School tailored for children with autism, ADD to close without $70,000 in funding

HALIFAX – Without significant financial help, The Paths2Learning Academy & Society in Halifax will soon be closing down a major portion of it’s services.

The academy provides teaching and therapy for children with attention deficit disorder, autism spectrum disorder and other special needs.

READ MORE: Mother describes ‘troubling’ wait times for autism intervention program

The school-house portion of the school has one-on-one and small group learning with customized programming for students.

“We provide these children with the opportunity to learn in a very safe way. How to sit in their seats, how to control their bodies, if they have sensory needs, giving them school readiness skills,” said Tanisha Myles, teacher.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We provide these children with the opportunity to learn in a very safe way. How to sit in their seats, how to control their bodies, if they have sensory needs, giving them school readiness skills," said Tanisha Myles, teacher.

Parents say the school helps to fill a gap for children with special needs. They were informed Tuesday that without funding, the school-house portion of the academy will close on January 31.

“Right now, we have found a place for our daughter where she is engaged and learning every day. The staff are dedicated to my child and making sure that she has the best foundation in life,” said Nicole Tilley, whose 5-year-old daughter Leah attends the school.

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There are 15 students currently in the program. Crystal Harms, the Executive Director of Path2Learning, says the high ratio of staff-to-student helps the children learn basic skills.

“We want to take kids out of what can be a very stressful, overwhelming environment and bring them into a safe space, you can tell when you come in, it feels like a home,” she said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "We want to take kids out of what can be a very stressful, overwhelming environment and bring them into a safe space, you can tell when you come in, it feels like a home," she said.

READ MORE: Nova Scotia increasing early intervention support for students with autism

The school charges a tuition, but the $1,100 a month for each student just isn’t enough to sustain the academy.

“We’ve tried so hard to come up with tuition fees that are reasonable and affordable for parents but that still cover our operating costs. We run on a shoestring budget,” said Harms.

It’s a need

The school needs to raise $70,000 in order to keep their doors open. Paths2Learning does not have charitable status, meaning a lot of funding options are not available to them.

“People will come from all over the province, We even have somebody coming from the states to move here to bring their child here,” Myles said.

“It’s not a want, it’s a need in the community. We have to have this here. These families need this.”

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It's not a want, it's a need in the community. We have to have this here. These families need this."

Staff and parents are trying desperately to find funding so that the leaning can continue at the academy.

“This has been my home. These people are my family. These children are like my own. I come to work everyday early, excited to see them and then I go home every night and lesson plan,” Myles said.

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A GoFundMe Campaign called “Keep the P2L Schoolhouse Open” has been launched to try and help the school raise the money they require.