Variety Child Learning Center

Variety Child Learning Center (VCLC) provides early intervention, special education and related therapies to young children with disabilities and support services to their families.  Founded in 1966, VCLC has provided programs and services to thousands of children for more than 51 years.  VCLC follows sound developmentally appropriate practices for young children with and without disabilities.  VCLC has two sites:  Syosset and Levittown.  The Syosset building is used five days per week, Saturdays and 18 Sunday during the school year.   

At the beginning of each school year, over fifty percent of the new enrollees are not toilet trained.  Teachers and their classroom staff spend a great deal of time toilet teaching the children.  The main children’s bathroom, which was completed more than 20 years ago, is in need of renovation to modernize the facility and make it completely handicapped accessible, so that it meets the needs of all children, including the physically challenged.

VCLC’s bathroom renovation project will include input from the Principal, a representative group of classroom teachers and teacher assistants/aides, the maintenance supervisor and the OT and PT Coordinators.  Approximately 50 to 75 children use this bathroom at least once a day.  Classroom teams are implementing toilet-teaching programs throughout the day.Their input is important to designing a handicapped accessible bathroom that will meet the needs of the children and the staff who are working with them.  New child size toilets, sinks that are mounted at a child’s level, faucets and handles that meet ADA requirements, adaptive equipment including but not limited to step stools and faucet extenders, surface materials that are easy to maintain and new partitions between toilets will be installed.  It will take a minimum of three months to design the bathroom and order the equipment.  The goal is to complete the bathroom for the beginning of the 2018-2019 school year.

The bathroom project will benefit more than the 200 children attending the Syosset campus.  The children from the weekend programs, including Social Skills and the Sunday Family Center Respite Program will use this new facility as well.  Hygiene, including toilet teaching and proper hand-washing, is an important learning experience for all young children.