Former New London synagogue has new life as school
New London — With the first phase of construction completed at what many considered to be a record pace for school construction, LEARN officials welcomed the public Thursday for a tour of its new Ocean Avenue LEARNing Academy.
Located in the former Beth El Synagogue at 660 Ocean Ave., the academy started hosting classes for about 55 special education students in January, using space it renovated in the former Solomon Schechter Academy, which has since relocated to Temple Emanu-El in Waterford. The work was completed in eight months.
LEARN Executive Director Eileen Howley said while it might have seemed to be a quick turnaround, the idea for a consolidated location to house various LEARN programs from schools across the region actually started seven years ago with a call from school superintendents for stronger services for students with highly specialized needs.
“The big vision has come to fruition,” Howley announced on Thursday.
LEARN, a regional educational service center that serves 25 towns in southeastern Connecticut, has consolidated the special education programs it had been running at schools including the Lillie B. Haynes and Niantic Center School in East Lyme, Salem Elementary School and Ledyard Middle School. It still maintains a transitional academy in East Lyme for students ages 18-21.
LEARN is developing plans to expand into the upper level of former synagogue with more classroom space to accommodate 50 more students.
The school offers a facility for students struggling with developmental, emotional, behavioral, intellectual and physical challenges, along with specialized instruction and support for students with autism.
“The programs we offer is a very specialized and customized program for kids with identified special learning needs that are more significant and challenging then many districts have the resources to provide direct services for,” said Jack Cross, LEARN’s director of development.
Cross said it would be more costly for a school to hire the array of specialists needed when in some cases they would be serving just one or two students. All school districts are required to pay the costs of special education students, including transportation.
Bridgette Gordon-Hickey, LEARN’s executive director of student support services, said the new school is a place for “every student to find their own voice,” and to “celebrate the beauty of our differences.”
“Today is a day to celebrate the limitlessness of ability, not the limitations of disability,” she said.
While Thursday’s ceremonial ribbon cutting was marked by speeches from a host of LEARN officials and state and local dignitaries, the most powerful voice of the night was that of Jake Shumbo of Colchester, a former participant in one of LEARN’s specialized programs who has become a tireless advocate for students with disabilities.
Shumbo was a teenager when he suffered a traumatic brain injury that left him wheelchair bound and with impaired speech.
Addressing those gathered on Thursday, Shumbo’s inspirational speech brought the crowd to its feet.
“Students with disabilities require more wind in their sails and we need the support to reach our potential,” Shumbo said. “We need a safe learning environment. We need a place where our individual needs are met and the Ocean Avenue LEARNing Academy is that place.”
LEARN purchased the 36,000-square-foot former synagogue in 2017 from Congregation Beth El for $1.9 million. Beth El, which established its roots in the community in 1932, cited shrinking revenues and increased costs for upkeep at the synagogue as reasons for moving.
Beth El is now holding the majority of its services at Crossroads Presbyterian Church in Waterford and maintains administrative offices on Shaw Street in New London. It also occasionally holds gathering at Temple Emanu-El in Waterford said Beth El President Judi Goldberg, who attended Thursday’s event.
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