From Professionals
As a program manager, I have had the opportunity to travel throughout the state of Connecticut and visit many public and private schools. In all of my travels I have never been more impressed with a school than I was during my visit to Villa Maria. It is a marvelous place which appears to be a school of joy, where people teach and learn in a community that is sensitive to the unique potential of each student.
Thank you for allowing me to attend your Open House yesterday. I was greatly impressed by your facility and the description of your program. Your talk was interesting, informative and one could sense the nurturing environment. As you know, one of our students is an applicant for admission to Villa Maria. When you described the many different types of learning disabilities yesterday, I felt pangs because he is struggling with so many of them. Our middle school with its relatively fast paced, group instructional model can no longer meet his needs. I think he might thrive in a smaller, less competitive, more nurturing school such as yours.
Thank you for inviting me to your Open House last Monday. I came away from that visit very impressed with your school, the faculty, the students and the tone of your institution. What a wonderful place to be a student or a teacher.
Revisiting Villa Maria on Tuesday evening was an interesting experience for me. It reminded me of all the uncertainties experienced by parents about the future of their LD or ADD child. It also reminded me of what a special place Villa Maria is. If only every child with special needs could benefit from all that you have to offer spiritually, academically, and physically.
From Parents
Hello Sister Carol Ann,
We have been thinking about you recently and wanted to say hello.
Max received such a great report and high grades at Santa Catalina during the first marking period this year. The staff is very happy to have him as a part of his class and the community. It was commented on by all that Max benefited greatly by attending Villa Maria. I am sure you have heard this before, but we can’t begin to express our gratitude for all that you and Villa did to support Max, our family and the greater Villa community. Catalina is the perfect transition for Max. He is such a diligent student.
I can say this about Villa with great conviction. Villa taught me a valuable life lesson about how to value and feature the individual and unique talents of each child in a school setting. After I attended my first talent show, I could not help but recognize the specific talents of each and every child every time I drove up on the campus to drop Max off at school. I did not see their limitations, I saw their personality and talents. When I think of the kids to this day, I still see them up on that stage letting their talent shine. This is almost the polar opposite experience I would have when dropping Oliver and Isabelle off at middle school despite knowing many of the kids since the time they were 2 years old.
I certainly recall thinking that Max was a long way from ever getting up on stage and performing given how self conscious he became while in the public schools. Lo and behold, within a year or two he was up there in an ensemble and performing magic with his brother. This year, he memorized and recited several complex lines perfectly in a Beethoven skit and never once let us know he was going to have a speaking role prior to our attending the skit. He proudly recited the lines later that week for his grandparents who were very impressed. The stigma of Special Ed follows a child, even in their own families.
As you know, every child and circumstance is different. I would hope that those folks who need it find the support they’re looking for, but also realize and fairly acknowledge the virtues of the Villa community and the commitment of the excellent staff.
Justin Burke
Now that the dust from the end-of-the-year activities has settled, I want to let you know how thankful we are for all that you and the staff of Villa Maria have done for our daughter in her three years there. Your patience and nurturing helped her develop academically as well as personally. Her growth at Villa has provided the self-confidence she needed to be ready to take the next step, but we will all miss you and think of you often.
I wanted to thank you for all that you did for my son but most of all for restoring his self-esteem which was very fragile. He is doing well at his new school where he is president of the 7th and 8th grade classes. He even wrote his acceptance speech on his computer. Again, thank you for touching both our lives in such a positive way.
Our sincerest thanks for making our daughter’s three years at Villa Maria a very special time in her life. I know she’ll always remember the caring environment that transformed her from a timid fourth grader into a very confident young lady.
What is most gratifying as a parent is to know that we made the right decision in choosing Villa Maria when we did. The three years our daughter spent there was well worthwhile. She needed the small group structure with attention to organiza-tion and discipline. The learning techniques to cope with new situations proved invaluable. The intense reading and writing experience under professional supervision has put her well ahead of her classmates with similar learning difficulties. But most of all I think it is the organizational skills she learned which allowed her to excel in relation to her peers. She has fond memories of Villa Maria and we, as her parents are grateful for all you have done.
