special education teacher kolkata

AP Teacher Training Institute

Know-how to pursue special education courses in kolkata.

Special education teachers possess specific skills for training differently able children. Special education courses in Kolkata are developed with the right training skills in mind. The candidates are likely to acquire substantial expertise and insight into training while attending the course. Kolkata and its adjoining suburban areas like Salt Lake, Howrah, and Dum Dum have proven to be the most preferable teacher training hotspots in West Bengal. 

 The teachers are capable of handling the special needs children efficiently by identifying and resolving the usual roadblocks. The Special Education Courses are ideally built for convincing aspiring teachers about contributing much to the psychological and physiological growth of our kids.

 Aspiring teachers are truly inclined towards a few Special Education Teacher Training Institutes that help in understanding the merits and demerits of similar training. The candidates signing up for these courses are bound to acquire substantial knowledge as compared to other aspiring teachers who fail to pursue these professional teaching courses. The courses create fresh opportunities for job seekers alongside expanding their learning potential.

 A majority of teacher training institutes laid stringent eligibility criteria. It’s also mandatory for these Special Education Institutes in Kolkata to engage teaching staff with a proven track record.

  Pursue Special Education Courses through Certificate, Diploma, and PG Diploma Programs  

• Certificate in Special Education: Teaching children with special needs is often about engaging some of the latest teaching methodologies and theories. A special education certificate program teaches all of these in great detail. Gearing issues, Autism, and psychological problems are most frequently witnessed in such children. The course launches a few of the latest teaching approaches for resolving issues that lead to visual challenges and sensory blockades besides cerebral palsy. 

• Diploma in Special Education:  The diploma course introduces specific methodologies that assist special needs children in facing challenges. The shaping of the course module is also explained to those who attend the courses. The teaching candidates acquire much confidence since the course equips them with quality knowledge and practical demonstrations. All candidates are awarded a diploma the sooner they submit their theoretical paperwork alongside the practical assignment. 
• PG Diploma in Special Education: A teaching aspirant achieves a firmer grip over specific behavioral traits and knowledge acquisition methods once he attends the PG Diploma Course in Special Education (SEN). The PG courses are attended by candidates who are looking forward to obtaining proper insight into the efficient management of the classroom. They are equipped with everything that is required for extending support to all Special Needs Children. The PG Diploma also assists them in improving their project objectives and in ensuring efficient execution of the same.

Tips on Joining Special Education Teaching Courses  

• Pick the right course, fill out the details that are stated in the form, and submit it.
• Do extensive research on the various courses and obtain a detailed picture by clarifying doubts about the course features with the representatives.
• The candidates must pay the course fees before signing up for any Special Education teacher training course.
• A candidate has to attend the course and finish it successfully before receiving his certificate from the training organization. 

Analyzing Performance 

 A candidate needs to answer a batch of multiple-choice questions while finishing off his training module. You’ll even find answer keys that you may utilize while replying to the questions. Once you pursue the course successfully, a candidate achieves a certificate from the institute.

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Systems in Which Special Needs Teaching is Imparted

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West Bengal, India

WeCan is a not-for-profit organization, dedicated to special education and largely dedicated to quality education for the under-privileged.

It is a voluntary initiative by well-established professionals and educators, to give back to society. We are a learning resource institute in Kolkata that focuses on bridging the gap which exists between the actual performance and the expected performance of every child.

Our tried and tested systems of assessments, education plans, strategies, 

"THE MISSION, VISION AND GOAL IS TO PROMOTE INCLUSIVE EDUCATION AND AN INCLUSIVE SOCIETY"

customized library of content, use of teaching learning material and periodic reviews- all implemented by qualified, experienced and passionate professionals, ensure that goals are clear and targets are met not only for individual students but also for schools and institutions who partner us .

Vision and Mission:

To promote and enable Inclusive Education and an Inclusive Society

To meet the educational needs of every child, irrespective of the diagnosis and prognosis of the wider educational and medical community.

To elevate and optimize every child’s academic performance and social adaptability irrespective of financial barriers.

EDUCATION FOR ALL- RAISING THE BAR & BRIDGING THE GAPS

WeCan WITHIN SCHOOLS

ACADEMIC REMEDIAL FOR MAINSTREAM CHILDREN

Suryoday- academic support for the underprivileged, nios obe study centre, online intervention.

SAVITUR – A SPECIAL SCHOOL

Home programmes.

SPECIAL EDUCATION RESOURCE ROOMS IN SCHOOLS

DIFFERENTIAL TEACHING - ASSESSMENTS AND EDUCATIONAL PLANS

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Dr. Sudha Kaul

Founder, Trustee and Vice Chairperson of the Indian Institute of Cerebral Palsy (IICP), Kolkata, Dr. Kaul has a PhD in Augmentative and Alternative Communication from Manchester Metropolitan University.

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Our services to the children with learning disability and underprivileged.

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A Step By Step Guide To Become A Special Educator In India

The major goal of special education is to empower children with various special needs to successfully deal with their difficulties by developing their skills to the fullest. Special Education is specifically planned approaches for teaching, training and supporting children with special needs. By understanding the importance of the career, special child teaching course programs are preparing teaching professionals and parents as well.

These special needs may consist of learning difficulties, physical complications, developmental ailments and behavioral hitches. A trained Special Educator mainly works with children who have special needs with an abundant amount of patience. Moreover, this career path also comes with great profits and job solidity as the career is meaningful and rewarding. A French physician, Jean-Marc Gaspard Itard is the father of special education.

How to Become a Special Educator?

A career in special education is mainly for people who have a passion for teaching and at the same time, concerns for children with special needs. Kids with such special difficulties need special training and education by well-trained SEN professionals. The foremost responsibility of a skilled special educator is to teach and interact with kids who have a variety of special needs. You can startby pursuing a diploma course special education program.

Eligibility Criteria ---  

• Diploma in Special Education course , a pass in Class 12 with minimum qualifying percentage/ grade/ marks is compulsory.  
• Pursuing a B.Ed course in Special Education, UG degree from any stream with minimum qualifying marks is required.  
• Taking psychology in +2 would be an additional benefit for further knowledge.  
• You can also take up special child teaching course programs to get mastery over several techniques in special education.  
• For specializing in this field, you can take up M.Ed from an institute recognized by the Rehabilitation Council of India.

Numerous colleges and universities conduct entrance examinations to deliver admissions in special education teacher courses.  

Watch this video to find out various ways to create a sensory diet for Special Educational Needs kids!

