Press Release

For Immediate Release Contact
Wendy Kreuter, Director of Operations & Finance
(804) 612-1952
wkreuter@vcu.org

Groundbreaking Collaborative Autism Classroom
to be Established

The Faison School for Autism and Richmond Public Schools awarded funding by The Community Foundation Serving Richmond and Central Virginia

(Richmond, VA) The Faison School for Autism will help establish a collaborative preschool classroom for children with autism in partnership with Richmond Public Schools (RPS), the first of its kind in the Richmond area. The classroom will open in September 2006 through funding from The Community Foundation. There are approximately 80 school age children identified with autism in the city of Richmond. In the preschool program for students with disabilities, approximately 25 out of 230 children have a diagnosis of autism.

The Faison School will work with RPS to provide staff development for teachers, paraprofessionals and related service providers working with these students.The Faison School for Autism was founded by Alan Kirshner and Flo Guzman to serve their grand-daughter, Brittany, and other children with autism utilizing the best teachers, resources, and research available. One in 166 children is born with some form of autism and there is an overwhelming need for specialized services among Richmond’s children.This collaborative preschool classroom is a groundbreaking concept for our community that has the potential to be expanded in other school divisions and impact many more of the increasing numbers of children and families struck by autism.

For more information please contact, Wendy Kreuter at The Faison School, 804-828-4708.