The front of this card shows people walking through a storm with the sun shining in the distance. This is the way we felt before coming to Villa Maria. It was dark and gloomy and you helped our sun shine through. No words can express our gratitude for all that you’ve done. Sometimes the last five years seemed like a roller coaster ride; but with your help, we managed to get through all the hills and curves. You gave our daughter the foundation she needed to achieve her goals. We will never forget that. Again, thank you for everything. You will always be in our prayers.
We thought you might be interested in the enclosed (complimentary letter for the dean of the college), the ultimate reward of your labors! Clearly, the staff had the most profound and lasting influence on our daughter. In the first semester of her sophomore year, she received a 3.2 grade average which she says could have been even better. Additionally, she is president of her dorm, president of the school’s Security Council, and an appointee of the college president’s Task Force for Student Affairs. This summer, she did volunteer work at the Montessori School in Armonk and after two weeks was hired as student teacher and given her own class. She is currently busily applying to a variety of colleges so that she can continue her education in the field of Child Development and Psychology. Her ultimate goal is to work with young children who have learning disabilities.
Just a brief note to let you know that our son is doing very well. He graduated from Curry College and is a stockbroker with Smith Barney in Stamford. We are very grateful for the loving commitment on the part of all the staff at Villa Maria that played such a role in helping him achieve his goals. May God bless you for the work you do.
Of course we are all hoping and praying that there is room for our son at Villa Maria. Beyond the expertise of the staff, the love, respect, and understanding you all have for the children is strongly evident and clearly felt – our son wanted me to “cancel” his current teacher and let her know he wouldn’t be back. Even if there isn’t room for our son, thank you for leaving a wonderful impression on a young mind.
This is just a brief note to tell you how excited my wife, daughter and I are that our daughter will be at Villa Maria this fall. We are so impressed with every aspect of the school – your five-to-one ratio for morning classes, your teaching methods, your emphasis on values and the neatness and organization of everything at the school. Being married to an artist, I have learned to appreciate what a powerful message can be conveyed by attention to details and the whole feel of the school, even on a day when it is empty, it is an extraordinary example of this, beginning with your welcoming chalkboard. It is easy to see how your vision and enthusiasm have created such wonderful results for your students and engendered such a high degree of loyalty from students (current and former), parents and your fascinating circle of friends. All of us look forward to sharing our daughter’s Villa Maria experience and we are very conscious of the special blessing we have received that has afforded this opportunity to her.
Villa Maria has been in my thoughts ever since my son’s visit several weeks ago. The affect the school had on him was truly extraordinary! I dropped off a shy, anxious child and picked up a calm, happy one. He kept telling me, “Mommy, I had a great day today!” Never before have I heard those words from him.
I’m not sure I can express in words how grateful I am that our daughter is in your care. It is rare in life to find truly committed, dedicated individuals such as your-self who can so positively impact a child’s life. Our daughter is happy and eager to learn because of your efforts and the fine institution you and your staff have de-veloped at Villa Maria. Again, our deep appreciation to you and all the wonderful people at Villa Maria for helping our daughter realize her gifts.
I want to thank you for all the support, kindness and consideration that you and your dedicated staff have shown our daughter, my wife and me. Villa Maria is such a special place. Thank God you have the vision, expertise, wisdom and love to make it all happen. What you are doing is so important and wonderful. It makes a real difference.
Our daughter is having a wonderful year at her new school and has settled in quite well. She has enjoyed making new friends and seems genuinely happy! She ob-viously benefited so much from her years at Villa Maria, and we will be forever thankful for all you and your wonderful staff did for her.
Our Son is who he is because of his experiences. Villa Maria and especially you have given him the best! Many, many thanks. You not only helped our son, but helped my husband and me become more responsive parents
We feel very thankful that our son is finally finding out that school and learning can be a challenge without anxiety.