First Special Ed School in NY to Teach DMV-Approved Standardized Course
IVDU, the schools division of Yachad is a network of schools for boys and girls from Kindergarten to age 21 with mild-to-moderate learning, social and developmental delays and will be the first special education school in New York State to offer eligible students a chance to take the DMV-approved driver’s ed course.
With four campuses spanning Brooklyn and the Five Towns, IVDU encompasses one girls’ elementary school, one co-ed elementary and middle school, and two boys’ and girls’ upper schools which offer special career training to equip students with the skills needed to hold meaningful jobs post graduation.
“Many IVDU students are high-functioning and may simply have social or academic issues that require extra attention, said Faigy Augenstein, director of IVDU’s Career Training Program.
“IVDU provides a warm, supportive, environment where students receive academic and hands-on training at a pace that suits their learning needs so that they are ready to enter the workforce. Our students pursue meaningful careers in such fields as computer coding, bookkeeping, veterinary science, culinary arts and preschool teaching””
Starting this month, IVDU will also offer driver’s ed as part of the Career Training Program at the Marylin and Sheldon David IVDU Boys Upper School in Brooklyn. Students 16 and up who are deemed capable of driving by their parents and clinical team of psychologists will learn the standardized Empire State driver’s curriculum, which will be slightly modified to accommodate participants’ unique learning styles. The course will be taught by the same instructor who oversees the program in mainstream Brooklyn schools.
The boys will begin by preparing for the learner’s permit test as a group — a prerequisite which new drivers typically study for individually.
“People taking driver’s ed usually begin the course with their permits in hand,” said Augenstein. “At IVDU, we’ll be teaching the material for the permit test, allocating extra study hours and offering extra support to enable our students to receive more hands-on time behind the wheel. At the end of the day, our boys will take the same test and emerge with the same skills needed to be responsible drivers.”
IVDU Head of School Rabbi Michoel Druin is proud that the Marylin and Sheldon David IVDU Boys Upper School can offer students such a critical life skill as they prepare to launch into adulthood — something that would not have been possible without Yachad’s unwavering support.
“Yachad has enabled IVDU to become a leader in the educational field of special ed. Our staff understands that if they dream it, we will work hard to make it a reality,” said Rabbi Druin. “Any student who can, should be able to get a driver’s license. IVDU believes that all our students deserve the same and more than mainstream students. Here we have but one example of how we live up to this belief.”
For more information, visit www.Ivdu.org