PRISM SUMMER 2026
Steps Toward Tomorrow: BCCS Inaugural Fundraising Walk Brookville Center for Children’s Services (BCCS) marked a new chapter on Sunday, May 3, with its first-ever fundraising walk, Steps Toward Tomorrow. More than 500 students, families, staff, and community supporters gathered on the agency’s 20-acre Brookville campus for the Candyland-themed event, which raised over $135,000 in support of BCCS’s schools and its Children’s Residential Program (CRP).
the CRP, home to 25 children, funds will expand recreational programming tied to residents’ interests and personal goals.
“BCCS is a very special place for my family,” said Al Capra, Board President. “This walk started as a really simple idea. We wanted to bring people together, raise funds, and enhance our children’s learning experiences.”
Top fundraising teams included Let’s Build a Playground!! ($15,425), Team AJ ($11,269), Walk for Joey Inzerillo ($7,175), and Harps’ Sparkle & Stride Squad ($7,145). Top individual participants were Jill Wildfeuer-Rubenfeld ($10,550), Al & Alexandria Capra ($7,719), and Allison Cashin ($2,000). Event sponsors included Let’s Build a Playground, the Family of Christian Hoda, the Capra Family, the Drakakis Family, the Greenstein Family, the Helfant Family, First Central Savings Bank, Pistilli Realty, Accolade Maintenance Corporation, County Cleaners Corporation, and Driscoll Foods.
The 1.5-mile route wound through the campus before ending at the Thomas S. Gulotta Wheatley Farms & Arts Center, where children spent the afternoon with farm animals, tried their hand at ring toss, planted flowers for Mother’s Day, and painted rocks. Every dollar raised traces back to needs identified directly by BCCS’s four schools and programs. “What you see here today started in all of our programs — our directors worked with their teams and families to identify what their schools and children truly needed,” said Debra Doyle, Senior Director. “The response from each of you — all our schools, families, staff, and community — was overwhelming.”
The Steps Toward Tomorrow Walk reflects the community’s support of the partnership between BCCS teachers, staff, and families — all of this is made possible when our community comes together.
For more information or to view results, visit www.bccswalk.org.
Funds will bring inclusive sensory spaces to the Children’s Education Center and Barbara C. Wilson Preschool. At Barbara C. Wilson Preschool, every child will have access to an iPad equipped with Augmented and Alternative Communication (AAC) software. Round Hill Road School will add a new playground with an outdoor communication board. At Westbury-Post Avenue Preschool, funds will enrich day-to-day learning and play for students this year, from storytelling and movement activities to updated playground equipment. At
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A Message from the CEO and Board President Mission: To educate and support children of all abilities Vision: For every child, a lifetime of achievement
Board of Directors Al Capra President
Marie Mamone-Pinckney Vice President
Lloyd Groveman Treasurer
Joseph Inzerillo Director
Nana Poku-Amanfo, R.N. Director
Haendel Emmanuel St. Juste Director
Executive Management Stanfort J. Perry Chief Executive Officer
Christopher J. O’Connor Chief Operating Officer
Dear Families and Friends, At Brookville Center for Children’s Services, our mission puts children—and their educational journeys—at the center of everything we do. At a time of change, when critical parts of the Department of Education that directly impact safeguards for children with disabilities are being shifted to multiple federal agencies, our goal remains the same: ensuring that every decision we make as an organization is grounded in our core purpose – supporting children as they learn, grow, and navigate the path forward. Along with this commitment, we acknowledge the critical role of advocacy. The future of high-quality special education and disability services depends on all of us—families, staff, and community members—raising our voices together. We invite you to get involved. Join our one-click campaigns, repost critical advocacy issues on social media, and share your story. In doing so, you’re informing people in your lives about the challenges and opportunities families, teachers and staff face while protecting the services and supports that make meaningful outcomes possible.
Barry Donowitz, PhD Chief Administrative Officer
Sylvester O. Naraine Chief Financial Officer
Program Directors Debra Doyle
Scan here to take action or visit brookvillecenter.org/advocate
Senior Director
Denise Gaughan - Director, Children’s Education Center, Brookville
Diane M. Condy - Director, Barbara C. Wilson Preschool, Westbury
Paula DeVita - Director, Round Hill Road, Roslyn
Cassie Bradshaw - Director, Children’s Residential Program
Al Capra,
President, Board of Directors
Gaëlle Gilles Strategic Communications Associate Assistant Editor
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Al Capra
Brookville Center for Children Services
Stanfort J. Perry
Chief Executive Officer
BCCS Consolidates Westbury-Post Location, Strengthens Preschool Services
Round Hill Road Teachers Celebrate Early Childhood During “Week of the Young Child”
Brookville Center for Children’s Services (BCCS) has made the difficult decision to close its WestburyPost location. This decision was made with the best interests of students and the long-term strength of the organization in mind.
