St. Coletta Celebrates Grand Opening of New Facility

Freddie Mac Foundation Chairman Ralph F. Boyd, Jr., along with DC City Councilman Adrian Fenty and former DC City Administrator Robert Bobb, recently joined more than 250 special needs students of St. Coletta of Greater Washington to celebrate the opening of its new state-of-the-art, 99,000 square foot Special Education Public Charter School in Southeast DC. During this grand opening week, the Foundation also sponsored and participated in the school's gala to help it raise funds and awareness. The new St. Coletta facility, made possible by a $1 million grant from the Freddie Mac Foundation, is serving 260 children with special needs. St. Coletta is the area's most prominent school and resource for children and adults with moderate to severe cognitive disabilities.

The Foundation's investment enabled the school to increase enrollment by 100 children and improve the educational and therapeutic efforts with better-designed and equipped classrooms, music/art studios, physical/occupational therapy areas, and vocational training stations.

Furthermore, the majority of the student population is now physically closer to their homes and community, allowing St. Coletta to incorporate the families and caretakers more fully in students' education and overall development.

The D.C. Public School System has more than 2,400 cognitively disabled students. As a charter school, St. Coletta is the first District facility to offer school choice to parents and caretakers of children with severe cognitive disabilities. Families of these children now have the ability to enroll them as they would in any public school. St. Coletta's new facility is fully accessible, providing an excellent alternative to helping this vulnerable population.

Another highlight of this project is that Michael Graves, a nationally and internationally recognized architect, designed the building to capture the spirit of St. Coletta's mission and the children served. While working on the design, Graves became paralyzed through illness and must use a wheelchair. His new perspective influenced the project's design. To see renderings of the school, visit www.stcoletta.org.