Skills To Become A Special Education Teacher

A special education teacher must possess these skills ---  

• Patience : Needless to say, a special education teacher needs to possess patience as a characteristic. Learners with special needs sometimes take more time in learning and understanding a concept and you have to understand that these students are not always instantly approachable.  
• Critical Thinking: As a trained special education teacher, you will be responsible for evaluating students’ development. You need to determine numerous teaching methods to progress the educational experience.  
• Problem Solving Aptitude: You need to be able to recognize the problems. A special education teacher basically focuses on school children’s learning and growth in learning life skills.  
• Strong Communication Skills: Additionally, special education teachers should have excellent communication skills. You need to be able to communicate evidently with parents, teachers, administrators and kids.  
• Mentoring Skills: SEN teachers are dedicated to aiding their school children in learning developments where they have to mentor the apprentices to overcome the weaknesses and learning difficulties of students.  
• Creativity: You need to be creative to be able to comprehend diverse ways of communicating with these students who need special attention. You have to make your classes more entertaining through creative teaching methods.  
• Intuitive Skills: Special needs children may show trouble in expressing what they are feeling. Hence, you need to be extremely intuitive to identify fundamental issues behind a child’s behavior, along with helping them.

Internships also play a crucial role in the preliminary level of career development.

Employment Sector/Industry for Special Education Teacher

Skilled and well-trained Special Education teachers are in high demand. This also signifies that a teacher with a special child teaching course degree is likely to have more job security and a broader arrangement of career options than ever before. A special education career is so pleasing is the fact that it offers a lifetime of knowledge. You may get employment in ---  

• Inclusive Schools
• School Consultant Division
• Therapy Centres
• You may also work with physiotherapists, psychologists and speech therapists
• Both government and private educational sector
• Rehabilitation Centres
• Schools for Specially-abled Children
• Special Education Teacher in B.Ed Colleges
• Hospitals that treat Children with Special Needs
• Consultancies that provide Special Education Trainers to Schools

Just like other professions, salaries also depend on your educational qualifications as well as your experience that may differ from individual to individual and company to company. Generally, trained special educators in India get paid in the range of INR 3 LPA to INR 4 LPA on an average basis.

Generally, special educators have more flexibility and freedom about their work. A career in Special Education with a special child teaching course degree is a sustaining option as long as you keep on improving your knowledge and aptitudes. As per the democratic laws arranged down by India, every child has the right to education; even the specially-abled kids. This shows an upsurge in the career opportunities for special educators in India.

• 4 Practical Tips for Integrating Life Skills into Academic Curriculum in Your SEN Classroom
• 5 Important Facts About Fecal Smearing That You Need To Know
• Beyond Inclusion: The Power of Targeted Collaboration in Special Education
• Want To Build More Equitable And Collaborative Classrooms? 7 Steps To Do So!
• 6 Strategies To Elevate Your Specially Designed Instruction Skills For Hybrid Classrooms
• What Causes Down Syndrome? An Illustrative Guide!

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B.Ed Special Education at Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata Offline Course

Course details.

Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) Special Education is a full-time one-year duration course offered by Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata.

Eligibility Criteria

 Graduate / Hons. Graduate / Postgraduate from any UGC recognized University with 50% Marks either in under Graduate and or / Post Graduate level (45% for SC, ST)

Other Popular Courses in this College

Other popular universities offering this course, aliah university, kolkata.

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Top Special Schools Kolkata India 2024 | List of Special Needs School

Checkout list of Top Special Schools in Kolkata 2024 offering curriculum for students with Special Educational Needs (SEN). Find below the complete list of Special Needs Schools in Kolkata India offering Special Needs Curriculum with information on Fees, Admission procedure, Ranking, Rating & Reviews, Facilities, Contact Details and address. This list of Top Best Special Schools in Kolkata India covers or caters to students who have special educational needs due to learning difficulties (such as dyslexia), Communication Disorders, Developmental Disabilities (Such as Autism), Physical disabilities or behavioral problems.

Click on the name of the Special school for information on Admission, Fees, Curriculum, School Contact Details, Ranking, Reviews and Ratings of Best Special Needs Schools in Kolkata India.

Use search filters to find Schools based on School Type (Coeducational or Boys or Girls), School Curriculum, School Level, School Boarding Type (Day, Day-cum-Boarding School or Boarding/Residential School).

The Heritage School, Anandpur, Kolkata

The Heritage School, Anandpur, Kolkata is a Coed Day School with classes from Pre-nursery to XII located in Kolkata.

The school has classes from Pre Primary School (Pre School) to Senior Secondary School (XI-XII) and follows curriculum prescribed by Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE), International Baccalaureate (IB), Cambridge Assessment International Education (CAIE), National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS), Special Education Needs (SEN) curriculum.

Calcutta International School, Anandapur, Kolkata

Calcutta International School, Anandapur, Kolkata is a Coed Day School with classes from Pre-nursery to XII located in Kolkata.

The school has classes from Pre Primary School (Pre School) to Senior Secondary School (XI-XII) and follows curriculum prescribed by International Baccalaureate (IB), Cambridge Assessment International Education (CAIE), Special Education Needs (SEN), Pearson Edexcel (Edexcel) curriculum.

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Special Education at Aditya Academy: Bridging the Gap with Care and Expertise

Aditya Academy Secondary is more than just a co-educational English medium school in Barasat; it’s a beacon of inclusivity in West Bengal. Pioneering special education in CBSE schools in Kolkata , we wholeheartedly embrace children with diverse needs, ensuring that every student finds their place in the mainstream. What sets us apart is our unyielding commitment to children with special needs. This dedication extends beyond mere words; it manifests in our subtle yet impactful efforts to create an environment where every student feels valued and understood. Our cadre of well-trained, qualified special educators meticulously designs need-based curriculums, ensuring a seamless integration of these young learners into the mainstream. Recognizing that every child is unique, we modify syllabi and question papers to cater to individual requirements. Our emphasis on early intervention is the cornerstone of our Special Educational Needs (SEN) department. We assist children with diverse challenges, including: 1.  Cerebral Palsy (CP) 2.  Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) 3. Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD), and 4.  Various Learning Difficulties (LD). At Aditya Academy, our mission transcends academics. We strive to balance expectations with achievements, ensuring our students experience a joyous, nurturing environment. Here, we don’t just educate; we empower. Join us on this journey of compassion, inclusivity, and unparalleled educational commitment.

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Top Special Needs Teacher Training Institutes in India

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The average cost price of the course ranges from Rs.11 000 to Rs.50 000

Duration of Special Needs Teacher Training courses in India

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The average salary for a Special Education Teacher, Preschool, Kindergarten, or Elementary School in India is ₹201493.

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Parents of children with disabilities, attending a free clinic in Kolkata, India, run by PUROBIE BOSE, a teacher of the deaf, qualified from the University of Manchester, U.K. in 1971, urged her to lead an organization for the welfare of their children. Bose founded the society for Remedial Education Assessment Counseling Handicapped (REACH) in October, 1980, at a meeting of founder members, parents and well wishers. The Society was registered under the West Bengal Societies Act XXVI of 1961 on March 31, 1981.

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What federal education data shows about students with disabilities in the U.S.

