Special Needs Programs in Chester County, PA

Camphill Special School:
Camphill Special School is a non-profit private Waldorf school located in Glenmoore, Chester County, PA. We offer residential and day academic and prevocational programs, as well as therapeutic care, for children and youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities in kindergarten through grade twelve. We also offer a Transition Program for young people aged eighteen to twenty-one which prepares them for adult life.

Kindergarten Program
Camphill Special School’s inclusive full and half day Waldorf Kindergarten consists of a group of nine to twelve children including day and residential students with special needs, children of staff members, and typically developing day students. For children with special needs, the Kindergarten is part of our Approved Private School with a full range of therapies available.

Elementary and Middle Grades
Camphill Special School assigns students to classes according to chronological age. In this way, our students participate in age-appropriate educational programming, together with small group and individualized instruction that addresses each child’s needs and abilities.

Utilizing our adapted Waldorf curriculum, Camphill Special School's teachers strive for a comprehensive understanding of each child through conscious and careful study. Students are regarded as whole human beings first and foremost, with intact spirits that are capable of learning, accomplishment, social interaction, and social relationships.

High School
High school students are grouped according to their chronological ages, enabling both age-appropriate educational experiences and, perhaps even more important, age-appropriate social interaction.

Prevocational program:
Students in grades nine through twelve, ages fourteen to eighteen, participate daily in a unique afternoon prevocational program designed to develop skills and attitudes that enhance their social development and allow them to participate in meaningful cooperative work. Working individually or in small groups, students rotate through various prevocational crews including the school store, household activities, gardening, landscaping, weaving, sewing, woodworking, maintenance, life skills, and stable and animal care.

The Transition Program
In The Transition Program it is our intention to guide the students, through community work and living, from school into adult life. Our vision is to provide a safe place and an encouraging environment for students to explore this transition.

The Transition Program is a pre-vocational program designed for students ages eighteen to twenty-one who have completed our twelfth grade.

The Transition Program offers:

* Pre-vocational experiences
* Opportunities to learn life skills in a life sharing community setting
* Academic support and therapies
* An outreach program

The Transition Program is ten miles from Beaver Run’s main campus. It lies amidst northern Chester County’s beautiful rural countryside on a biodynamic farm directly across French Creek from Camphill Village Kimberton Hills, a community serving adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.