Pennsbury, PA: New SPED academy will serve kids who need "emotional/behavioral support"

July 27, 2018, Doylestown (PA) Intelligencer: Pennsbury approves new special education academy http://www.theintell.com/news/20180727/pennsbury-approves-new-special-education-academy Village Park Academy will be housed at the closed Village Park Elementary School in Falls and will serve both district and non-district students who need emotional and behavioral support. The Pennsbury School District will soon open a new district-staffed special education academy at the closed Village Park Elementary School in Falls despite concerns expressed by three school board members at a special meeting Thursday night that the process was rushed. Village Park Academy will open in about five weeks at the school on Unity Drive in the Levittown section of the township. … While commending LifeWorks for its work at Village Park since the facility closed as an elementary school in May 2013, Pennsbury Special Education Director Sherri Morett previously indicated that school district officials believe they can offer a better overall service with by offering an in-district program. “We are truly confident that we are well equipped to provide a program that offers mental health services along with a well designed, engaging curriculum that will support our students’ academic, social, emotional and behavioral needs,” she said. … Having the academy run by district staff also allows students to take advantage of Pennsbury agreements with consultants to provide various mental health services, Morett added. The academy is expected to serve about 75 students in its first year….