Braintree committee accepts application from private preschool serving children with intellectual disabilities

The Braintree School Committee voted unanimously to accept an application from the Youth Development Early Learning Center to operate a private preschool in Braintree that would serve children ages 3½ to 8 with intellectual disabilities, the committee said during its May 5 meeting at Colbert School.

The vote authorizes the district-level approval that the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) requested as part of the center’s licensure process, attendees said. The center plans to seek DESE licensure after the school committee records its approval.

Patrice Lamour, the program’s founder, told the committee the center will be a nonprofit preschool that “work[s] specifically with children with intellectual disabilities” and will seek DESE approval to start with up to 30 students. “Most of our referrals have come through developmental pediatricians,” Lamour said, saying the program’s aim is to provide therapeutic and structured educational support that families in the region are requesting.

Committee members asked detailed questions about staffing and operations. Lamour said lead teachers will be DESE-certified and the program will include staff with applied behavior analysis credentials and clinical licenses; the initial staffing includes two DESE-licensed lead teachers, two bachelor-level teachers and additional assistants. She said the program expects to operate mixed inclusion and special-education classrooms with an expected staffing ratio near 5-to-1, but that actual assignment will depend on individual student needs and evaluations.

Seth Barnett, an attorney who said he is assisting Lamour with permitting and preparation, and a staff member who identified herself as Yiwei, director of communication and community education, answered technical and procedural questions from the committee.

Committee members also discussed the building at 1614 Forbes Road, a former office building renovated for school use and previously occupied by Elements Academy. "The building itself is in really good shape compared to some other buildings I know of," Superintendent Lee said, while noting the center would need to continue work on security measures. Lamour and the superintendent said DESE and the applicant have already discussed additional security steps, including controlled access, cameras and fencing.

The committee also sought clarification about cost and enrollment. Lamour said tuition and pricing details will be finalized later in the DESE process and that funding or placement could be handled differently depending on whether a child is privately placed or placed by a sending district; she said that many placements would likely come through referrals and existing funding mechanisms but that precise pricing “is part of the application process.”

After discussion, Dr. Horak moved and Ms. Tuffy seconded a motion "to accept the new school application." The motion carried unanimously.

Next steps described by the applicants and staff include submitting the completed application to DESE and continuing site- and security-related work requested by state reviewers. The committee did not set conditions on the approval beyond the usual district review; pricing and final licensure were described as matters the applicant will resolve with DESE.

The approval gives the Youth Development Early Learning Center local authorization to proceed with the state review that could allow it to open as a specialized private preschool serving regional children with therapeutic needs.