Round Hill Road Preschool celebrated the “Week of the Young Child” (WOYC) an annual celebration of early childhood and the educators who support them. The annual event takes place during the first or second week of April and is meaningful to families and early education providers.
All teachers, aides and staff from Westbury-Post have been offered continued positions across BCCS, and the large majority of students and staff will transition to BCCS’s Round Hill Road campus in East Hills, which opened in 2026. The consolidation allows BCCS to focus resources across its remaining locations and continue delivering the same high level of special education services families rely on. The East Hills campus will see continued investment in the year ahead, with a new playground installing this summer and a sensory garden planned for spring 2027. Preschool special education remains a core strength of BCCS’s mission. The organization’s early childhood programs are designed to identify and address developmental delays during the critical years when intervention has the greatest lasting impact. Through small class sizes, individualized education plans, and a multidisciplinary team of speech, occupational, and physical therapists working alongside certified special education teachers, BCCS provides children with the structure and support they need to build foundational skills in communication, motor development, and socialemotional growth.
From April 11–17, students participated in hands-on activities that highlight a young child’s ability to discover, connect, and learn through play. “The ‘Week of the Young Child’ is important because it applauds our youngest learners and the professionals who support them,” said Paula DeVita, Director. “Through the themed activities offered during the week, the role of play and creativity are highlighted and celebrated.” Unlike their usual themed spirit weeks, classroom lesson plans around WOYC emphasized music, healthy eating, collaborative play, art, and family participation. Each class celebrated in a unique way. Teachers touched on nutrition through food exploration. One classroom made fruit pizzas with graham crackers, blueberries, strawberries, and bananas, while another made cream cheese and jelly sandwiches. The activities support fine motor skill development and focus on fun, learning, and trying new things—linking discovery and play, two pillars that are at the heart of the week.
BCCS remains dedicated to ensuring every child has access to the early intervention and preschool special education services they need to learn and thrive.
“It’s celebrating the young child, and it’s just every day being about them” said Amy Klein, Special Education Teacher. “I love the ‘Week of the Young Child’ because every day was something different. They really enjoy it.”
For families who are looking for a provider of special education preschool services (with a referral from your district’s CPSE), we are happy to share additional information.
According to Amy, the day students enjoyed most was Tasty Tuesday, “They really loved when we made the sandwiches. They ate every bite. I would love that activity also; it ends with eating!”
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Children’s Education Center Transition Students Make Strides Inside and Outside the Classroom Transition students at the Children’s Education Center (Ed Center) are gaining valuable vocational skills both in and outside of the classroom. When Brian Levine, Transition Administrative Specialist, joined the program last summer, he quickly began building relationships with local organizations to expand opportunities for on-the-job learning. This year, transition students’ schedules are full of avenues to develop skills at grocery stores, community centers, and restaurants. The Ed Center is home to the BCCS school-age program offering a nurturing environment to students from 5 to 22 years old. When students turn 14, they can officially participate in the transition curriculum which includes academic, life, and workplace skills development. On campus, students explore workplace skills in the Practical Assessment Exploration System (PAES) lab, a simulated work environment to uncover career paths that match their skills and interests. This spring was also the official grand opening of the Brookville Beans Coffee Bar, a student-run and staffsupervised business providing hand-crafted iced coffees, lattes, and fresh baked treats. During the grand opening ceremony on April 24, Matthew Lundquist, Matthew Kielsczewski, Miles Semilof, and
William Haug, transition students and Brookville Beans baristas, proudly cut the red ribbon in front of the coffee bar mural and snapped photos to memorialize the day. “It’s more than just being a barista,” Denise Gaughan, Director said. “We’re learning how to deal with disappointment. We’re learning how to work with our coworkers. We’re learning money skills. We’re learning how to communicate with everybody.” Students take part in every facet of running the coffee shop, from taking and fulfilling customer orders to stocking inventory and pre-brewing the iced coffee the day before service. Transition students also pick up essential skills on daily community trips. Currently, the Ed Center partners with Holiday Farms, Stop & Shop, Walgreens, Mario’s Pizzeria Syosset, St. Boniface Martyr’s food pantry in Sea Cliff, and the YMCA. With weekly trips to these organizations, students gain experience in a variety of work environments, develop workforce skills, and deepen their connection with the community. At Mario’s Pizzeria, students have been folding pizza boxes. With their teachers and teacher assistants, students arrive at the pizzeria around 10:30 a.m. and work until lunchtime. During that time a group of two to four students can fold anywhere from 100 to 200 pizza boxes. When finished with their task, the store provides students with fresh pizza. “I like a regular slice, with no garlic,” said Judley Toussaint. Judley has also gained meaningful experience stocking shelves at the St. Boniface pantry. With every trip he has become more independent and more comfortable connecting with workers and customers alike. With skill development both inside and outside of the classroom, students will be better equipped to explore postgraduation opportunities.
