Center School, Springdale EC Move to Chicopee

CHICOPEE, Mass.—The Center School and the Springdale Education Center (SEC), which serve students ages 5 to 22 with special needs and mental health issues, this week are completing their move into the former Dow Jones building here, allowing for a doubling of the student body with expanded, state-of-the-art facilities.

The 111,000-square-foot building, used for decades as a call center by the publisher of The Wall Street Journal and Barron’s, is located at 84 Second Avenue in Chicopee, close to the Massachusetts Turnpike/Interstate 291 interchange.

With the conversion of the facility, the two schools expect to grow from 150 students today to as many as 300 in the future. The new facility will also allow them to serve many more students from Central Massachusetts as well as Western Massachusetts and Connecticut. SEC began moving in on April 11, and Center School is to join them starting this week.

Both Center School and SEC have been based in neighboring Holyoke and are part of the Positive Regard Network, which will have its organizational headquarters in the Chicopee building as well. Positive Regard operates private schools, a diagnostic center, and 19 public-school partnership programs that collectively serve more than 9,000 students throughout Western Massachusetts and Northeastern Connecticut.

“This new building offers extraordinary opportunity for our students, their families, our staff, and for the level of positive impact Center School, SEC, and Positive Regard will have in the lives of children, teens, and young adults throughout our region,’’ said Positive Regard founder John A. Foley Jr.

“We are creating state-of-the-art classrooms and sensory and quiet areas specifically designed for our students, as well as a new kitchen, media center, art and music rooms, vocational program spaces, and student club spaces,’’ Jill Brewer, Educational Administrator for the Positive Regard Network. “We also have direct access to acres of beautiful outdoor space for biking and recreation right next door at Chicopee State Park.”

Expansion of the schools in Chicopee is also expected to create 100 or more new jobs locally for teachers, behavioral interventionists, and other school staff. “We are always looking for people who want to work for one of the best employers in Southern New England and join an organization that offers a tremendous range of career paths, great benefits, and meaningful and even life-changing work with the students we serve,” said Laura Ferriter, Positive Regard Network’s Chief Executive Officer.

The new facility will also create greater opportunities for Positive Regard and its member schools and programs to host conferences and trainings for schools, families, and districts. Center School and SEC are both members of the Massachusetts Association of Approved Special Education Schools (MAAPS) and are licensed by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Elizabeth Dello Russo Becker, executive director of MAAPS, said, “On behalf of MAAPS, we want to congratulate our colleagues at Center School, Springdale Education Center, and Positive Regard Network. We wish their students, staff, and families all the best as they move into this new space and look forward to future programs and events they will be able to host for the special-education community throughout New England.’’

Center School currently serves about 100 students, and SEC about 50. SEC provides a range of educational, clinical, psycho-educational, behavioral and outreach services for youth ages 5-22 who are challenged with serious mental health issues and have provided a significant challenge to their caregivers.

Center School, formally known as Center for School Crisis Intervention & Assessment, serves students with autism, development disabilities, disruptive behavior disorders, and other special needs based on a commitment to unconditional positive regard, mutual respect, and a fresh start every day as laying the foundation for success for every child.

Palazzesi Construction Co. of Wilbraham oversaw renovations of the Dow Jones building to become the new home for Center School, SEC, and Positive Regard’s headquarters. Berkshire Bank and Granite State Economic Development Corp. of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, provided mortgage loans to Positive Regard to support the purchase.