Public K-12 schools in the United States educate about 7.3 million students with disabilities – a number that has grown over the last few decades. Disabled students ages 3 to 21 are served under the federal  Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) , which guarantees them the right to free public education and appropriate special education services.

For Disability Pride Month , here are some key facts about public school students with disabilities, based on the latest data from the  National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) .

July is both Disability Pride Month and the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. To mark these occasions, Pew Research Center used federal education data from  the National Center for Education Statistics  to learn more about students who receive special education services in U.S. public schools.

In this analysis, students with disabilities include those ages 3 to 21 who are served under the federal  Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) . Through IDEA, children with disabilities are guaranteed a “free appropriate public education,” including special education and related services.

The 7.3 million disabled students in the U.S. made up 15% of national public school enrollment during the 2021-22 school year. The population of students in prekindergarten through 12th grade who are served under IDEA has grown in both number and share over the last few decades. During the 2010-11 school year, for instance, there were 6.4 million students with disabilities in U.S. public schools, accounting for 13% of enrollment.

The number of students receiving special education services temporarily dropped during the coronavirus pandemic – the first decline in a decade. Between the 2019-20 and 2020-21 school years, the number of students receiving special education services decreased by 1%, from 7.3 million to 7.2 million. This was the first year-over-year drop in special education enrollment since 2011-12.

The decline in students receiving special education services was part of a 3% decline in the overall number of students enrolled in public schools between 2019-20 and 2020-21. While special education enrollment bounced back to pre-pandemic levels in the 2021-22 school year, overall public school enrollment remained flat.

These enrollment trends may reflect some of the learning difficulties and health concerns students with disabilities and their families faced during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic , which limited or paused special education services in many school districts.

Many school districts struggle to hire special education professionals. During the 2020-21 school year, 40% of public schools that had a special education teaching vacancy reported that they either found it very difficult to fill the position or were not able to do so.

Foreign languages (43%) and physical sciences (37%) were the only subjects with similarly large shares of hard-to-fill teaching vacancies at public schools that were looking to hire in those fields.

While the COVID-19 pandemic called attention to a nationwide teacher shortage , special education positions have long been among the most difficult for school districts to fill .

The most common type of disability for students in prekindergarten through 12th grade involves “specific learning disabilities,” such as dyslexia.  In 2021-22, about a third of students (32%) receiving services under IDEA had a specific learning disability. Some 19% had a speech or language impairment, while 15% had a chronic or acute health problem that adversely affected their educational performance. Chronic or acute health problems include ailments such as heart conditions, asthma, sickle cell anemia, epilepsy, leukemia and diabetes.

Students with autism made up 12% of the nation’s schoolchildren with disabilities in 2021-22, compared with 1.5% in 2000-01.  During those two decades, the share of disabled students with a specific learning disability, such as dyslexia, declined from 45% to 32%.

The percentage of students receiving special education services varies widely across states. New York serves the largest share of disabled students in the country at 20.5% of its overall public school enrollment. Pennsylvania (20.2%), Maine (20.1%) and Massachusetts (19.3%) serve the next-largest shares. The states serving the lowest shares of disabled students include Texas and Idaho (both 11.7%) and Hawaii (11.3%).

Between the 2000-01 and 2021-22 school years, all but 12 states experienced growth in their disabled student populations. The biggest increase occurred in Utah, where the disabled student population rose by 65%. Rhode Island saw the largest decline of 22%.

These differences by state are likely the result of inconsistencies in how states determine which students are eligible for special education services and challenges in identifying disabled children.

The racial and ethnic makeup of the nation’s special education students is similar to public school students overall, but there are differences by sex.  About two-thirds of disabled students (65%) are male, while 34% are female, according to data from the 2021-22 school year. Overall student enrollment is about evenly split between boys and girls.

Research has shown that decisions about whether to recommend a student for special education may be influenced by their school’s socioeconomic makeup, as well as by the school’s test scores and other academic markers.

Note: This is an update of a post originally published April 23, 2020.

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Special Education, Inc.

Private equity sees profit in the business of educating autistic kids. Parents and teachers see diminished services and added stress.

Emily had a lot of fight in her.

The petite 7-year-old had blonde hair and blue eyes. She was also diagnosed with autism, and she had been struggling ever since her mother, Sarah, moved her and her brother hours away from their dad during the pandemic. After the move, Emily became increasingly frustrated with her inability to articulate her thoughts and began boiling over into rages that required interventions at the public school she attended.

So in August 2021, Sarah moved Emily to New Story, a private school in State College, Pennsylvania, dedicated to serving children with special needs, in the hopes that the teachers there would know how to keep her little girl calm. But at New Story, Emily seemed to be having even more meltdowns, and the school called Sarah to intervene when her daughter broke down. So Sarah left work, again and again, to comfort her daughter with bear hugs.

She would rather miss work than let New Story teachers use their preferred tactic: corralling the first grader with gym mats that Emily would fight and scratch so hard, she'd come home with foam lodged beneath her bloody fingernails.

Then one afternoon in April last year, Sarah asked a family friend to pick up Emily from New Story. When the friend arrived, the little girl was on the playground, pinned down under the weight of four adults.

That night, Sarah decided that this nightmare had to end. Emily would not return to New Story. A year later, her daughter still hasn't talked about the incident at home or in therapy. New Story calls itself a "safe, nurturing environment for our students and their families," but Emily has a different term for her old school: "the mean people."

After nearly two semesters of second grade at a public school, Sarah said her daughter has progressed faster, academically and behaviorally, than she did at New Story. When Emily has an in-class meltdown, public school staff discreetly shepherd her to a quiet sensory room to calm down.

"Now, at the very least, I know that she is safe and she can communicate that to me," said Sarah, who asked that we use pseudonyms to protect her daughter. Their identities are known to Business Insider.

Sarah didn't know it at the time, but when she enrolled Emily in New Story, she was unwittingly signing on to an experiment in American education, one that worries former staff, US senators, and special-education researchers alike: New Story is the country's first large-scale special-education-school network owned by a private-equity firm.

In 2019, the Boston-based private-equity arm of Audax Group, which manages $36 billion for investors, including the Kentucky Teachers Retirement System and the Pennsylvania State Employees' Retirement System, purchased a mid-Atlantic special-education-school network called New Story Schools for an undisclosed price. Under Audax, New Story has purchased other local school chains, like Pennsylvania's River Rock Academy, as well as various behavioral-services companies, and rolled them up under New Story's corporate umbrella. The deals have created what New Story calls one of the largest special-education companies in the US, serving children with autism, behavioral problems, and other issues.

Now, Audax is reportedly looking to flip the company . More than a quarter of private-equity-owned companies across industries are sold to other private-equity firms, so the new owners may look much like the current one.

To some, private equity's business model appears antithetical to special education. In a basic private-equity deal, a firm pools money from investors like public pensions to buy a business, improve it (or load it up with debt), and sell it. Fast expansion means the firm can sell the business, typically four to seven years after buying it, and make a profit of 15% to 20% or more. Private equity targets companies that can grow fast, often by acquiring similar businesses.

