Support for the Future FLC High School

The Foundation Schools operates at the intersection of children’s mental health and special education, serving nearly 250 students with emotional disabilities and autism in the greater Washington, D.C. metropolitan area in grades kindergarten through twelfth grade. The Foundation Learning Center offers a unique curriculum to students with autism through the Life Skills and Vocational program. According to Forbes, 85 percent of young adults with ASD experience the lowest rate of employment (Forbes 2020). The FLC is working to equip our students with autism with executive functioning development opportunities and essential life skills. In our Life Skills and Vocational program, students learn food preparation skills through the student-run cafe, creative design through the print and design center, and recreational/reading skills through the bike program. 

We are happy to announce that the Joey Pizzano Memorial Fund (JPMF) has partnered with The Foundation Schools through a generous grant award to fund a new Vocational Classroom in our emerging Foundation Learning Center High School program. The JPMF is a wonderful non-profit organization with a mission of improving the lives of children with special needs and their families. JPMF was founded in 1998 by Robert and Paola Pizzano after the drowning of their six-year-old son Joey. JPMF is continually exploring new partnerships and is always looking for additional opportunities to enhance the lives of special kids and special families.  High school is the stage of life where classroom teachings go from theory to practice on a daily basis and this partnership with the JPMF will help students learn skills such as housekeeping, cooking, and the fundamentals of banking. The Life Skills and Vocational Skills program is just one example of how we partner with other organizations through grants. Community support is an important force behind numerous wrap-around programs that students access within The Foundation Schools. We are truly grateful for JPMF’s support of this exciting expansion that many of our students with autism will benefit from in the future.