After-School Program For Special Needs Kids In Limbo: 'It's Discrimination'

An after-school program that caters to children with special needs is now forced into looking for another place to use for its activities. The Special Needs Community Resource Center is being displaced from P.J. Hill Elementary School in Trenton.

According to NJ.com, the volunteer-run after-school program helps in meeting the educational needs of children with special needs. Nicole Whitfield, founder of the Special Needs Community Resource Center, began the good work in Monument Elementary School last year before former superintendent Francisco Duran helped her secure the working space at P.J. Hill Elementary School. There, Whitfield was given two classrooms and an office, where she provided services to kids aged 3 to 12.

Now, Whitfield and her after-school program needs to look for another space. Whitfield received an email from the assistant superintendent of special education, Elizabeth De Jesus, saying that they will have to vacate the space at P.J. Hill Elementary School.

"The district will need full access of all the classrooms at PJ Hill Elementary School during normal operating hours," wrote De Jesus. "Approval for building usage will be provided to organizations that are able to use our facilities after school for specific events. All after school providers will have to respond to the RFP that will be available in May."

Whitfield was told that the district will need to use all the school facilities until dismissal at 3:15 p.m. Because of the current set-up, the after-school program for kids with special needs will not be able to use the space from 1 pm to 6 pm.

As such, the after-school program is left in a limbo, with its unpaid volunteers left scrambling for a place to use. Whitfield herself has not received any salary for her work and feels that the needs of special children aren't given importance.

"Our special needs kids are being targeted," said Whitfield. "I think it's discrimination." She added that the programs for children with special needs are always the area where budget is either cut or adjusted.

Aside from Whitfield's after-school program, another institution that offers education for special children is closing. In another report from NJ.com, Stokes Early Learning Center, a preschool catering to both regular and special education students, is closing as well.