A private-equity firm also makes money well before offloading the business, including by collecting fees from its investors and charging the businesses it owns for management and advisory services.

Special-education schools bring in a reliable income stream, typically from public funds: School districts and states pay New Story anywhere from $27,000 to $95,000 per student, and some schools operate year-round. (The average public school district in Pennsylvania, where New Story operates the most schools, spends about $23,000 per child across all types of public education. Additional services, such as providing an individual aide or specialized therapy, can push those costs much higher.) And a fragmented nationwide market means that a company like New Story — which Audax grew from 15 schools to a network of 75 schools and centers across seven states — has plenty of opportunities for expansion.

This year, New Story expects to bring in $305 million in revenue, the analytics firm Mergermarket said. The company serves a few thousand students, a tiny slice of the 8 million Americans between the ages of 3 and 21 who receive special-education services each year — a 25% increase from 2011, according to government data . (In 2021-22, 2% of these children attended public or private schools dedicated to students with disabilities.)

Under Audax, New Story gutted departments focused on quality and education and struggled with turnover.

To understand how New Story changed under private-equity ownership and what private-equity takeovers could mean for the special-education landscape, Business Insider reviewed more than 3,000 pages of public records and spoke to 20 current and former New Story employees and parents. Many of them said that under Audax, New Story pushed to expand at the expense of student safety and academic progress. While parental complaints and even lawsuits alleging mistreatment are not uncommon at special-education schools, records of complaints and interviews with parents and educators show that New Story's focus on profit under private-equity ownership added an alarming layer of stress to special education.

Under Audax, New Story gutted departments focused on quality and education and struggled with turnover. The company's hiring practices grew so lax in some instances — including hiring an administrator who was fired from her previous school for failing to report suspected sexual abuse — that state regulators expressed alarm. Some parents, like Sarah, grew concerned about the inappropriate use of restraints and isolation.

Shanon Taylor, a professor at the University of Nevada, Reno, who studies privately run special-education schools, told BI that private equity's push to make big profits is fundamentally at odds with special education's mission. Since the schools are generally paid flat reimbursement rates by school districts or insurers, she said private-equity firms make money by cutting costs.

"They'll cut the number of employees. They'll pay employees less. They'll hire less-qualified employees so they can pay them less. They're going to defer maintenance on their facilities and not have the equipment necessary in those facilities," Taylor said, speaking about private-equity firms generally. "All of those things then are impacting the services to these vulnerable populations."

As a parent of two adults with special needs, Taylor said she would not have sent her children to a private-equity-owned school.

"Most people don't even realize that the school that you may be sending your child to — because you're looking for a specialized setting — may not be run with the best interest of your child at heart," she said.

Top policymakers are concerned, too.

"Private equity has no place in education — especially special education," Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio told BI. "From nursing homes to retail to housing, we have seen private equity kill too many jobs, dismantle too many businesses, raise prices, and hurt too many patients in our state, and I am deeply alarmed it is now working to undermine — and endanger — a student's fundamental right to a free and appropriate public education." New Story runs 12 schools and centers in Ohio.

Brown's colleague, Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, where New Story operates 27 schools, agreed. "Public education dollars should be spent ensuring that students with disabilities have their individual education needs met by qualified teachers and health professionals, not padding the pockets of wealthy private equity executives," he said. Casey chairs the Senate's Health Subcommittee on Children and Families.

'A moneymaking machine'

New Story was founded in 1997 by Paul Volosov, a certified school psychologist who created several for-profit businesses to support adults and children with special needs and other challenges.

Volosov wasn't a perfect owner. Before New Story was acquired by Audax, its schools were the focus of a handful of lawsuits alleging improper treatment of students and employees. And Volosov drew internal scrutiny for his erratic behavior and off-color remarks about women and religion, some former employees said. Volosov stayed on as New Story's CEO until January 2022, when he transitioned to chairman.

Audax filled the company's four C-suite roles with people who had no education or behavioral-health experience.

But former staffers said some of New Story's problems under Volosov were magnified with Audax's ownership. After the education and quality departments were slashed in summer 2022, staff said the disconnect between corporate objectives and the classroom widened. Audax filled the company's four C-suite roles with people who had no education or behavioral-health experience.

"Since the expansion, I think it's just a moneymaking machine," said Jim Grinnen, a former regional manager of education for New Story's central Pennsylvania region. He joined the company in 2018 and left in 2021. "Being a special educator, knowing why I got into it 25 years ago, it just makes your stomach turn when you're seeing these rich people give speeches in front of you with no clue what we're doing here."

Despite those concerns, some parents and educators have expressed satisfaction with the level of care New Story offered. For some families, New Story schools were a last resort, taking a difficult child when no one else would. In Pennsylvania Department of Education records, 11 superintendents and other public school administrators praised one arm of New Story, an 11-campus alternative-education school called River Rock Academy that enrolls disruptive students.

"It is a company that truly cares about the students and treats them as if they were their own. The company provides a high level of service," wrote the superintendent of one Pennsylvania school district in River Rock's application for relicensure.

In an October letter to BI, New Story's senior vice president of operations for Pennsylvania, Christina Spielbauer, highlighted the improvements the "deeply mission-oriented" company has made under Audax, including hiring over 221 new staff members last summer and investing $2 million last year into facilities. Spielbauer wrote that the company was "open to sharing more information" with BI.

Nathaniel Garnick, a spokesman for the company, subsequently declined to answer a list of questions or make New Story or Audax representatives available to interview. Garnick issued two statements, one on behalf of Audax and another on behalf of New Story. He wrote that the company has invested almost $50 million into New Story facilities and improved the student-teacher ratio.

"Rather than focus on the positive impact we have every day on thousands of students with severe emotional and behavioral issues, it is unfortunate that Business Insider has chosen to cherry-pick a handful of isolated incidents in an effort to sully the reputation of our hard working, dedicated team who put their hearts and souls into the work they do," Garnick wrote.

Speaking for Audax, he wrote that staff shortages mean schools are "ill-equipped to confront the escalating mental health crisis on their own."

" Our investment has enabled New Story to expand access and provide vital support to a significantly underserved population of students who often cannot attend traditional public schools," he wrote.

Trying to do more with fewer people

Craig Richards loves teaching and doesn't shy away from a challenge. The elementary-school teacher started a chess club in the Reading School District, one of Pennsylvania's poorest and worst-performing districts. He's also worked in a youth detention center, and his wife is a teacher.

In 2017, Richards joined River Rock Academy, which specializes in educating students who can't stay in their

Under its new owners, Richards told Business Insider, River Rock subordinated student care to profits.

public schools because of misconduct. He said staff members at River Rock were caring and tried their best to educate a group of students who often wanted to be anywhere else. Richards left the school after two years. While he was away, New Story bought the school. When he returned for the 2022-23 academic year, he found that the tenor had shifted: Under its new owners, he told Business Insider, River Rock subordinated student care to profits.

