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About us
Wildwood School is a non-profit, private school approved by the New York State Education Department that is certified to educate students ages 5-21 in 21 classrooms from approximately 60 school districts reaching 14 counties. The school employs almost 200 staff.
Our school is comprised of four program levels: Elementary, Intermediate, High School, and Young Adult. Although the entire school is one learning community, each program level functions as its own Professional Learning Community with the emphasis on student and staff learning. Essential outcomes for all students have been developed with on-going common formative assessments used to drive instruction based on data from the assessments.
Our elementary, intermediate and high school classrooms are located at our Curry Rd. Ext., Schenectady building and our program for young adult students takes place in our Latham facility located at 1190 Troy-Schenectady Rd. During the summer months, all students in our Young Adult Program are located in Latham and all other students who attend classes at Curry Rd. during the school year may have the option of attending program in our Altamont location, which provides an outdoor educational program, if it is appropriate based on their needs and goals.
The school provides a comprehensive educational program for students to prepare them to be as independent as possible. There is a blend of academic, social, employment, and functional skills that are taught to each student driven by their Individual Educational Plan (IEP), needs and interests. Each classroom has one teacher and up to 5 teaching assistants depending on student numbers.
We provide many supports and related services to students and family members such as occupational therapy, physical therapy, social work, speech and language therapy, behavior supports, nursing services, work based learning, transition coordination, instructional technology support, adaptive physical education, music therapy, and art enrichment.
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This school year, the Wildwood School has a new leadership structure. There are now co-leaders of the school with long-time administrator Cindy Riggi accepting the position and William Clooney being welcomed to Wildwood this summer.
As you know, Cindy has been with Wildwood School for over 40 years. She began her career as a Speech and Language Therapist and brought that skillset, her knowledge of the students we support and her passion for Wildwood into different administration roles, most recently as the Associate Director of School. In her new role, her wealth of expertise and experience will provide the knowledge base, leadership and passion that our school needs at the helm.
Will Clooney began his career in education as a special education teacher, at a school very similar to Wildwood. Throughout his career spanning the last 20 years, he continued his education and combined it with hands-on experience within both private and public schools. He brings with him a passion for education, a knowledge of disabilities and a career focused on working with students and their families. Most recently, he was the Principal of Jefferson Central School.
We are excited about our leadership team and the continued excellence in education our school brings.
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Now that our organization’s merger process has been finalized and the former ALG programs are now officially part of Wildwood, it is a good time to reflect on where we've been, where we are, and where we're going, in terms of our supports, services, and programs. Our number one goal was to travel this process while still providing the very best supports and services and with no negative impact to the people we support.
I am happy to report that we were successful in making sure that there was no interruption of supports during the process. Another goal was to bring together two teams to form a new cohesive workforce that could grow and excel together in carrying out our mission. We spent a great deal of time meeting, listening, and planning to make sure the process formed and solidified a new entity and we will continue in this effort as things evolve. There is no question we have more comprehensive supports, more overall diversity, and greater capacity with our larger workforce.
It has been a dynamic process rather than a project with a distinct start and end point. We have brought new residences, new departments, and new talented professionals into the Wildwood fold and it has been energizing. Some organizational changes have been created to accommodate our larger size and workforce. Two new divisions have been created in an effort to reorganize our structure for optimal efficiency. Residential Supports and Day Services and the Community Services divisions have been created to better manage and support their departments. These two divisions will continue their great work with a streamlined organizational structure that simplifies their management and their oversight.
In the last two-plus months we have seen the Wildwood Community’s strength and excitement and an unwavering dedication to our mission. It is a very exciting time for Wildwood and the synergy that is occurring is very real.
I look forward to all the possibilities it can create.
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Greetings from the Wildwood Foundation!
Tis the busy season in the Foundation and the recent merger has brought both new beginnings and even some reunions with past Wildwood families. As we welcome many new ALG families, staff, and board members to the newly expanded Wildwood, we are excited about what the future holds.
Stronger together with a greater, collective voice, increased diverse footprint, and renewed energy, we can better address the many industry challenges that surround us. We look forward to exploring new funding opportunities equipped with an enhanced case for support and richer experiences to share.
We are coming off a successful fall event season with the Walk for Wildwood raising almost $65,000 for our programs followed by a fun-filled Trivia-Night with 150 people that included many new ALG friends and community attendees.
Looking ahead to the new year, we are excited to welcome many new faces at our upcoming events and Foundation happenings. Please Save-the-date for April 21st as we enthusiastically come back together and reinvent our tried & true Spring Gala at Loft 433 in Troy. The Collaborative Art Showcase will also return later in May at the Albany Barn.
There is so much to be thankful for & so much promise ahead as we continue to be inspired by our giving community of countless families and friends.
Wishing you all joy and good health this holiday season!
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Self-Direction is a fully encompassing person-centered planning program that puts the individual and their family in the driver's seat of service delivery. Self-Direction allows an individual of any age to direct their own supports and services. The individual with the support of their Circle of Support, which includes a staff person called a Broker assists the individual and their loved ones in developing and navigating service options to create and maintain a budget to support the individual’s goals and needs based on a detailed person centered plan.
An individual has the ability to self-hire staff under programs of Community Habilitation, Respite and/or SEMP services. Individual’s also have the ability to allocate funds towards developing personal goals and interests, which may include, but are not limited to taking classes or becoming a member of a local group. Adults who are looking to live on their own may also be eligible for a housing subsidy and may use their budget to assist in covering some costs of living on their own.