Community Corner
Long Beach Students Experience Special Summer Fun
School district provides kids with disabilities mix of recreation and educational activities.
The Long Beach Public Schools Extended School Year Program for Students with Disabilities provides students in grades K to 12 with a rich blend of recreation, enrichment and practical learning activities that help them maintain the skills they acquired over the course of the traditional school year.
In addition to their regular classroom activities, students have taken trips to Waldbaums, Adventureland, Baldwin Bowl, Marvel Ice Cream, the Long Beach Movie Theater and the Long Island Children’s Museum. They were also able to participate in dance and cooking classes, as well as swim sessions at the high school pool.
Students were also given a unique experience to participate in a program called Surf for All, held at the Long Beach Ocean Beach Park. With the aid of specially trained surf instructors, the students have been setting off on longboards to ride the waves and experience the healing powers of the ocean, as their families and teachers cheer them on.
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In addition to having fun, the children who participate in the program experience multiple educational benefits. Surfing helps them take a step toward independence, challenging them to overcome fears, build trust, establish relationships, enhance gross motor skills and listen to directions—many of the same skills they develop every day during their regular classroom instruction.
Surf for All is a local not-for-profit organization launched by brothers Cliff and Will Skudin and Long Beach resident Jim Mulvaney to help people with special needs, ranging from autism to diabetes, through surfing.
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“We are pleased to be able to provide our students with many enriching summer activities, while giving them a fun way to practice and maintain all the skills they learned during the school year,” said Dr. Mary Tatem, the district’s director of Special Education and Pupil Personnel Services.
“We are especially grateful to the Skudins, who have been volunteering their time and talent to the children in our Special Education Summer Program for three years now. It has been a phenomenal experience for our students and their families.”