"Now since it's New Story, they're definitely more money-driven. They're trying to do more with fewer people," Richards said.

Several former staff members in Pennsylvania said New Story schools there chronically lacked substitute teachers. When Richards missed roughly a week of work during the last academic year for the flu and another three days to take care of his daughter when she broke her foot, behavioral staff — not teachers — covered his classroom.

Asking staff to double as subs might be reasonable if New Story expanded its staff for such needs. But Richards said the school employed fewer staff under New Story than during his first stint, putting extra pressure on teachers to work no matter what.

"It definitely made you feel a little less human. You're not allowed to be sick, your daughter can't have a problem, because we don't have enough people here," he said.

Teacher and staff turnover is a perennial problem for public and private schools nationally that was exacerbated by the pandemic. The people who spoke to BI said New Story turnover is high, even at the top levels. For instance, two Pennsylvania education directors left in spring 2023, according to records obtained by BI — one after just months in the role. Neither was immediately replaced. One Ohio school had four directors, including a 25-year-old, in 2022.

Such director turnover is highly unusual, Judith McKinney, a Virginia-based special-education advocate, said. In her five years evaluating private schools with Virginia's Department of Education, she said directors typically stayed at the same school for years, sometimes decades.

Several grad students working at Green Tree School were so deeply alarmed that they registered their concerns with the Pennsylvania Department of Education

At River Rock, Richards struggled with new curriculum demands under New Story's ownership. His school previously reimbursed teachers who bought worksheets and other items on a popular online marketplace called Teachers Pay Teachers. But last year, River Rock began directing teachers to upload their own worksheets or other material to share with colleagues across River Rock's 11 schools — a closed, unpaid version of Teachers Pay Teachers.

When Richards sought other curriculum resources, he was pointed to a school closet that contained donated materials.

"One of the manuals didn't even have the first unit — it was ripped out," he said. "I'm like, 'Can we look at getting something else?' I had ideas of books we could use. They wouldn't."

Though he loved his colleagues and some aspects of the job, when a position to manage a local running store came up, Richards eagerly took it. He left in June — just two semesters after his return.

(In state paperwork, River Rock said it offers teachers "a variety of textbooks and resources including a resource bank available to them to provide appropriate course content to students based on their individual need.")

Grinnen, the former Pennsylvania administrator, told BI that his schools also struggled with curriculum resources, including having to give 12th graders textbooks written for second graders. That surprised him since the company seemed to have deep pockets to open new locations. Some schools acted more like holding pens than educational facilities, Grinnen said.

Donnell McLean, who briefly ran a New Story campus in Virginia, said the school's lack of a standardized curriculum led to some students being warehoused.

There was "not a lot of challenging work, especially for the higher-functioning students," McLean said.

Last spring, several graduate students working at Philadelphia's Green Tree School were so deeply alarmed by what they saw that they registered their concerns with the Pennsylvania Department of Education. This, along with other complaints, prompted several visits to Green Tree by PDE employees in April and June. One state employee wrote to her supervisor that her visit's "purpose is to do a walk through to determine how much instruction is actually going on based on the complaints that were received." (Subsequent communication about employees' trips was redacted in PDE records obtained by BI.)

In Ohio, New Story administrators told BI they pushed back against the company's plans to increase school enrollment and convert some schools into centers with a half day for school and a half day for therapy. Such a switch would allow New Story to make more money per student by billing insurance companies for more therapy.

While enrollment data is difficult to come by across states, Ohio offers a window into how New Story has increased enrollment without similar teacher increases. Four New Story-branded Ohio schools collectively added 106 students from 2022 to 2024 — a 52% increase — but lost 31 licensed staff, per state data. (BI did not include a recently opened New Story school in this analysis.)

Private equity has been piling into other autism services and similar behavioral-health companies.

Meanwhile, huge additions to the ranks of support staff quickly changed New Story's employee composition. In 2022, support staff comprised 41% of New Story's staff — but 87% this year. For comparison, BI examined 19 other private, secular Ohio special-education schools' data. From 2022 through 2024, those schools' rosters were, on average, made up of about half support staff and half teachers. None had more than 75% support staff, who are generally paid less than teachers and have less training.

(New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia do not track staff numbers for privately run schools.)

New Story employees questioned other corporate changes. Some staff disagreed with a plan to give bonuses to administrators based on student enrollment, something the company discussed across states, two people said.

"Our rationale was we never wanted to create a financial incentive to enroll a student that we couldn't properly serve or to keep a student that was ready to return to their public school," said one of the employees who said they pushed back on the plan.

Not all teachers take issue with New Story's approach. Natalie Stoup teaches seven autistic and intellectually and developmentally disabled students at New Story's New Cumberland, Pennsylvania, campus. Stoup, who has taught for 27 years, said she has loved her two years at the school.

"I absolutely really have a strong respect for the program," she told BI. "I think they're doing wonderful things."

Blackstone's autism bet

While New Story is the first large-scale, private equity-owned special-education school network, Audax's bet comes as private equity has been piling into other autism services and similar behavioral-health companies. Many of the biggest private-equity players have snapped up autism-services providers in the wake of state and federal changes requiring more payments for mental-health and autism services.

That shift made the industry look much more profitable and scalable, magic words for private-equity players like the industry giant Blackstone. In 2018, the firm bought a majority stake in the behavioral-therapy provider Center for Autism and Related Disorders. Blackstone then put the business into bankruptcy proceedings in June, citing labor costs and lease obligations for centers it closed. Forbes reported last year that former employees attributed the company's challenges to a "model that put profits ahead of patient care." (New Story bought CARD's Virginia locations during bankruptcy, and the bulk of the company was sold back to the founder.)

When employee costs rise quickly, companies like CARD and New Story can't pass on the costs to their customers as fast as other businesses, like a restaurant raising menu prices. Insurance reimbursement and school tuition haven't kept pace with the post-pandemic economic landscape, increasing pressure on behavioral-health companies to make money by trimming costs and expanding.

NBC News reported that CARD's staff training decreased under Blackstone's ownership and many employees left after wages stayed stagnant for three years. (Blackstone claimed that it increased training, though staff documents reviewed by NBC News showed the opposite.) Like New Story, CARD's private-equity-installed CEO had no special education or behavioral-health experience.

Other private-equity-owned healthcare companies have recently come under intense regulatory scrutiny. The Biden administration is pressing for transparency for private-equity-owned nursing homes, while the Federal Trade Commission is suing an anesthesiology company and its PE owner for creating what it calls an anticompetitive scheme. PE's special-education and autism-related companies have, so far, largely flown under the radar.