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Brookville Center for Children Services
Building Foundational Skills For Today And Their Future
Daniel accompanied John to piano lessons during his first year working at the CRP. Then, John switched to surfing. Knowing John is musically inclined, Daniel advocated for piano lessons again.
The Children’s Residential Program (CRP) is home to 25 children with autism living in Wantagh and Lido Beach, New York. The program supports students who attend school at the Children’s Education Center in Brookville. There, students are supported to go to school, become more independent, explore their community and develop interests - building foundational skills for today and their future.
The staff play an important role in the interest discovery process. During each trip, staff members complete recreation sheets collecting data on how the students engaged in the activity.
Working with Brandon Lyons, Recreation Coordinator, Cassie Bradshaw, CRP Director, is working to ensure the CRP recreation program fits the needs of children and their families. This initiative aims to embrace the children’s unique skills and desires by uncovering activities they can enjoy outside of school. Finding recreation options that light up each student is the goal. It helps students learn more about themselves, work toward a skill, and engage with the community. Most importantly, it teaches students that their choices matter and deserve to be respected. “We are looking to see what they like,” Cassie said. “Where they have a sense of individualism would be great, so they have something to look forward to that’s just for them.” This new pivot has enabled many students to take on new hobbies that bring them joy. Faith O’Hare-Dunphy, who lives in Wantagh, took boxing lessons at a fitness studio in Freeport in the fall of 2025. John Ostuni, from Lido Beach, attended his third piano session on June 6. CRP staff who support the children agree these types of activities support learning across the board. “He’s doing great,” Daniel McCormack, Direct Support Professional (DSP) said. “He loves it. It’s honestly been the best thing for him in a long time.”
“It asks who was in the recreation, what the recreation was, did they enjoy it, how did they participate, did they seem interested, those kinds of questions,” Cassie said. Then regularly, the sheets are compiled and reviewed. Based on the findings, along with notes and suggestions from the team, Brandon can better curate activities for each child. As the staff continue working toward each child’s recreation goals, funds from this year’s Steps Toward Tomorrow Walk will support more community classes, lessons, and other activities for students. - Continued from Page 3 (Round Hill Read Teachers...) Work Together Wednesday emphasized collaboration and was a wonderful way for students to learn essential success skills including sharing, waiting their turn, and problem solving. They practiced these skills by building structures with blocks. Family participation was needed for Family Friday, with encouragement from teachers, parents were invited to be as creative as they liked. All sizes, colors and interpretations were welcome.
Students and teachers shared their family trees in class on Friday. The sharing exercise deepened connections and highlighted unique differences and commonalities. For students, having these experiences at home and school helps inspire trust in community, supports them to enjoy learning, and develops a positive relationship with school.
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Barbara C. Wilson Preschool Curates a Reading-Rich Environment It’s exciting to see children’s faces light up as they pick up a new book and discover new worlds. At Barbara C. Wilson Preschool (BCW), the team is fostering a love of reading in every child and supporting families to join in too. This year, the school celebrated Read Across America Week in March with a Scholastic Book Fair organized by the school’s Parents’ Association. During 20-minute sessions, students went shopping with their classmates to pick out new books, toys, and school supplies themed around popular characters like Bluey and Ladybug & Cat Noir. For students, the most exciting part was seeing their parents at school. Some parents came in as volunteers to work at the fair while others chose to accompany their child as they browsed and made their selections. “In this age of media, computers, and screen time, it is so important to celebrate literacy,” said Diane M. Condy, MS, SAS/SDA, Director. “It was a great event that included families of all students.” The celebration of reading and learning continued in April, when the school welcomed mystery readers into the classroom. During the Mystery Reader event, BCW invited parents into their child’s classroom to read aloud. Students love this event because parents often bring in their child’s favorite books. Students can’t help but smile from ear to ear as they read along with mom or dad and share a beloved story with their classmates. Some of the books shared in the classroom were “Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?” by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle, and “Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes” by Eric Litwin. “This was such an important event,” Diane said. “It welcomes our parent community to interact with the children and staff and see firsthand all that the students and staff do at BCW.” Even in preschool as students are just beginning to learn their alphabet and shape their letters, it isn’t too early to instill in them the joy of reading.
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Brookville Center for Children Services
Clinical Services at BCCS The licensed professionals who make up our Clinical Services Department provide occupational, physical, and speech therapy services to students based on the needs identified in their Individual Education Program (IEP). These services help students be more present in the classroom and support them as they learn and grow. An important part of ensuring a child’s long-term success is generalizing the skills they learn in therapy sessions to their everyday life. By working as a team, teachers and clinicians develop activities that actively support students’ goals seamlessly incorporating work from therapy sessions right in the classroom. The same can be done at home. There are many ways to engage children as they take on summertime and fall activities. The following activities were curated from trusted sources recommended by BCCS therapists.
