History

Educator Maari de Souza reflected in 1973, “as I got to know students with special needs, I saw amazing memory, perseverance, courage, a willingness to go at it over and over again. And I started to realize, it wasn’t THEY that were less; it wasn’t THEY that had to fit in; it was US – the educators – we were the ones that needed to look at our students a little differently.” Thus began the seeds of The Child School/Legacy High School.

In the early 1970s, Ms. De Souza found her early professional experience in the field of special education extremely disheartening. While employed as a child psychologist at a Manhattan special-needs grammar school, she was dismayed by the administration’s failure to apply academic standards.

Ms. de Souza says, "Even 30 years ago, students with special needs had awareness that they were different. It was heartbreaking to see how they felt rejected and also felt tremendous amount of pain, and on the other side, I was taken aback by their sparkles of brilliance.”

“We needed to understand their perspective, and to see what they were seeing. We discovered that there was no limit to potential. We as educators needed to build the bridge.”

In 1973, Ms. de Souza set about educating a small group of these children with severe learning disabilities from a curriculum she developed and that she personalized to each student’s needs. Classes were originally offered in an apartment on Roosevelt Island converted for use as a school. Enrollment grew and, with a charter from the Board of Regents of the State of New York, The Child School was incorporated in 1975 as a non-profit educational institution (K-6) with 501(c)(3) designation.

Fast Facts:

In 1979/80, our Elementary School moved to Manhattan.

In 1991, a Middle School was added to address the academic needs of intermediate-school-aged children.

In 1992, our TCS Prep Program was launched in order to progressively challenge those Middle School students who indicated the capacity for fulfilling New York State curricula requirements for Grades 7 and 8.

In 1996/97, due to growth and a demand for a High School, Legacy High School was established.

In 2000/2001 we celebrated the graduation of our first senior class. Legacy High School is devoted to helping students achieve a Regents-level diploma.

In 2002, the School added the RCT curriculum to help students achieve a local diploma. The RCT program of Legacy High School is designed to give students the opportunity to use their strengths in emotional intelligence and concrete learning to prepare for the work world/career training/college.

In 2003, our school moved back to Roosevelt Island into an immaculately renovated 4 building campus with 26 classrooms overlooking the East River and Manhattan skyline.

In 2006/07, we celebrate the 10 year anniversary of Legacy High School.