Natick nonprofit serving special needs students gets support from Cummings Foundation, Middlesex Savings Charitable Foundation & Avidia Bank
RCS Learning Center has concluded a successful spring of fundraising, including the receipt of generous grants from three local organizations: the Cummings Foundation, Middlesex Savings Charitable Foundation, and Avidia Bank.
Realizing Children’s Strengths (RCS) Learning Center is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to provide the highest quality of individualized behavioral and educational services for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and other developmental disabilities. Committed to creating a school-wide environment that ensures progress for all children, RCS Learning Center is currently expanding its program offerings to best support its current and future students, who come from two dozen cities and towns across the Commonwealth.
“We couldn’t be more grateful for the support of three wonderful organizations whose support will help us further serve our amazing students, many of whom are the most vulnerable students in Massachusetts,” said Dr. Christina King, Executive Managing Director and Chief of Research and Application at RCS Learning Center. “Our students, families, and staff will greatly benefit from these philanthropic partnerships so we can further enhance student support and learning.’’
RCS Learning Center meets each student’s intensive needs by providing the highest quality, intensive and individualized educational and behavioral services with the hopes that the students’ paths lead to happy and productive lives. Each student works with a Registered Behavioral Technician (RBT) throughout the day to ensure the generalization of skills, utilizing the individualized programming developed by special education teachers, Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs) and oversight from a highly educated administration team.
Student programming is created utilizing multiple assessments and ongoing, data-driven observation and analysis.
“With the support of Cummings, Middlesex, and Avidia, RCS will be able to focus on our four concentration areas of early learner, academic, vocational, and language programs to advance the way we meet the needs of each unique student,” said Denise Rizzo-Ranieri, RCS President, Co-Founder, and Chief of Design and Innovation.
RCS Learning Center, a member of the Massachusetts Association of Approved Special Education Schools (MAAPS), was founded in 2006 and operates on a full-year schedule of 221 days. RCS currently serves 35 students from 24 Massachusetts cities and towns. Its staff includes 36 full-time Behavior Therapists, four Clinicians, seven Special Education Teachers, one Occupational Therapist, one registered Nurse, one Physical Education Instructor, 19 administrators and support staff.
John Snyder, a member of RCS’s board of directors and its fundraising task force, said: “Throughout the organization’s history, RCS has demonstrated a consistent growth pattern in operations, capacity, and programming. Sitting at a pivotal and critical point in history, RCS looks to the future to continue on the successful growth trajectory in an effort to redesign our program to best fit the needs of our students and support our staff as we grow stronger after the pandemic.”
RCS Learning Center accepts students of any race, color, religious affiliation, and national or ethnic origin. Admitted students are afforded all the rights, privileges, programs and activities generally accorded, or made available, to students currently attending RCS Learning Center. RCS does not discriminate against students who qualify under the criteria of the school’s admissions policies in admission, administration of educational policies or in the delivery of programmatic and therapeutic services of any school administered program.
The Cummings Foundation was founded by Winchester commercial real estate developer Bill Cummings of Cummings Properties and his wife, Joyce Cummings, in 1986. Now one of the largest foundations in New England, Woburn-based Cummings Foundation has awarded more than $375 million in grants to Greater Boston nonprofits alone. Its giving is concentrated in Middlesex, Essex, and Suffolk counties and benefits a broad range of causes, including human services, education, healthcare, and social justice. The Cummings also have a special interest in Rwanda, where the Foundation collaborates with Partners In Health and a limited number of other organizations to aid in that East African country’s post-genocide recovery and rebuilding. The Foundation continues to provide ongoing support to hundreds of local causes.
The Middlesex Savings Charitable Foundation, a separate entity from the bank that has its own endowment, gives grants of up to $20,000 to worthy 501(c)(3) organizations that raise the standard of living for underserved groups. The Foundation supports nonprofits, services, and programs in education, public health and welfare, the arts, community development and scholarships for college-bound high school seniors.
Avidia Bank is a $1.9 billion Mutual Community Bank, headquartered in Hudson, Mass., with additional branches in Westborough, Framingham, Shrewsbury, Clinton, Leominster, Marlborough and Northborough. The Bank provides personal, commercial, and residential banking services and is a Member of the FDIC and the DIF. The Avidia Charitable Foundation was founded in 1997.