School Program

Important information for Families for January 2022

School Program Update 01/05/2022

Dear St. Coletta families,

Thank you so much for your support and flexibility as we shift into this short period of virtual instruction. We believe that best decision possible was made to maintain the safety of your children and our staff as we return to school after the Holiday Break. Please read on for updates:

Virtual Instruction:

Virtual Instruction will begin January 6th, 2022 at 8:30 a.m. and end January 14th, 2022. By now you should have received an e-mail from your child's teacher containing the virtual instruction schedule and a Zoom link which you will use to access the virtual classroom. If you have not received an e-mail with the class schedule and link, please e-mail me and I will follow up. In addition, if you have not yet done so, please come to the school and pick up a Chromebook if your child does not already have a device at home that he/she can use to access the virtual classroom. Thanks to all who have already come by to collect your child's device. We are not able to deliver Chromebooks at this time due to manpower and safety.

Attendance:

St. Coletta will continue to take attendance daily in accordance with DC regulations while engaged in distance learning. More specifically, students must attend at least 80% of the scheduled school day to be considered present.  Absences as well as late arrivals/early departures will continue to be considered unexcused/excused, just as if students were attending in-person lessons. Only when the school receives a valid excuse (i.e. doctor appointments, illness, court appointments, death in the immediate family, or other reasons approved by the school's administration) in writing within 5 days of the students return, will the absence/late arrival/early departure be considered excused. The school will not make daily calls regarding student absences while in distance learning. Instead, parents must communicate this this information to the school by way of emailing our Attendance Coordinator, Judyvette Acevedo (jacevedo@stcoletta.org). Absences/late arrivals/early departures will remain unexcused if the parent does not provide a valid excuse in writing. Families may not "opt-out" of virtual learning given that attendance requirements remain in place. We fully understand the challenge that virtual instruction presents to students and families and we ask that you do your best to log your child on daily.

Rapid Antigen Testing:

If you have not yet done so, please stop by the school to pick up a Rapid Covid Antigen Test. Your child should take the first test on January 14th, 2022 and send a picture of the results to his/her classroom teacher, as well as log the results here:   https://coronavirus.dc.gov/overthecounter. The second test should be taken 36 hours later and the results submitted.

If your child's rapid test is "positive", please do not send them to school on Tuesday the 18th. Your child must take a PCR Covid test and submit a negative result to St. Coletta before returning. In addition, all staff at St. Coletta will be required to take a rapid Covid antigen test before returning to school as well.

With these procedures put in place; we hope to mitigate the impact that the new Omicron variant will have on our ability to provide high-quality, in-person services. We know that in-person works best for our students and we strive to return to that delivery model as safely as possible. Thank you for your understanding and support.

Thank you so much for your support. Together as a team we will ensure safe instructional opportunities for your child. We look forward to returning to in-person instruction on January 18th.

Lottery Results May 11, 2023

St. Coletta Special Education PCS held a lottery for school year 2023-2024 on May 11, 2023.

Families of students receiving a space from the lottery results will be contacted by phone regarding admissions. Other students will remain on the school's wait list until the start of the next open enrollment period. St. Coletta will continue to accept applications for SY 23-24 and will ad subsequent submissions to our wait list.

School Front Desk Office Hours:

8am -  4pm | M - F

Shortcut to Parents documents

Our Approach

Our more than fifty years of experience has confirmed that the real focus of education needs to be on the individual learner and the skills he/she needs to be successful in life. We believe that individuals learn best by doing.

To that end, we plan hands-on, theme-based activities that allow for experimentation and trial and error. Instruction occurs as often as possible in the natural setting, thus our adults and students spend a lot of time in the community.

Student in a classroom session set up at the gym

Our Program


The program is an extension of the school's philosophy that stresses the importance of building on and celebrating individual strengths. Upon graduation students earn a high school certificate in lieu of a high school diploma.

  • Functional Academics

  • Adaptive Physical Education

  • Computer Skills

  • Arts Education

  • Skills of Daily Living

  • Community Based Instructions

  • Vocational Training

Therapies

Related services support students in accessing their educational programs. Decisions regarding services are determined during the Individual Education Plan (IEP) meetings. We offer the following:

  • Speech/Language Therapy

  • Occupational Therapy

  • Physical Therapy

  • Music and Art Therapy

  • Hydrotherapy

  • Assistive Technology

  • Counseling

  • Social Work Services

  • Behavior Management

  • Vision Therapy

  • Autism Resource Services

  • Nursing Services

Who Can Attend?

St. Coletta serves students from Washington, D.C., Virginia and Maryland. Students served are three to twenty-two years of age, diagnosed with intellectual disabilities, autism or multiple disabilities, and have at least of 24.5 hours of special education services on their IEP. They may also have the following secondary disabling conditions: speech language disorders, vision or hearing impairments, orthopedic impairments, health impairments and behavior disorders. DC residents wishing to enroll students do so through the application/lottery process (described below). St. Coletta offers a special education and sibling preference. Enrollment for students in neighboring jurisdictions is accomplished through the IEP process with the child’s local jurisdiction.

student in a wheelchair on school grounds
St Coletta student with school staff at bus stop

Enrollment

St. Coletta maintains a wait list and offers admission to students as seats become available throughout the school year. If you live in the District of Columbia you can apply for admission by sending an application for your child to the admissions office during the open enrollment period.