Restraining kids without uniform policies

Educational and disciplinary data about privately run schools like New Story is virtually impossible to obtain — and New Story doesn't volunteer it. The schools are not required to publicly report testing data, attendance, or other markers of school success. And because of the varied student populations, such data would be difficult to compare to public or private schools. In Pennsylvania and Virginia, state Department of Education spokespeople said their agencies don't even keep track of how many students attend private schools.

Nickie Coomer, a Colorado College education professor who has written about the privatization of special education, told BI that this data gap is a major regulatory hole, one that private-equity companies are happy to exploit.

"There's not a lot of accountability about how we're adhering to the laws we have in place to protect kids with disabilities," she said. "There's no governance, no elected school board … It's the antithesis of what schools should be."

One key metric for student safety that's reported at public schools is restraint usage. In most districts, when a student could endanger themselves or others, staff may use restraints, including physically immobilizing the student or isolating them so they can calm down. As with other data, New Story's restraint usage is not publicly reported.

Parents BI talked to had a wide array of experiences, from Sarah's ordeal to others who say New Story's restraint practices have been appropriate and effective for their children. One father of a student who graduated State College's New Story school in 2022 told BI that his young adult son, who frequently needs to be held down at home to avoid self-harm, was always appropriately restrained and the incidents were properly documented.

Interviews with multiple staff members indicate that their training on how to handle challenging student situations varied from school to school.

Donnell McLean, the former Virginia school director, said he never received any restraint training through New Story. Instead, he relied on what he knew from his prior job. In Virginia, public schools are legally required to document any restraint use and notify parents — but McLean said he didn't always receive reports from his staff after they restrained students.

In 2022, an Ohio school director at a New Story school fired an employee who restrained an 11-year-old with such force that his parents sent photos of hand-shaped bruises on the boy's shoulder.

Shyara Hill, a parent of three students at the New Story-owned Green Tree School in Philadelphia, told the Pennsylvania Department of Education that she wasn't properly notified when one of her children was placed in isolation. In emails and phone calls to the agency last spring, Hill detailed other troubling incidents at the school. She reported that one of her children was hurt in a classroom fight but wasn't examined by a nurse; one was repeatedly bullied with no staff intervention; and one came home soiled after staffing shortages prevented them from visiting the restroom.

"The school has not followed the agreement, safety protocols, [or] parent notification plan and has not responded to several communications from myself and [my] child's attorney," Hill wrote in the email, obtained in a public records request from the state Department of Education.

(Neither Hill nor her attorney responded to requests for comment.)

Documents that River Rock sent to Pennsylvania's Department of Education state that restraints "will be used as a last resort" and will be reported to the agency.

A staffer with a criminal record

BI's review of records and litigation turned up alarming lapses in New Story's vetting of new hires as Audax rapidly expanded operations.

This summer, the company hired Amy Hall Kostoff to oversee student services across seven Pennsylvania campuses and serve as the educational director for one of them.

Hall Kostoff was fired in April 2022 from her tenured job as an assistant supervisor at a Pennsylvania county special-education center for failing to properly report suspected sexual abuse involving two students, one of whom is nonverbal. In March 2023, the state's acting secretary of education assessed that Hall Kostoff was dishonest during the subsequent investigation.

A representative for the public school that fired Hall Kostoff declined to comment, including about New Story's background check.

Hall Kostoff, who was still employed at New Story as of late March, declined to comment.

Pennsylvania Department of Education records show that employees were concerned about the hiring practices at Philadelphia's Green Tree School. One department employee wrote to her colleagues in April that staff records at Green Tree were "missing a lot of information," including about background checks and teacher certifications. That employee later wrote that her background check of one Green Tree staff member turned up convictions for public intoxication, disorderly conduct, and indecent exposure — the latter of which would legally prohibit employment at a school. BI was unable to corroborate the PDE employee's claims, and it's unclear if the charges stemmed from incidents in or out of school, or if that employee continued working for Green Tree. The staff member did not respond to requests for comment.

New Story has terminated other staff members accused of wrongdoing, including an occupational therapist in Pennsylvania who was arrested in 2022 and charged with attempting to solicit a minor for sex. A company spokeswoman told a local newspaper the charges did not involve a New Story student.

In 2022, the principal of a New Story-owned school in Rochelle Park, New Jersey, told police that graduates of the school had received sexually inappropriate messages from their former gym teacher, who was still employed there. The teacher wrote to the female students about how he "was sexually attracted to students while they attended the school," and he named specific students, a police report said. (The students told police that no inappropriate behavior occurred while they attended the school.) The teacher also asked another former student if they wanted to smoke weed and gave the former student his Snapchat handle. The police report said the teacher was placed on leave pending an internal investigation; it is unclear whether further action was taken. A detective advised against pursuing charges because the former students are adults, and the messages, "though inappropriate," were not illegal, he wrote. Asked if the teacher was still employed, New Story's spokesman declined to answer and the school's principal did not respond to a request for comment.

Love, Emily

In State College, Emily is thriving in public elementary school. She splits her time between mainstream and special-education classes, spending time with her peers in a way she never did at New Story, where she was the school's only young student.

(Researchers told BI that students miss out on building key social skills when they're sequestered in special-education programs.)

This year, Emily has attended a birthday party and playdates, the kinds of childhood interactions Sarah feared she'd never experience.

"I want my children to be sound, functioning, responsible adults, but I don't want to break their spirits," Sarah said.

She said that public school employees have been kinder — a New Story staff member once said Emily had a "nasty side" — and that Emily is behaving better.

She recently asked Sarah how to sign a card with "love, Emily."

Do you have a story to share? Email this reporter on a non-work device at [email protected] .

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Special education teacher at Marlboro Memorial Middle School charged with harassment

MARLBORO−Following controversy surrounding an incident that happened at the Marlboro Memorial Middle School in March, a special education language arts teacher there has been charged with harassment, police said.

Jenna Sciabica, 38, was charged with the petty disorderly persons offense Friday. The incident occurred on March 13, police said.

Sciabica was the subject of a wide range of incendiary allegations raised by a parent at the Tuesday Marlboro Board of Education meeting.

Sciabica's attorney says, since then, she and her family have received bomb and death threats "as a result of these false and baseless accusations."

Sciabica intends to file a defamation lawsuit over those allegations, said the attorney, Mitchell Ansell, who has an office in Ocean Township.

She plans to plead not guilty to the harassment charge, he said.

"We are confident that when a judge hears all the facts in this case, Jenna will be completely exonerated and her good name and reputation will be restored," Ansell said.

The March 13 incident took place in public view on the grounds of Memorial Middle School, Marlboro Police Capt. Stephen Levy said in a statement.

More: Teacher accused of sex with student released from jail to care for her two small children

The incident involved "offensive touching over the clothes by the teacher upon the student in a hallway of the school," he said, adding it was witnessed by another staff member.

School administrators immediately notified the police and the teacher was placed on leave, he said.

Levy said the monthlong investigation included interviews, a review of footage from school security cameras and written statements. Levy did not say whether the incident was picked up by surveillance cameras.

