The Golden Key Center for Exceptional Children looking to expand Canton school

Canton Repository - 11/28/2021

A private school for students with autism and other cognitive disorders is looking to expand.

The Golden Key Center for Exceptional Children, a nonprofit organization serving students in preschool through eighth grade in Stark, Tuscarawas, Wayne, Carrollton, Portage and lower Summit counties, is launching a campaign Tuesday to raise money to renovate and expand its building at 1431 30th St. NW in Canton.

The kickoff coincides with GivingTuesday, a global day of giving held on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving. An anonymous donor has pledged to match up to $20,000 in donations.

More on The Golden Key Center: Canton school gets grant to help close education gap due to COVID-19 closures

"The expansion has been deemed necessary based on a growing waiting list and interest in what our school can do for our students and families facing autism," said Terry Frank, co-founder and executive director of Golden Key.

Frank said the $2 million expansion project would allow the school to serve 30% more students from the region at its 30th Street location.

"Not only are we going to expand the number of classrooms to increase the number of students we can serve but also design a full functional gym to allow for a wide range of gross motor activities and physical education, a functional living area to teach basic life skills and room for family education on autism," she said.

The Golden Key currently serves 74 students with developmental disabilities in kindergarten through eighth grade, 13 preschool students in its early intervention program for students on the autism spectrum and five students at an offsite location through Tuscarawas Central Catholic School and Immaculate Conception School in Dennison.

To donate to The Golden Key's fundraising campaign, call 330-494-4400 or send a check to 1431 30th St. NW, Canton, Ohio 44709. Donations also can be made on The Golden Key's social media pages on Facebook and Instagram.

Reach Kelli at 330-580-8339 or kelli.weir@cantonrep.com.

On Twitter: @kweirREP