Student admissions
If you live in the District of Columbia you can apply for admission by sending an application for your child to the admissions office during the open enrollment period. The office is located at:

St. Coletta of Greater Washington
1901 Independence Avenue SE,
Washington, DC 20003

After we receive the information someone will contact you for a tour.

St. Coletta Public Charter School Open Enrollment Information and Lottery Procedure

Because St. Coletta is able to offer spaces to all applicants on our list as of 4/30/2021, a lottery for the 21-22 school year will not be held.

St. Coletta will accept applications for the 2022 – 2023 school year during the open enrollment period, November 1, 2021 through April 29, 2022.  Only applications received during the open enrollment period will be included in the SY 22-23 lottery scheduled for May 12, 2022. Any applications received after the close of the open enrollment period would be added to the school wait list.

Open Enrollment Period Application for School Year 2022-2023

Please submit all applications via DocuSign links below:


St. Coletta Special Education PCS Application 
St. Coletta Special Education Public Charter School Solicitud de Admisión

The Lottery Process

As per DC Public Charter School Law, selection for admission to the St. Coletta Special Education Public Charter School will be via a random public lottery system. St. Coletta also maintains a wait-list and will offer admission to students on the wait-list as spaces become available.

If a child's name is selected, the family/guardian will be contacted regarding their intent to enroll their child within the school program. An applicant offered a seat will be required to affirmatively respond to an offer for acceptance in writing within 48 hours. Those applicants not responding within this designated period of time will be removed from the waiting list and be required to reapply should they wish consideration for any future openings.

If there are more names in the lottery pool than spaces available in a house/age level, those students' names not selected will form a waiting list based on the date in which they completed the application process and went on the lottery pool list. A wait list will be maintained for each of the five house/age levels. All other applications will be placed after them in order of their submission to the waiting list. If a space becomes available during the school year, admissions will be offered to the next student on the waiting list.

No offer shall be made to any student not properly entitled to the available space.

Parents Resources

School Breakfast Menu
PDF [146 KB]
School Lunch Menu
PDF [ 169 KB]
School Calendar 2023-2024
Download PDF [388 KB]
OSSE DOT Bus Safety Kit
Download link
SY 2023-2024 Health & Safety Plan
Download PDF rev 08/2023
Home and Hospital Policy
Download PDF
Home Hospital Instruction Forms
Download PDF
Home Hospital Instruction Parent/Guardian Agreement Form
Download PDF
St Coletta Contacts
PDF [276 KB]
Parent Involvement Policy
PDF [90 KB]
Parent Handbook
PDF [3 MB]
Manual para la familia
PDF [2 MB]
Parent Support Program
Tools for Parents PDF [ 731 KB]
2021-22 Healthy Schools Act
School Health Profiles form
Return to School Criteria
Download PDF [276 KB]
Residency Verification 2021-2022
Download PDF [422 KB]
Verificación de Residencia
Descargar PDF [420 KB]
Bullying & Intimidation
Prevention Policy
ESEA Complaint
Policy
FERPA NOTIFICATION
Policy
Discipline Policy
PDF [299 KB]

2023-2024 Back to School Documents

RETURNING STUDENT PACKET DC
Download PDF [1 MB]
DOCUMENTOS PARA ESTUDIANTES DE DC
Download PDF [3 MB]
NONPUBLIC STUDENT PACKET DC
Download PDF [1 MB]
DOCUMENTOS PARA ESTUDIANTES DE MD / VA
Download PDF [3 MB]
Medical information and Forms
*** All returned documents should be faxed to (202)350-8658 or emailed to : cdecker@stcoletta.org  ***

School Immunization requirementsMedication & Medical Treatment PlanDental Exam
JULY 2019
  • Thursday July 4, 2019
    July 4th Holiday Celebrated – School Closed
  • Friday July 5, 2019
    School Closed for Students and Staff
  • Tuesday July 30, 2019
    Last Day of School for Students – 12:30 pm dismissal – No After Care
  • Wednesday July 31, 2019
    Staff Clean Up Day– School Closed for Students

St. Coletta School Calendar

2023-2024 (rev. 2/2024)

Notes from Principal

Virtual Instruction Info
Letter 12/29/2021
Parent Town Hall
Covid-19 Communications 09/17/2021
Town Hall Meeting Virtual Instruction
Virtual Instruction 08/26/2021
Reopen Town Hall Meeting
Presentation 08/19/2021

Distance Learning

St. Coletta’s special education resources for virtual learning.

distance learning

Transition to Adult Programming

 

School Profile

DC Public Charter School Board (DC PCSB)
school profile includes school transparency documents
for St Coletta Special Education PCS.
Learn more