The Summit School
Queens, New York                                                              A Commitment to Excellence
ABOUT US  
Mission Statement

It is the mission of The Summit School community to help children with special needs develop the tools necessary to achieve success. Students acquire the skills to optimize potential in higher education, job placements, and in their interpersonal relationships. As members of a supportive and nurturing community, our students maximize their strengths, develop self-esteem, and become contributing members of society.  


Our Program

The Summit School is a unique and wonderful place for children with special needs.

Since 1968, Summit has been giving children with learning and adjustment problems the individualized attention they need to meet their challenges and develop their individual strengths and talents. Summit has created a therapeutic educational environment that respects individuality and meets the needs of each child.

Summit is a private, not-for-profit school. The school is approved by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)3 corporation, and is eligible to receive tax deductible donations and grants. It is one of ten private schools in New York City designated by the New York State Education Department to receive state funding to educate special needs children.

Today, Summit serves 276 children representing the full array of New York’s ethnic and economic diversity. Summit accepts students from all five boroughs of New York City as well as Westchester, Nassau, Suffolk, and Rockland Counties. The school employs a faculty and clinical staff of 150 professionals, and has a student-teacher-assistant teacher ratio of 12:1:2.

Summit currently operates two sites in Queens. The Lower School educates elementary and middle school children. Summit's Upper School serves high school students. Summit gives its students the advantage of a consistent, supportive environment where they can establish lifelong friendships with teachers and students from second grade through high school.

Many fine schools serving special needs children offer strong curricula. Others emphasize a supportive environment to address students' emotional and learning difficulties. What distinguishes Summit from other schools is that it combines rigorous academics with the highest level of therapeutic support. Teachers work as part of an interdisciplinary team with social workers, speech pathologists, occupational therapists, and reading specialists to address the needs of each student. A variety of activities, such as interscholastic basketball, swimming, a recreational enrichment after school program, and chess round out the Summit experience. The Summit difference can be seen in its approach and programs.

Summit has earned an outstanding reputation in the field of special education by looking at a child holistically. We focus on the academic, pre-vocational, social, and emotional development of each child. We measure success by the number of students who optimize their potential.

The learning environment is warm, friendly, and conducive to individual growth. Summit students enjoy coming to school because it is a place where they can develop a positive sense of accomplishment and self-worth. Working as a team with parents and students, the Summit faculty develops a unique plan for each student. A roadmap is then created that identifies the best approach to reach each student’s educational and social goals, changing over time to adapt to the child’s progress.

The Summit School encourages parents to be involved with all aspects of their children's education. Summit respects and values parents’ understanding of their children’s needs. They become part of Summit’s interdisciplinary team, working collaboratively to insure their children's success.

As part of Summit’s whole-child approach, all students in the Upper School take part in an innovative transition program in which they attend job sites at least one morning each week, supported by a job coach. Vocational counseling supports the specific job placements and serves to reinforce appropriate attitudes for successful employment. Students soon recognize their abilities and interests in relationship to actual jobs, leading them to develop a solid work ethic that enhances academic performance. Additionally, these pre-vocational experiences promote a student's abilitiy to decide on a major in college. Many executives at the students' job sites become members of the Summit Pre-Vocational Advisory Board.

Year after year, Summit sends its graduates into the world equipped with the knowledge, confidence, and skills to become productive citizens. Summit graduates move on to other institutions to further their education, with many of them attending colleges or universities.