Building Skills for Long-Term Success Building Occupational Therapy skills Make sensory bottles for calm and visual processing. Sensory bottles are a great way to support a child’s sensory processing systems. Once created they are a great way to calm and relax an anxious or overwhelmed child or adult! They can easily be made with household items. All you need is a clean plastic bottle, sand or rice, and include beads or small letters to make them visually engaging or add an educational boost. By making them with your child, they’ll be more inclined to use them as often as they need. Bubble activities for indoor and outdoor play. A favorite for students in all our programs is playing with bubbles. It’s an activity teachers incorporate in nearly every school day. Doing the same at home is easy. While there are tons of options from automatic bubble blasters to full blown bubble stations on the market, a simple kit with dish soap, water, and a straw will be just as fun. Create a DIY batch and watch as your child becomes mesmerized in a world of endless bubble joy.
Turning Summer Playtime into Physical Therapy Fun Get outdoors and enjoy simple yoga. You don’t need a class or to know elaborate poses to enjoy the benefits of yoga with your child. Even by heading outside and sitting in nature, you can develop a powerful practice. On the grass, sit cross-legged with your child and embrace butterfly pose. Furthermore, you can imitate nature and grow like a flower, squat like a frog, or balance like a flamingo. Hold each pose for a couple of breaths and to your child, you’ll instantly be a yogi master. Bring back an outdoor favorite with hopscotch. Indulge in nostalgia and teach your children something new by playing hopscotch, a timeless favorite that supports gross motor skill development. Pick up a colorful basket of chalk and work with your child to draw out the classic outline. Take turns playing with your child or support them as they find their balance to hop along the path. Turn Everyday Interactions into Speech Success Learn new words with a sensory friendly car wash. With toy trucks, a sponge, and a bucket of soapy water, you can have fun and teach your children new words. Take your child through cleaning the toys step by step and practice verbs. Prompt them to “Wash,” “Scrub,” “Splash,” and “Dry,” their cars. It works because children who benefit from structured routine will enjoy activities with a clear beginning and end—taking toys from dirty to clean. Model language during long walks and car rides. Use summertime strolls and road trips as an opportunity to model language. On long rides, instead of asking, “What color is that truck,” say “Look, a big red truck!” This way, your child can focus on repeating language and internalizing meaning. This works on afternoon walks as well where you can look and point at beautiful flowers or curious animals together.
The AHRC Foundation: Partnering with Brookville Center for Children’s Services Families often ask how the AHRC Foundation supports Brookville Center for Children’s Services (BCCS). The answer is simple—we’re in this together. BCCS provides high-quality educational and residential supports for children with developmental delays—from early childhood through young adulthood—funded primarily by New York State, Medicaid, and school district contracts. However, these funds alone can’t cover everything needed to create the rich learning environment children deserve to excel. That’s where the AHRC Foundation steps in. AHRC Foundation is committed to the long-term success of BCCS, investing in programs that expand access to tools and services that bring opportunities to children, support staff development, and create an inclusive and engaging learning environment.
Foundation Support for BCCS includes: - $1,000,000 grant in 2026 to support operations, ensuring a safe and supportive environment where children are empowered to learn, grow,and achieve. - $150,000 annually to strengthen programs across BCCS, including the Children’s Residential Program (CRP) and community inclusion activities that help students learn and participate beyond the classroom. - Grant funding for special equipment and capital needs such as accessible playgrounds, sensory rooms, and adaptive technology that foster exploration and growth.
Therapy sessions at school are designed to be cumulative so that children can use their newly developed skills in day-today life. Supporting this development at home doesn’t have to be hard, uncover simple solutions by collaborating with your child’s therapist to find ideas and build an effortless, tailored at-home program.
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Non-Profit Non-Profit Organization Organization U.S. Postage U.S. Postage PAID PAID Permit PermitNo.#623 Glen Head, Head, NY NY Glen
Brookville Center for Children’s Services, 189 Wheatley Road, Brookville, NY 11545
SAVE THE DATE AHRC Foundation Golf Outing | September 17, 2026 Funds raised at our annual Golf outing enables AHRC Foundation to provide needed and strategic supports through grant awards that advance the health, education, independence, and acceptance of children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, across their Scan to learn more lifetime.
Steps Toward Tomorrow Walk | May 16, 2027 SAVE THE DATE for our second annual fundraising walk, bringing together children, families, and staff from across our services for a day of connection and celebration. Funds raised will support the spaces, tools, and experiences that help children succeed.
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