On Wednesday, Superintendent Michael Ballone put out a letter to the district that said there had recently been an incident involving "inappropriate physical contact perpetrated by a teaching staff member against a student" at the middle school.

"As soon as we became aware of the situation, action was taken, and the staff member in question was immediately removed from her position," Ballone said in his letter, adding that it was believed to be an isolated incident.

The pension records show Sciabica was making a salary of $87,160 as of the end of 2023. According to LinkedIn and records on the middle school website, Sciabica has worked in the district since 2008. She is also listed as a dyslexia therapist.

She is a 2003 graduate of Marlboro High School, according to Asbury Park Press archives.

This has been a disruptive week in the Marlboro school district. A bomb threat Thursday was called in and directed at the middle school and the board of education building, prompting a district-wide shut down. Police found nothing dangerous or hazardous and the source of the threat was deemed to be of "low risk and low credibility," police said.

On Friday, a similar threat was made, prompting a two-hour delay.

The Marlboro Township School District is home to over 4,500 students, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

Ken Serrano   covers breaking news, crime and investigations. Reach him at [email protected].

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Letters to the Editor | Letters for April 20: We must give students the…

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Letters to the editor | letters for april 20: we must give students the special education services they are entitled to under the law, letter writers question what went wrong at richneck elementary school, call on the u.s. education department to fix the fafsa, and wonder what happened to the republican party..

Special education

Re “ Regulatory fixes and increased spending poised to improve special education ” (Our Views, April 11): Having followed the numerous articles about the Jan. 6, 2023, shooting trauma at Richneck Elementary School, I have wondered after every reading why there has not been much discussion of an evaluation of the 6-year-old boy’s potential need for special education services. According to reports, he has demonstrated severe emotional disturbance evidenced in violent and abusive behavior. Yet, it seems that he was placed in a regular classroom despite his need for intervention, albeit with parent visitation.

The 1975 federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act has for nearly five decades provided for a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment. Absent info on Richneck’s consideration of special education for the child, or any discussion with the child’s parent regarding her child’s needs, it appears the Newport News school system failed the child and his family. One can only hope that the child, his family and all other children in need of special education intervention receive the attention and help they require, and are legally entitled to, in order to succeed at school and in life.

Janet Bendann, Suffolk

FAFSA blunders have caused unnecessary stress and uncertainty for college students nationwide, including those in our community.

Many students feel abandoned and helpless because of the U.S. Education Department’s less-than-transparent messaging, damaging trust in the financial aid system. The Education Department needs to take immediate action regarding this matter.

Higher education is critical to our community’s future success, and students should not be denied access to financial aid due to bureaucratic errors and delays. The Education Department needs to take immediate action to resolve these problems and restore trust in the financial aid procedure. Ensuring that students receive timely and accurate financial assistance information is one of the main objectives, as well as determining the root causes of the problems and enhancing communication with schools and students.

The impact of these blunders on students’ goals and well-being is significant and cannot be ignored. As a community, we must demand prompt and decisive action to address this issue and hold the Education Department accountable for its shortcomings.

I urge every member of our community to unite in calling upon the Education Department to prioritize students’ needs and restore trust in the financial aid process. Our collective voice is crucial in ensuring that every student has fair and equitable access to the support he or she needs to pursue higher education and achieve his or her goals.

Salma Hassan, Toano

Republican Party?

Re “ Vote Republican ” (Your Views, April 11): The letter writer argues the Constitution is safer under former President Donald Trump than President Joe Biden. It’s incomprehensible that an opinion is so misguided. First, Trump is a significant threat to our democracy. The system appropriately recognizes his misgivings, which leads to a tapering of his egotistical tendencies. Congress failed to fully impeached him, anticipating Trump would depart defeated. He did not. Former Trump officials have opposed him returning to office.

Secondly, the writer commented on President Joe Biden’s Supreme Court selection. Let’s be clear, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson is arguably more qualified than any judge currently seated on the bench. She’s one of the few justices who has an exceptional breadth of judicial experience.

Voting Republican is currently a misnomer. The Republican Party no longer represents integrity nor morality. Its lack of foreign policy and protection of democracy around the world is embarrassing to its commitments from the past. Where is the party?

Reginald Wynn, Newport News

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Letters to the Editor | Letters for April 21: Support Missy Cotter Smasal; Rep. Jen Kiggans is not serving the 2nd District well

Letters to the Editor | Letters for April 19: Skill games supporters should vote for a Democratic governor next time

Letters to the Editor | Letters for April 18: Lawmakers must continue prioritizing Alzheimer’s research, support

Letters to the Editor | Letters for April 17: The Virginia Beach City Council passes resolutions on foreign-related issues; why not for Gaza?

Trending nationally.

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Addressing the Changing Landscape of Special Education Amid a National Teacher Shortage

In the United States, there are around 7.3 million students with disabilities, accounting for 15% of the K-12 public school population. Of these, 12% are children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD)—a figure that has risen from 1.5% in 2001 and is expected to continue growing.

Over the past two decades, the average number of children diagnosed with ASD has more than tripled, with 1 in 36 children being identified with ASD in 2023 at the age of 8. This statistic shows a staggering increase from prevalence studies conducted in 2000, which estimated 1 in 150 children were diagnosed with ASD at age 8. And while there are many theories on the causes of this increase, including advanced diagnostic tools and a stronger understanding of ASD, the fact of the matter is that the student population is steadily changing.

These statistics are particularly concerning when you consider that the national shortage of qualified special education teachers is also growing. Which means that an increasing number of students who require special education services will not have access to the resources they need in school. As parents and educators, we must bring attention to the pressing challenges faced by students with ASD and their families and seek innovative, adaptable solutions to meet each student’s current needs and prepare for the classrooms of the future.

Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), children with disabilities are ensured access to free appropriate public education (FAPE), including the Individualized Education Program (IEP) and other related services. And yet, students with disabilities across the nation are not receiving the high-quality, fulfilling education they deserve.

Although experiences differ from district to district, special education teachers have reported that some of the most persistent issues they and their students face include ill-prepared long-term substitute teachers and teacher vacancies, leading to larger class sizes and burnout. One teacher expressed that the average five-year burnout rate is attributable to a lack of support from their districts, and with stronger support, more teachers would remain in this role for longer periods.

Which leads to these important questions: As educators, what are reasonable measures we can take to increase support for special education programs throughout this national shortage? And as parents of students with ASD and other disabilities, what can you do to ensure your child is in a school that meets their individual needs?

One potential solution is to provide school-specific training for all faculty members, led by qualified special education teachers. This approach at the district or school level would enable general education teachers to be better prepared to cover or support a classroom in the absence of a special education teacher. Since generalized training may not always be applicable to individual school environments, providing teachers and long-term substitute teachers with insights into their school’s unique special education programs would go a long way towards classroom management and student success.

