Renovations to begin immediately
SILVER SPRING, Md., July 12, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Siena School ("Siena") purchased the Boys and Girls Club building at 1300 Forest Glen Road in Silver Spring, completing a two-year process. This past April, the school was granted a Special Exception to operate at the site, with the support of surrounding neighborhood associations. Siena is excited to remain in the same community where it was founded, and to continue work with local businesses and community groups through student internships, volunteer work and special projects. This past Spring, the entire school worked with Friends of Sligo Creek to pull invasive weeds and its students have volunteered at the Margaret Schweinhaut Senior Center, as well as working with many area businesses and organizations.
The new property will provide Siena with a gym, playing field, playground and space to expand beyond its current enrollment of 80 students in grades 4-12. The school's Special Exception allows it to gradually increase enrollment up to 225 students over three phases of growth.
"I am so pleased that the Siena School has found a permanent home in Montgomery County," said Councilmember Valerie Ervin, who chairs the Council's Education Committee. "I have toured the school and visited with their students and it is clear that this program offers nurturing, creative learning opportunities so students not only reach their educational goals but also excel in life."
"We are tremendously excited to be able to establish a permanent home here in Silver Spring," said Erik Heyer, Founder of The Siena School. "We have appreciated the support of so many local friends and neighbors, and are delighted to be able to offer a first-class program to our students so close to our current location."
Renovation for the first phase will begin immediately. Siena, currently located nearby at the corner of Georgia Avenue and Forest Glen Road, plans to move to the new site once renovation is completed in the late fall. The school has arranged to allow Boys and Girls Club to continue to serve the local community at the site for up to eight years once the renovation is complete.
"We very much admire the work Siena does," said Pandit Wright, President & CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Washington. "We are delighted to be able to serve our students in close proximity."
About The Siena School
The Siena School in Silver Spring, Maryland serves bright, college-bound students with language-based learning differences, such as dyslexia. Siena's staff and board of advisors include distinguished national, state and local education leaders and professionals. The school was established in 2006 and serves students in grades 4 – 12. Siena's program is designed for students with mild to moderate learning needs who are experiencing a discrepancy between their academic achievement and intellectual abilities in one or more areas such as reading, writing, oral expression or math. Siena delivers an individualized educational program featuring small class sizes, research-based instructional methodologies, a highly trained staff and an educational environment specifically designed to meet the unique needs of our students, with a specific emphasis on the arts.
Distinguished local educators on the Advisory Board include Dr. Guinevere Eden, Director of the Center for the Study of Learning at Georgetown University Medical Center; Abigail Wiebenson, retired head of Lowell School; William Stixrud, well known area psychologist specializing in learning disabilities, and director of William Stixrud and Associates in Silver Spring, Maryland; Claire Nissenbaum, founder and director emerita of the Atlantic Seaboard Dyslexia Education Center, a nationally accredited training program for dyslexia teachers and tutors located in Rockville, MD; Robin Church of the Kennedy Krieger Institute; and Janet Wintrol, director of Ivymount School Programs in Rockville, MD. The Advisory Board also includes Matthew Moyer of National Geographic, one of the nation's rising young photojournalists; Peter Jablow, President and CEO of the Levine School of Music, one of the country's leading community music schools and Bonnie Fogel, founder and executive director of Imagination Stage, the largest and most respected multi-disciplinary theatre arts organization for young people in the Washington, DC region.
High resolution pictures are available of the project and new location. For further information, The Siena School can be contacted at (301) 592-0567 or on the web at www.thesienaschool.org.
CONTACT:
Bekah Atkinson
(301) 592-0567 x12
[email protected]
SOURCE The Siena School
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