Westfield Special Education Student Wins Scholarship For College

WESTFIELD, NJ — Rory Scialabba, a resident of Westfield and graduate of The Calais School in Whippany, is one of two recipients of the Joe Gorga Scholarship, awarded by the Alliance of Private Special Education Schools of New Jersey. The Alliance is a nonprofit group of 40 state-approved private special education schools in Northern and Central New Jersey committed to great outcomes for students with disabilities.

The Calais School is a state approved private therapeutic special education school serving students in grades kindergarten through grade 12 plus with multiple learning disabilities as well as anxiety, mood behavior, and autism spectrum disorders.

Rory plans to study sports management at Misericordia University in Dallas, Pa. He will use the funds from the award towards the cost of Misericordia’s Alternative Learning Program. A volunteer coach for the Westfield YMCA’s Flyers Track Club, Rory also ran cross country and track & field for Westfield High School and was named captain of this year’s winter track team. As a sophomore, he was named most improved cross country runner.

“We could not be more proud of Rory and his accomplishments,” said David Leitner, Executive Director of The Calais School.

“Thank you very much for awarding Rory the Alliance Joe Gorga Transition to Adult Life Scholarship," said Kim and Paul Scialabba, in a note. "Rory recently graduated from The Calais School, and will be soon attending Misericordia University in Pennsylvania to study sports business management. He will be applying the scholarship to their alternative learning program for students with disabilities like Autism, which will help Rory with time management and study techniques, and teach him to advocate for longer testing time and other academic accommodations. Thank you again for honoring Rory this way, and we are confident Mr. Gorga would be proud of Rory’s accomplishments at Calais and at Misericordia."

The Joe Gorga Scholarship was established by the Alliance of Private Special Education Schools of New Jersey in order to support and empower educators and advocates who serve students with special needs through education, information support, and advocacy. The late Joe Gorga was a special education administrator and lifelong advocate for students with disabilities. He was also a leader on the Alliance’s founding board.

This press release was produced by the Alliance of Private Special Education Schools of New Jersey. The views expressed here are the author's own.