MOUNT VERNON — Nancy Christensen was glad to see her eight-year-old grow in confidence and enjoy sensory gyms at Rebecca School North, a newly opened school in Mount Vernon that serves students with neurodevelopmental delays.
After months of searching for schools in New York City and Westchester, Christensen believes Rebecca School North is the best fit. She likes the small class size and relationship-based teaching approach.
“All I know is my son is very happy when he comes home from school. That’s the most important thing to me,” said Christensen, of the Bronx. “I definitely see him progressing — engaging more with other kids, which he wouldn’t do that before.”
Where is Rebecca School North?
The New York City-based school expanded to Westchester and opened its doors at 1 Bradford Road in Mount Vernon in September. The 57,000-square-foot campus is located on a property that was formerly an office building. It includes classrooms, rooftop terrace for outdoor play and gardens, library, sensory gyms, an art room and music therapy rooms.
At a morning class in December, students followed their individualized schedule — some painting, some working with therapists in sensory gyms, others playing with toys.
Tina McCourt, executive director at Rebecca School, said the school is off to a good start and will continue growing. While the space can accommodate up to 14 classrooms and 112 students, they had planned to start small. They served 30 students ages 3 to 21 in four classrooms as of 2024 — a majority of students are from the Bronx and five are from Westchester. It has about 40 staff so far. Students are placed in mixed age groups within three years, with a teacher-student ratio of 1 to 2. The goal is to fill ten more classrooms over the next years.
The Manhattan location, at 40 E 30th St., was opened in 2006 with 48 students. Since then the number of students has more than doubled and continues to grow each year. The school is considered a unilateral private school, which means parents would get reimbursement should the district approve the placement.
“We’re so excited to be in this location. We have more than enough space, lots of gym space and open space. The hallway is really wide, which is so great for our kids because they are often on the move,” McCourt said.
Transformed from a former office building, the school has adapted the cubicles to classrooms and lockers while kept other office space and staircase as it was. The project was honored by the Westchester Building Owners and Managers Association for its creative renovations of the building.
Helu Wang covers real estate, economic growth and development for The Journal News/lohud and USA Today Network. Reach her at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: NYC’s Rebecca School sees early growth in expansion into Westchester
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