Valley Forge Educational Services (VFES)

Located on a scenic, 28-acre campus in malvern, pa, Valley Forge Educational Services (vfes) offers a continuum of Educational, recreational, and employment-related Services for people with disabilities. Vfes staff take a collaborative and holistic approach to each child and adult, recognizing their unique abilities and needs through dedicated teams. Individuals, ages 4-21, come to learn, share, appreciate and respect one another while developing skills necessary to lead successful lives.in october 2022, vfes hosted its annual adult Services and transition resource fair. The event drew approximately 100 families and 29 service organizations. The event allows organizations to provide vital resource information to vanguard families and members of the community with adults and transition-age youth with disabilities. On saturday, january 21, 2023, vfes held its fourteenth annual special kids camp expo. This community event was attended by approximately 125 families and 13 summer program organizations from southeastern pa. those who attended learned about Educational and recreational summer programs offered to youth and adults with special needs.vfes's annual community day, held on saturday, april 29, 2023, was well-attended, despite heavy rain, which moved the event indoors. It is estimated that over 250 individuals attended this community event. Vfes had 15 business partners that helped support this event. The purpose of community day is to provide sensory-friendly games and activities for people with special needs and their families in local communities.vfes's mission is to prepare children and adults with special needs to realize their potential as contributing members of the community. Vfes fulfills this mission through its two signature programs: the vanguard school and adult & recreation Services (ars).1) the vanguard school:established in 1959, the vanguard school was the first pennsylvania-licensed approved private school (aps). On average, vanguard serves approximately 240 students, 4-22 years of age, who require a high degree of individualized instruction and clinical support and intervention. Students who are educated at the vanguard school have been identified as individuals with autism spectrum disorders, developmental disabilities, speech-language deficits, intellectual disabilities, and students with social-emotional, executive functioning and behavioral difficulties. Tuition at the vanguard school is satisfied by school district and pa state funding. While enrollment fluctuates throughout the year, as of june 30, 2023, the vanguard school served 211 students. The high school served 64 students, the middle school served 49 students and the elementary school served 57 students. The post-secondary program, vanguard transition center (vtc), provided 41 students, 18-22 years of age, with workforce readiness skills through either on-campus skills training or community-based vocational training (cbvt). As a whole, vanguard students represented 52 school districts and charter schools throughout Pennsylvania in the 2022-23 fiscal year. In the summer of 2022 (july 5-august 4), 154 students were enrolled in vanguard's extended school year (esy) program. For the 22-23 school year the vanguard school started the initiative of implementing restorative practices across campus. The fundamental hypothesis of restorative practices is that human beings are happier, more cooperative and productive, and more likely to make positive changes in their behavior when those in positions of authority do things with them, rather than to them or for them.another development of the vanguard school was partnering with harcum college to provide a registered behavior technician certification class for staff. A registered behavior technician supports and implements a patient care plan created by a board-certified behavior analyst. They provide aba interventions that encourage socially acceptable replacement behaviors so clients can build and improve upon their communication, social interaction, and problem-solving skills.vanguard hosted 2 parent education webinars and 2 alumni events in the 2022-23 fiscal year.

2) adult and recreation Services (ars):ars offers Educational and recreational programming for children and adults, 7 years of age and older, and adults with disabilities and learning challenges. Programs are designed to maximize each individual's potential in an inclusive, encouraging, enriching and supportive learning environment. Recreational Services include camps, respite, social gatherings and retreats. Adult Services include employment discovery, placement and support through the vfes service, customized workforce solutions (cws). Ars hosted 2 transition@21 events for vanguard parents and parents in the wider communities on the topics of waiver funding and financial planning for caregivers of teens and adults with special needs.vocational immersion program (vip):vip is a four-week intensive pre-employment program for participants for adults ages 18-24. During july 5-august 4, 2022, its eighth season, vip equipped 21 young adults with crucial employment readiness skills and vocational experiences. Specialized recreation Services (srs):srs offers Educational and recreational programming for children and adults with special needs and learning challenges. Srs's focus is to support participants as they cultivate friendships, expand their repertoire of leisure and recreational activities, and practice daily living skills away from home.in the 2022-23 fiscal year, srs supported 60 people, ages 7-22, at vfes @ camp kweebec in schwenksville, pa. srs's retreats at mt. Gilead in stroudsburg, pa served 25 participants and fenwick island, de provided Services to 20 adult participants, ages 20-35. Srs continued to provide meaningful social activities for adults with special needs by hosting dances, meeting for lunch at various locations and organizing meetups at places such as elmwood zoo, dances, bowling establishments, longwood gardens and more.