Ease the transition from high school into adulthood with our Private School program.

Our most important mission at the Arc of Volusia is creating opportunities for those we serve. We have found that many students struggle in transition to become independent and must fight to receive the necessary services for support. The Arc Alternative School supports students in giving them a choice for employment and a much better option than sitting at home if they choose to leave the public school system. The waiting list for individuals who need support in Florida is over 20,000 and often times young individuals graduate or leave school without options for transition to services.

The John McKay Scholarship may be requested by parents. It gives parents the option to use educational funds in a private school or alternate school of choice. The Arc Alternative School provides transitional and educational services to persons with disabilities who are not connected to the services they need to be successful. The McKay scholarship funds educational and entrepreneurial opportunities for 18 to 22 year old students who have graduated or dropped out of Volusia and Flagler County schools. Frequently, students must sit at home without services on a waiting list during this transitional time.

The Arc has a long history of advocacy and established relationships with local funding sources and community connections which are crucial to connecting persons to services.

The vocational school program extends transition time and provides resources to connect individuals to opportunities for work and life. The transitional period from school to work becomes a much easier developmental stage in life when connected to a work setting and given opportunities to earn income. The school curriculums teach persons with developmental disabilities entrepreneurial skills and life skills through vocational training. The Arc has a long history of serving persons with developmental disabilities in entrepreneurial programs and will generate solutions and opportunities for a lifetime of support. These experiences create a smooth transition to adult life and teach valuable transitional skills while at work.

The private school concept follows the future vision and collaborative efforts of The Arc as we strive to merge missions with Universities and Colleges so that persons with developmental disabilities may enter college campuses. We believe this program supports the mission of the organization and helps solve a serious community issue.

We are very proud to create this opportunity which will be completely funded through the McKay scholarship process. If you have any questions about the school or the scholarship, please do not hesitate to contact The Arc at (386) 274-4736.

Group educational opportunities with individual goals.

Each Arc consumer is assigned to one instructor who interviews and assesses each student to determine annual goals (or Benchmarks).  Student evaluations are documented monthly and quarterly, as well as annually, to assure each student is succeeding in meeting his/her goals.  Some of the many group sessions include leisure and music, reading, food preparation, clothing care, home care skills, and shopping skills.  Individual goals vary from a myriad of computer activities to letter/word/number identification, reading comprehension, or identifying significant hours on the clock (i.e. break time, lunch time) to name a few.