FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Leah Kayajanian
Associate Dir. Of Communications and Community Outreach
Park Century School
Phone: 310-840-0500 ext. 249
Email: lkayajanian@parkcenturyschool.org
Leading K-8 school for children with learning differences commemorates landmark year with homage to history and focus on future expansion.
CULVER CITY, CA, January 9, 2019 – Park Century School, an independent, co-educational day school serving 2nd-8th grade students diagnosed with learning differences such as dyslexia, dyscalculia, and ADHD, opened its doors in August for its 50th year. Throughout this landmark year, the school will host anniversary events and continue campaigns designed to highlight their distinctive history, raise awareness about learning differences, and ultimately expand their campus to offer more students their premium educational model.
“Moving forward, we will continue to expand our curriculum by staying abreast of new research, data, and trends, as well as broadening our use of evidence-based programs,” said Head of School Judith Fuller. “Most importantly, we will maintain our therapeutic model, which addresses the areas of social emotional learning greatly impacting children who learn differently and their families.”
The School began in 1968 when founding member Sheila Cohn was unable to find an educational program that could support her sons’ learning differences. She pulled him out of mainstream school, worked with his tutor to design a tailored program that could best meet his needs, and opened a specialized “school” in the living room of a Century City apartment.
Fifty years later, with 108 students and a 3:1 student to teacher ratio, Park Century maintains its individualized program model while strategically planning to expand the campus to meet the goal of maximizing student outreach and eventually providing a resource center for educators, as there are still limited resources available for children struggling with learning differences in both mainstream, public, and specialized schools. The goal of the prescriptive educational model at Park Century is to teach children to understand how they learn and become self-advocates for their own education.
“I’m so proud to be a part of Park Century – the school with both a head and a heart,” said Park Century Trustee and Co-Director of the Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity Sally Shaywitz. “What a wonderful way to begin the next 50 years.”
Members and friends of the Park Century community will commemorate the school’s anniversary through several events over the course of the year, including the rollout of an anniversary logo designed by one of our parents, a collaborative and interactive “tree” art work that includes leaves from faculty, parents, students, alumni, and alumni parents, a 50th birthday celebration during which students will bury a time capsule to be opened during the school’s centennial celebration, and an anniversary gala in May of 2019 to honor the school’s past and ensure the longevity of its future.
Park Century School empowers bright children with learning differences to reach their academic and personal potential. Students flourish within our individualized, evidence-based curriculum and supportive environment. In collaboration with their families, the school inspires students to develop into resilient self-advocates and builds a foundation for lifelong achievement.
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