Mt. Bethel Village Raising the Bar with College Academics

Mount Bethel Village (“Mt. Bethel”), a leading community for adults with special needs, is participating in an interactive online college-level program for the first time in the community’s history. It offers students an opportunity to advance their education and improve on various social and vocational skills.

Mount Bethel’s participants take two classes each week during their Day Program. The classes are taught by Successful Learning Center, a program for students of varying abilities such as visual or hearing impairment, spinal cord injuries, Down syndrome, Autism, Traumatic Brain Injury, speech and language disabilities, or disabled veterans and stroke survivors.

On Tuesdays, Mt. Bethel students learn about U.S. history. On Wednesdays, they learn about creative writing and poetry. Each class, which is held at Mt. Bethel’s Day Program, has a ten-student capacity and runs for eight weeks.

“Our Residential and Day Program members have been really engaged and it’s exciting to see the strides many of them have made in such a short amount of time,” said Bridget Garland, the Director of the Mt. Bethel Village Day Program. “Some students are already writing their own poetry and have shown interest in continuing next semester.”

Classes also provide an opportunity for students to meet and socialize with individuals who are from different parts of New York and New Jersey.

“Our robust curriculum of online courses is very unique and we strive to make it as compelling and rich as possible,” said Sheri Cappello, Program Director of Successful Learning Center.

The Spring semester started in March and ends in May.

Please view the photos attached and follow the link for footage and interviews to hear from Mt. Bethel students discussing their experience:

B-Roll: https://youtu.be/qeuWjBKrfFk

Jodi Hadam, Mt. Bethel Village Resident: https://youtu.be/ew-rSgMbFlo

Michael Winard, Mt. Bethel Village Resident: https://youtu.be/c-oS1FFW4s4

ABOUT MT. BETHEL VILLAGE

Since 2013, Mount Bethel Village has led New Jersey in providing residential housing and exclusive programming for adults with autism, developmental disabilities, and traumatic brain injuries. The community offers best-in-class services and amenities for those who both live at the residence and participate in the Day Program. The program provides extensive social skills training and counseling supports, higher-level life skills training, exposure to employment opportunities, case management and health services. To learn more, please visit https://www.mtbethelvillage.com.