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Family, friends and staff from the Coleman School and the Children’s Rehabilitation Center packed the Westchester campus at 317 North St., White Plains, N.Y., on June 30 for the graduation ceremony of the school that provides community and center-based special education and therapeutic programs to children with complex medical diagnoses.
Among the 60 graduates were six children from Coleman School’s inclusive nursery school Children’s Place.
In attendance were White Plains Mayor Thomas M. Roach, Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-N.Y.) and White Plains City Councilwoman Milagros Lecouna to hear speakers such as Michael Welling, who praised the school for transforming “his son into the confident, courageous, ‘Coleman kid’ he is today.”
This year’s St. Elizabeth Seton Children’s Foundation Alumni Award winner Nerissa Johnson, a Class of 2000 alum, also praised the institution in her speech for molding her into the person she is today.
The Coleman School’s Employee Choir performed a graduation song called “Lift up Your Voices,” written and composed by the school’s music specialist Jennifer Arco.
“Graduation is such a joyous event for the entire John A. Coleman School community,” said Coleman School Executive Director Maureen Tomkiel in a statement. “In their young lives, these graduates have already accomplished so much and have persevered over countless obstacles and for that we couldn’t be prouder of their achievements. We wish our Class of 2015 and their families all the best as they transition into the larger educational community and beyond.”
The Coleman School serves special needs students in more than 40 school districts in Westchester, Putnam, the Bronx and Manhattan. The White Plains campus is home to 145 children in 12 classrooms, while the Yonkers campus serves another 137 students.
More information on the John A. Coleman School can be found by visiting its website.
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