise comes from parents and teachers.

TESTIMONIALS

Michelle Arias said seeing her students blossom is priceless. Seemingly ordinary tasks take on great significance when mastered by a person with a disability, the Mainspring teacher said.

"Words can't describe the joy that I feel when I'm working with my students and I help teach them a new skill that helps them gain independence or helps them be able to communicate their wants and needs," Arias said. "I think people in general take for granted something as simple as saying 'I need to use the restroom,' or being able to put your own socks and shoes on in the morning."

Arias is among a dozen teachers and parents who've shared their experiences and their opinion of the school in video testimonials posted on the GoFundMe page.

Kathy Calvert said her 16-year-old daughter, Kara, has Down syndrome and autism. Her learning needs are complex.

"Mainspring provides a nurturing environment. The team here, the staff and her teachers believe in her," Calvert said. "They provide love and they show that love through compassion, through kindness, through patience with her."

Teachers say they learn from their students.

"I enjoy coming to work to see my students and watch them grow. I also learn from them each day. They have taught me to be a better person and for that I am very thankful," said Amy Crismon, who's taught at the school six years.

Kris d'Esterhazy said her daughter, Allison, 13, has Phelan-McDermid syndrome -- a rare genetic condition. She has attended Mainspring for six years. Her mom said they chose the school because Allison didn't really fit in at any other Duval County schools. They'd also heard good things about Mainspring, which have been true, she said.

"We've loved all the time that we've had here," d'Esterhazy said. "Every single person in the school knows Allison and what she needs and who she is. And for me, that's invaluable."

The bottom line, Fershtman and other parents say, is keeping Mainspring open is about more than dollars and cents. It's an investment in the future of the students.

"This is a great, great need. Not just for my son. All these kids are beautiful and they deserve every chance, every opportunity to succeed and they need all the help they can to learn, Fershtman said. "If we all come together it can be done. It's not a feat that can't be accomplished."

Teresa Stepzinski: (904) 359-4075

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