K12-powered online schools have taken proactive measures to address unexpected teacher vacancies through their innovative Special Universal Bank of Subs (SUBS) program. This alternative solution to the special education teacher shortage provides schools access to a bank of substitute special education teachers who are fully licensed and certified in multiple states and specially trained to use the online platforms and services provided by K12 and the schools it serves. Brick-and-mortar schools can also work directly with K12 and receive support from the K12 SUBS program. With the help of classroom aides, the SUBS teacher can effectively teach the class virtually, ensuring uninterrupted delivery of IEP-driven services to all students without disruption or disarray.

If you have concerns about your child’s school’s approach to teacher absences and vacancies regarding special education services, schedule a meeting with the principal. You can learn more about what supports are in place for their teachers and whether they are prepared for unexpected vacancies. But know that there are alternative options available. Throughout the country, there are schools specifically focused on serving students with disabilities, including those with ASD. These schools have highly trained teachers and therapists who possess a wide range of teaching resources tailored to their student population. Additionally, many families opt for homeschooling or online schooling, such as K12, which offers both public and private school options. K12 serves a significant number of students across various disability categories, surpassing the averages of many states. Of their students who qualify for special education services, 17.5% are students with ASD.

Let’s face it—the student population is evolving, and it’s crucial for the education system to keep pace with their shifting needs. And this starts with a willingness to embrace adaptability and being open to explore unconventional approaches that move away from traditional practices. As educators and parents, it’s our responsibility to ensure that our children receive the highest quality education possible, while equipping them with the skills and knowledge necessary for a fulfilling future.

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Holy Hierarch St. Dimitry of Rostov

Commemorated 28 october/10 november.

Holy Hierarch St. Dimitry was born in 1651 in the settlement of Makarov, within the confines of Kiev. At his Baptism, he was given the name Daniel. His father Savva, also known as Tuptalo, was a regimental centurion [i.e. lieutenant]. Daniel enrolled in a school in Kiev, and from his early youth manifested great zeal dedication to prayer and study, preferring reading books and listening to pious conversations, over playing noisy games with his companions. Over the years, this only intensified, and at the age of 17, with his father’s blessing, he entered monastic life at the St. Kirill Monastery. There, as he became ever more resolute in faith and piety, Dimitry (the name he was given at his tonsure), also assiduously continued with his studies, and learned a number of languages. Possessing God-given intellect and talents, he used the gifts given him by the Lord for good, and like the faithful servant spoken of in the Gospels, he multiplied the talent entrusted to him, using it in the service of God and for the benefit of his neighbor. He preached the Word of God in Kiev, Chernigov, and in various monasteries, was an abbot at the Maksakov and later the Baturin Monasteries. His sermons attracted a multitude of listeners, and buttressed Orthodoxy in regions where close and frequent interaction between the local populace and the neighboring Papists had caused it to waver somewhat.

Soon Dimitry was called to perform a different labor. There was a need to assemble a collection of the Lives of the Saints. Metropolitan Makary had long since begun the task of collecting the Lives of Saints from various sources and assembling them in his great volumes of the Menaion. Later, Metropolitan Peter Mogila of Kiev expressed the desire to publish them in language more accessible to all. However, he died before he could accomplish his goal. Now the Metropolitan of Kiev was looking for someone to whom he could entrust that task. He settled on Dimitry, who was already renowned for his piety, erudition, and industriousness. Dimitry began this useful work while he was abbot of the Baturin Monastery, and gradually worked on it over the course of 20 years – as Archimandrite in Chernigov and in Novgorod of the North, and then as Metropolitan of Rostov. In that Menaion, he assembled the lives of the Saints for each day of the year, a task for which we owe him a profound debt of gratitude.

Meanwhile, Peter, the reigning Emperor of Russia appointed Dimitry to be Metropolitan of Siberia and Tobolsk. However, the Hierarch’s poor state of health, as well as the task he had undertaken, prevented him from setting out on the long journey to Siberia. Accordingly, he was reassigned, to be Metropolitan of Rostov and Yaroslavl. Remembering the Savior’s statement that of one to whom much is given, much will be required, Dimitry in his new exalted rank, he worked even more assiduously to care unstintingly for those entrusted to his care. He used his own funds to build a school in Rostov, oversaw the class work, and when his complex schedule of activities permitted., often taught there himself. He tirelessly strove to explain Christ’s teaching through lectures and homilies, and set a good example by his temperate, God-fearing, and honest way of life. A person who was kind, compassionate, and accessible to all, he helped his neighbor by all means possible. He would eagerly impart advice and instruction, would visit the sick, and would be generous with gifts of food and clothing to the needy, keeping almost nothing for himself. Thus, at his death, he left nothing but his holy books.

The endless activity imposed on St. Dimitry with his new rank did not prevent him from zealously continuing the work of the Menaion; moreover, he also wrote many religious books, prayers, and liturgical hymns. His new position demanded ever greater efforts on his part. Around this time, out of sketes in Kostroma, Nizhegorod and the forests of Bryansk, schismatics began to disseminate erroneous interpretations of the Word of God, and with their false teachings brought confusion to those who were not firmly established in the Faith and in the Law of God. Dimitry presented convincing arguments in his sermons in opposition to their unjust and incorrect teaching; he also criticized them in writing, and pointed out what constituted the truth. His most remarkable composition in opposition to the schism was his “Investigation into the Bryansk faith."

On account of those spiritual labors, the Holy Church glorifies him, calling him a zealot for Orthodoxy, rooter-out of schism, the Russian star that shone forth from Kiev and shone through Novgorod of the North, came to Rostov: a man of golden oratory, a teacher who through his teachings and miracles enlightened the entire land. Death came to the Holy Hierarch at an early age. In his 58th year he fell ill and, although the illness did not appear to be serious, and did not worry anyone else, he sensed that his end was near. On the eve of his death, he called together his choir, and attentively listened as they sang his own composition, “I place my hope in God, Thou my God, Jesus, Thou art my joy.” He dismissed all but one of the chanters – who had assisted him in transcribing his compositions. For a long time, he talked to him about life, and about the responsibilities attendant to being a Christian. Then he dismissed him as well. Escorting him to the door, St. Dimitry bowed low before him, and thanked him for all of his service. The chanter said, “Holy master, [why] are you making such a profoundly deep prostration before me, the least of servants? The Metropolitan again made a prostration, and repeated, “I thank you.” Then he knelt in prayer. The chanter returned home with a sense of mournful premonition. Early in the morning, the tolling of the bell announced the passing of the Holy Hierarch who was found dead, still kneeling in prayer. This occurred in Rostov in 1709.

Years later, the Holy Hierarch’s honorable relics and his vestments were found to be incorrupt, and in 1763, at the direction of Empress Catherine, were transferred to a silver reliquary. Since that time, a multitude of faithful have come from all over Russia to Rostov in order to bow down before the relics of the great Holy Hierarch.

The Church of St. John the Baptist, Washington, DC

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