Founder of Whole Child Academy looks to dispel “misunderstandings” about school, Dickinson Avenue lease offer

Updated Thursday, December 14, 9:35am. The Whole Child Academy held its informational session last night. The Northport Journal is awaiting comment from the academy'’s founder, as well as the results of a FOIL request submitted to the Northport-East Northport school district. This article will be updated as the Journal receives more information. The final board of education meeting of the year will be held tonight at 7:30pm at the Brosnan building in Northport.

The founder of a Long Island academy for twice-exceptional learning has invited the public to learn about the school and its programs tomorrow, December 13, in Melville. The invitation, shared on social media last week, comes amid piqued interest – and some concerns – regarding the Whole Child Academy’s proposal to lease a portion of Dickinson Avenue Elementary School in East Northport beginning next school year. 

Ellen Richer, founder and head of the Whole Child Academy (WCA), first spoke publicly about the offer at the October 5 board of education meeting, which included a presentation of all proposals, to date, for three school district properties up for sale or lease: the Brosnan building in Northport Village, and Bellerose Avenue and Dickinson Avenue elementary schools, both in East Northport. 

A Northport resident since 1998, Richer launched WCA in 2016; it is advertised as a private, not-for-profit, K-12 college preparatory school for non-traditional learners.

The school currently occupies an 8,500-square-foot building in Melville, on the campus of St. Elizabeth’s Church on Wolf Hill Road. As of May 2023, WCA had approximately 20 students in its day program, and anticipates an enrollment of 32 students in its day program for 2024. Enrollment projections included in Richer’s lease proposal go up to 80 students in year 10 (including 28 preschool and 40 international students). 

“Once enrolled at the Whole Child Academy, students can go on to graduate with a NYS Regents diploma and transition to college life, or they can develop the social, emotional, behavioral, academic and executive functioning skills necessary to thrive when they transition back to their neighborhood public schools,” the lease proposal reads. The school lauds its ability to provide a 1:1 learning environment to twice-exceptional students. 

According to a 2022 U.S. News & World Report article, twice-exceptional or “2e” children are both academically gifted and have a learning difference or disability; they often have diverse skills and needs (such as an advanced reader with ADHD or students with autism spectrum disorder who perform above grade level in math).

The offer from Richer and the Whole Child Academy, as indicated on the initial offers document available on the district website, requests exclusive use of the Dickinson Avenue building, beginning in year one, with the tenant using an estimated total of 10,500 square feet of the building’s 55,000 square feet, plus the gymnasium, outdoor areas for physical activity and a sensory garden, and adequate parking for students, staff and visitors. It also allows for the district’s continued use of partial space for its existing transportation department and office of community service. 

Richer proposed adding one satellite building per year to the leased area for the first three years of the lease. The offer also indicates an option to purchase the property within years three through five, or the option to renew the lease for five additional years, at which point the payment terms would be “reevaluated based on their enrollment.”

In her initial proposal to Newmark Realty, the brokerage firm representing the district, Richer offered a lease price of $84,000 for the first year, with an increased rate reaching $108,000 by year five. During public participation at the November 30 board of education meeting, however, she said the academy can contribute $100,000 to $150,000 in its first-year lease.

According to Northport-East Northport school district officials, an updated offer from Whole Child Academy was received by the district last week; the organization was directed to submit its updated proposal to Newmark for further consideration, as it did with the original offer, officials said. (The Northport Journal is currently awaiting a response to its FOIL request to view the updated proposal.)  

“We did submit a proposal in the spring that was meant as a first conversation offer,” Richer said in a post on a community Facebook page last week. “We were told our proposal was rejected, yet it appeared on the October board meeting agenda. We are still here, ready, willing, and able to lease this space.”

Northport-East Northport school district officials told the Journal that the district did not “reject” the offer from the academy. “All offers were presented by Newmark to the district, and then the district made the decision to pause,” officials said. “The district is currently pausing considering all offers until further financial review has been completed and additional community input has been heard. This pause has been communicated to the Whole Child Academy.” 

Both support and skepticism followed Richer’s remarks at the most recent BOE meeting, at which she reiterated the academy’s interest in leasing space at Dickinson. 

A list of New York State's approved private schools, as provided by the New York State Education Department, does not currently include the Whole Child Academy. NYS-approved private 853 schools, created by Chapter 853 of the Laws of 1976, are operated by private agencies and provide day and/or residential programs for students with disabilities. A Committee on Special Education (CSE) may recommend a placement of a student with a disability in the approved private school when it determines that the student can not be appropriately educated in the home school district, a neighboring district, or in the programs of a board of cooperative educational services (BOCES) program.

Some residents have questioned how Whole Child Academy pays its rent, with concerns that revenue obtained through a lease would be lessened by tuition costs the district may incur to send Northport-East Northport students there, and if the academy would be a financially beneficial tenant. 

“There is a lot of information, misunderstanding, hypothesizing, going around,” Richer said in her Facebook post. “I will dispel two things, outright. First, we are anything but a precarious contender [to lease Dickinson]. At seven years old, we are a cutting-edge school offering special education supports that are not being provided elsewhere. We have the credentials, expertise, research and proven track record to speak for us.”

Under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act, parents of special education students who are dissatisfied with what’s being offered by public agencies may choose to enroll their children in outside special needs services and then seek reimbursement for the associated expenses. A student’s home school district can be sued and either go into litigation or settle out of court, paying full or partial tuition for a student to attend the private school. 

Christina Lanzillotto, chief strategy officer at Whole Child Academy, spoke at the November 30 BOE meeting about a point in the school’s proposal she said is very important to have on record. 

“We are not only looking to lease the Dickinson building, we are looking for a strategic partnership with Northport, offering our services as the Whole Child Academy to your neurodivergent students at a deep discount, placing us way below what you’re currently paying BOCES to educate these children,” Lanzillotto told the board. 

School officials are ready to move into the Dickinson space in November, she added, as they are currently at “max capacity” in Melville. The school’s initial proposal stated that leasing the East Northport property allows more “aggressive expansion” at the Whole Child Academy, and the “potential to advertise more broadly and grow into the Dickinson space.”

The Northport Journal made numerous attempts to contact Richer, but is still awaiting a response to confirm current and expected enrollment numbers, tuition rates, and the school’s credentials – specifically if it’s a New York State-approved private 853 school and if a Committee on Special Education (CSE) can recommend a placement of a student with a disability in Whole Child Academy.

Those interested in attending the informational session tomorrow, December 13, at 7pm can RSVP by emailing info@liwholechild.org.