Dear Blabby,

My son is extremely high functioning, slightly speech delayed, could use some work on attention skills etc. I am looking for a camp that will motivate, stimulate and move him along. Does SEPTA compile a list of appropriate Day Camps for children with special needs? How do I get my hands on it to begin some research?

J.

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Dear J.

SEPTA might be a good place to start but don't forget the New Rochelle Recreation Department. Contact Nina Shawn-Gainor at that office. You can also try school social workers. They often receive a lot of information about summer camps both in and out of New Rochelle.

You might even be able to get some financial assistance. There is a "campership fund" foundation that raises money to assist those in need to attend camps. Joanne Goldman or Carol Feldman at the school district central office at City Hall may be able to help you with that.

As is typical of the City School District of New Rochelle, they have parents at Trinity running around in circles. In this post we reveal evidence of the use of delaying tactics in order to not address an issue. In “Parents Mobilizing to Address 15 Minute Lunch” posted on this blog on Friday October 3, 2008, we reported on efforts by parents drafting a letter requesting a time extension of the 4th and 5th grade lunch at Trinity Elementary School. Currently, 4th and 5th graders at Trinity only have 15 minutes to eat. This includes standing in line to purchase the lunch. In an extraordinary effort by a group of parents, a letter was drafted and 129 signatures were gathered. This effort is extremely significant due to the fact that each signature represents a family and not an individual. Furthermore, the number approximates 15% of the total families at Trinity Elementary School.

Even though he lied to her in a previous story about Trinity School, Diana Costello had no problem ringing up her old pal Richard Organisciak for a quote. Costello has a story up on Gov. Patterson's proposed decreases in increases in local school funding from New York State.

"Sitting here right now, I couldn't see how this wouldn't make its way into the classroom," said New Rochelle Schools Superintendent Richard Organisciak, whose district would lose $3.2 million and see a 2 percent drop from last year's aid. "That shakes me up a little bit."

Really?

- Teacher salaries and benefits are the biggest chunk of the school district's budget. The teachers union contract negotiations begin this month.

- How about looking for some concessions from the teachers union?

In ranking the city among the best places to raise kids in the United States, Business Week magazine describes New Rochelle as "the suburban home of Rob and Laura Petrie in “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” is still a relatively affordable place in ritzy Westchester County. New Rochelle is an ethnically diverse place with a bustling downtown and a mix of single-family homes and apartments."

We'd like to know what you think. Please click on "add comments" and tell us.

It is always a risk due to spammers but we are going to open up the commenting a bit and see what happens.

As of right now non-registered visitors to this site can add comments to a post. The catch, the comments go into a queue and have to be approved so they could take anywhere from a minute to a day to appear the site.

The perk of being a REGISTERED member of the site is that your comments are published directly to the site without the need for moderator approval.

Earlier this week, I received my first "insider tip" from a source at the Isaac E. Young Middle School. My effort to follow up on that tip was rewarded by a knock at the door from two New Rochelle Police detectives carrying 9 mm handguns on their hips.

Future Member of Mr. Bongo's Cigar Club?

(Read more)

Our partners at Education.com have announced an exciting new contest where the PTA for a New Rochelle school can win $1,000 by collecting the most school reviews by December 20th.

To get started click on the Education.com widget on our Education Page and find your child's school.

New Rochelle schools may have a particularly good chance to win the prize (three U.S. schools will win) because Education.com is a brand new start-up company so the number of applicants will not be extremely high and the New Rochelle schools have relatively large populations. It might not hurt that the founder of Education.com actually has family here in New Rochelle with kids who attend school in New Rochelle.

The Journal News is reporting that Louis Cappelli submitted its final environmental impact statement to the city for its LeCount Place Project, a development of stores, offices, a hotel and luxury residences that will be located between Huguenot Street, Anderson Street, LeCount Place and North Avenue.

There will be a public hearing on Nov. 10th.

"Parking and traffic are the main concerns we have at this point," City Manager Charles Strome III said. "We're evaluating their plans and having our consultants take a look at them. Right now we want to see what the public has to say."

Cappelli plans to begin construction on LeCount Place in the spring of 2009 and complete work in 2011.

The New York Times ran a story over the weekend about the sad case of MiShawna Moore, the former principal of a public school in South Carolina. Moore had been widely praised as a miracle worker for her leadership in turning around students at a low-performing, largely minority school in Charleston but is now facing possible criminal charges for cheating on standardized tests.

As test scores rocketed at her school, Sanders-Clyde Elementary, the city held her up as a model. The United Way and the Rotary Club honored her, The Charleston Post and Courier called her a “miracle worker,” and the state singled out her school to compete for a national award. In Washington, the Department of Education gave the school $25,000 for its achievements.