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 Briarcliff Manor, NY - To celebrate the milestone of its 40th Anniversary, The Clear View School in Briarcliff Manor will host its Annual Dinner Auction on Saturday, November 8th.
The auction will be the 23rd Annual for the school which serves the needs of nearly 120 emotionally troubled children enrolled in its day treatment program.
The popular annual auction will celebrate the founding of the School by honoring two very special people, renowned actress Julie Harris, who has served as Honorary Chairperson of the School’s Board of Directors since the early seventies and William T. Barnes, Clear View’s Executive Director since January 2, 1968, the day the School opened.
“It is Clear View’s mission to relieve despair and give children and families challenged by mental illness a special environment in which to grow, learn, and master their difficulties. For forty years The Clear View School Day Treatment Program has set a standard of excellence in providing such a setting for hundreds of children suffering from severe emotional problems,” stated William T. Barnes.
The Auction will feature the sale of original, signed cartoon art. This year contributions have been received from R. Crumb, Frank Miller, Jim Lee and many others. Vacation trips will also be auctioned to spectacular destinations including Florence, Italy and Carnoustie, Scotland, and several inviting weekend trips to various points in the U.S.
The special evening, which will be held at the School (480 Albany Post Road in Briarcliff Manor), will begin at 6:00 p.m. with wine and hors d’oeuvres, followed by dinner and a live and silent auction. The live auction will be conducted by Ivan Cohen, assisted by his wife Laura. Dinner will be catered by Fabulous Foods of Tarrytown, New York. The cost per person is $150.
Proceeds from the evening will be used primarily toward the restoration of the School’s two classroom buildings which have served the Clear View program since 1981. The older of these, designed by the renowned architect, Welles Bosworth, who restored the Versailles Gardens after World War I, was built in 1915. It is a building of truly historic importance, especially its exquisite theater which has and continues to welcome many world renowned performers to its stage. In recent years Julie Harris has frequently been one of those who have generously performed for the benefit of Clear View’s children.
For more information about The Clear View School and the auction, contact Anna Hlotyak at 914-941-4653,
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or visit the School’s website at www.clearviewschool.org.
HISTORY OF CLEAR VIEW SCHOOL
The Clear View School opened with five small classes on January 2, 1968 in Pelham Manor under the direction of William T. Barnes, who continues today as Executive Director. At the time it was the only day school for emotionally disturbed children in Westchester County, and one of the first in the country. The program was established through the love and devotion of a small group of pioneering parents who ten years earlier had founded the Association for Mentally Ill Children of Westchester, Inc. (AMIC). By 1981 the program was widely recognized for its excellence and capacity to offer hope to families who had found none elsewhere.
From inception, Clear View has been in the forefront of the effort to ensure programs and services for children with emotional disabilities and their families. The early success of its classroom programs helped to demonstrate that, given opportunity, children suffering from even extreme difficulties could progress and learn. The emotional development that resulted from integrated sessions helped parents and professionals alike understand that caring, child focused treatment could make a difference.
When parents and advocates for the disabled convinced New York Senator Jacob Javitts to sponsor The Equal Rights for Handicapped Children Act in 1979, the success of the methods and standards pioneered by Clear View, along with those of the very few similar programs in operation at the time, provided evidence and models for the new programs to which children would now have a right.
Throughout the 1980s, Clear View participated in the progression of special education case law, and in the development of a truly comprehensive model of special education and day treatment services, in which children who need intensive mental health treatment can attend a school where they receive a special education program fully integrated with their therapeutic treatment services. As a member of professional associations and advocacy alliances, Clear View continues to work toward the improvement of services that support children as full members of their families and communities, while preserving the understanding that assistance must be available for as long as needed.
The children of The Clear View School today are boys and girls ages 3 to 21 who have been unable to progress in traditional educational settings and have had pronounced difficulties in their family and social lives because of their extreme emotional vulnerability. While living at home they come to Clear View each school day from over thirty surrounding communities, referred by their local school districts to receive the intensive special education and mental health services they need. While Clear View children exhibit a normal range of intelligence, from giftedness to mild developmental disability, their learning is commonly blocked by their extreme emotional states and behavior disorders. In some instances they must also contend with additional conditions such as learning disabilities, speech or language disorders, developmental disabilities, Asperger’s Syndrome or physical disabilities. Fortunately, however severe or complex their disorders, given time all of Clear View’s children do begin to form meaningful attachments to guiding adults, and go on to progress academically as they become emotionally more secure.
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