Based in Nutley, NJ The Phoenix Center is an accredited private special needs school serving the educational, behavioral and therapeutic needs of students ages 5-21 with autism, multiple disabilities, behavioral and intellectual disabilities. Our customized programs are built around the whole child and anchored by a hands-on, real-life, community-based instruction model.
A Message From the Executive Director
The time has come to welcome you all back to school! Together, we have been navigating the uncharted waters of education and maintaining a new sense of community, while providing quality educational and therapeutic services to our students and support to our families – something we have been doing for the past 30 years as leaders in special education!
We have welcomed each other into our homes virtually, supported each other, and created new and innovative ways of engaging our students. I continue to be honored to be part of such an amazing and innovative learning community.
As you can imagine, this year is going to look very different than years past. Some of us will be in school in a weekly A/B hybrid and some will be 100% virtual. We continue to be in close communications with our local health department and are following all the guidance provided by the NJDOE and Governor Murphy.
It is exceptionally fitting that this year’s theme is Resilience, which means, “the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties.” Resilience also means toughness, flexibility, strength, hardiness, and adaptability. All of these words clearly define The Phoenix Center community. It also reminds me of the Disney movie, Finding Dory – one of my favorites! When faced with adversity and challenge, Dory and her friends just kept swimming. It is my pleasure to “just keep swimming” with all of you.
This year, I am especially grateful for—and proud of—this amazing educational community we call The Phoenix Center. I am excited to celebrate 30 years of excellence with all of you! Please join me in wishing a Happy Birthday to TPC!
In honor of that milestone, we are holding a very special Gala Fundraising Event on June 5th, 2021! Stay tuned for more details coming soon.
Remember, though we are not physically always together, our virtual door is always open to you. Please call or email us with any questions you may have.
With gratitude,
Julie Mower, M.A.Ed.
Executive Director
PS Please remember that you can support the initiatives and programming not covered by tuition dollars by donating through our DONATE page here.
TPC ’20-’21 Restart and Recovery Plan
The following are our school closing and communication documents: The Phoenix Center’s School Preparedness Plan, updated 11-17-20 The Phoenix Center’s 2020-2021 Re-Entry & Recovery Plan, updated 10-22-20 English | Spanish 2020-21 School Calendar Distance Learning Resources & Links COVID-related communications: 11-17-20 Parent Letter-School Closing-English|Spanish 11-7-20 Exposure Parent Letter- English|Spanish 10-9-20 Student Schedule Communication-English 10-9-20 Exposure […]
Save the Date…June 5th, 2021 is Our Fundraising Gala!
This year, The Phoenix Center celebrates 30 years of educational excellence. We are so grateful for the opportunity to commemorate this milestone. In 1991, The Phoenix Center opened its doors with the dream of serving students with special needs and their families. Today, The Phoenix Center’s accomplishments have not only made those dreams come true, […]
How to Select a Special Needs School
Julie Mower, MAEd, is the Executive Director of The Phoenix Center and the author of this piece in Autism Parenting Magazine about how best to select a school for your special needs student. Here is the recently published article.
A Grant from Investors Foundation Enable Purchase of SMART Board
The Phoenix Center is pleased to announce that it was awarded a grant from Investors Foundation to purchase and install a much-needed SMART Board for a classroom serving students ages 9-13. Our integrative technology program has been proudly supported by Investors Foundation for the second year in a row. https://www.myinvestorsbank.com/Community/Investors-Foundation ‘’Interactive technology allows us to more effectively engage our […]
