When Robert Maher was considering a job at St. Christopher”™s, an organization with a history dating back to the 1880s, the veteran of the education field knew the daunting task ahead of him.
The Dobbs Ferry-based private, not-for-profit organization that was primarily serving children in foster care was in peril back in 2004.
A scandal related to falsified records led to a termination of more than $85 million in contracts with New York City”™s Administration for Children”™s Services, which left it both without the foster-care children to serve and the relied-upon revenues that brought in. And there was a giant hole in the ground ”“ literally.
But Maher accepted the position as superintendent of schools anyway.
Now, as executive director, he can look at a transformation of St. Christopher”™s into a thriving residential treatment center that serves special education students with emotional, behavioral and learning disabilities.
“It”™s very different now than it was back then,” Maher said on a recent morning.
Today, that gaping hole is the home of the Dr. Kenneth B. Clark Academy, the middle-high school showpiece of the organization”™s eight-acre Hudson River campus that also features residential cottages and activity buildings. Residential and daytime teen students within the organization are also served at the Jennie Clarkson campus in Valhalla, a site in New Windsor and through the Greenburgh Academy in Yonkers. Schooling is provided by the Greenburgh-North Castle Union Free School District, a New York State Special Act public school district.
Today, it”™s not unusual to have a more than 80-percent graduation rate, officials note, with an increased emphasis on vocational education complementing the college-prep programming.
It”™s been a real turnaround, yet funds are still needed. Marshall Asche, the chief financial officer, noted that one-third of the organization”™s budget should come from fundraising. He said there is a drive under way to raise $1 million in private funding, tapping everything from donations to activities such as golf outings and the annual gala. Monies raised from the May 1 gala will be directed to supporting the transitional/work readiness programming for its students.
The day-to-day education and the services provided are certainly always in thought, but at St. Christopher”™s, it goes beyond that.
Horace Turnbull, chief operating officer, said the focus is about the students themselves, how they grow as people.
“It”™s not just we”™re graduating kids,” he said. “The kids we”™re graduating are clinically in a much better place. ”¦We don”™t look at it as academic. We look at it as more holistic.”
It”™s not, he added, about “getting from one place to another. It”™s the why.”
Throughout the program, there is an emphasis on individualized plans.
As Turnbull said, “We believe that every flower blooms in its own time.”
While some students will complete a college-prep program, many more benefit from the marketable skills they are taught in fields ranging from culinary arts to auto body, administrative services to cosmetology. As Turnbull said the hands-on learning that makes them job-ready not only helps build confidence but puts them on a path to a better future after they have experienced “failure after failure, whether it”™s real or perceived.”
The school”™s profile has risen thanks to recent events such as appearances by sports celebrities and a trip to South Africa, a learning experience with a profound impact on the participating students.
Maher, who was principal of Briarcliff Manor High School before joining St. Christopher”™s, has seen a true change since he arrived. Today, more than 170 resident students are served on the three campuses, with an additional 160 day students in Yonkers.
In January, St. Christopher”™s earned approval from the Council of Accreditation, which is an international nonprofit accreditation organization for child and family service and behavioral healthcare agencies.
After all, Maher said, students at St. Christopher”™s deserve nothing less.
“We firmly believe our kids are normal,” he said. “They”™re special, but they”™re normal.”
St. Christopher”™s 2013 Gala, “We Can Be Heroes,” will be held May 1 at Glen Island Harbour Club in New Rochelle. Honorees include Alfred B. DelBello, partner, DelBello Donnellan Weingarten Wise & Wiederkehr, L.L.P.; David Lipson, managing director, Century Management; Kathy Frommer and Parul Mori; and Let”™s Play It Forward in Somers. Tickets start at $250. For more details, contact Kurt Kannemeyer at (914) 693-3030, ext. 2707. For more on St. Christopher”™s and its programs, visit sc1881.org.
