Assemblywoman Donna Simon visits CEA’s Spring Run School - 12/16/13
NJ Assemblywoman Donna Simon, from the 16th District, recently visited Spring Run School at CEA in Flemington. Spring Run is a New Jersey approved private secondary special education school offering comprehensive education for students on the autism spectrum and those with multiple disabilities. Ms. Simon has shown an interest in the school for many years and last visited for graduation ceremonies there in June.
John King, CEA Board of Trustees Chairperson and Hunterdon County Freeholder, and Michael Skoczek, CEA’s President and CEO, accompanied Ms. Simon on a tour of the school which was lead by the school principal, Paul Semegran. “We offer a unique transitional program for our students, which combines real-world work experience on- and off-campus, as well as independent living skills training,” commented Mr. Semegran.
Highlights of the tour included a visit to the school’s Activities of Daily Living (ADL) area, which is currently being expanded to include a separate bedroom in addition to the kitchen/living area. This resource is used to teach life skills with opportunities for hands-on practice. Each Wednesday morning the students work together to prepare and serve a hot breakfast, which they then sit down together to eat. Ms. Simon plans to return to participate in one of these breakfasts.
During her visit, Ms. Simon saw students participating in a real-world work experience. The students were preparing for a sale of clothing and merchandise left over from CEA’s Annual Turkey Trot held on Thanksgiving morning. The merchandise was available for sale to CEA and Spring Run staff, program participants, volunteers, friends and family members.
“Ms. Simon has taken a special interest in Spring Run School which means a lot to the staff and students. We are pleased to have her visit with us and interact with our students,” said Mr. Semegran. “More importantly, she offered to have one of our students work in her office as a part-time on-the-job experience.”
Spring Run School has provided academic and career readiness programs for special needs students 14 to 21 years of age since 1984. For more information about Spring Run School, please visit springrunschool.org or call Paul Semegran at 908-782-1480 x226
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