JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Officials at the Jericho School for Children with Autism have informed families that the school will not be reopening, turning what the Board of Directors had hoped would be a temporary closure into a permanent one.
Funding delays because of the government shutdown “have created an operating deficit that the school cannot overcome,” Angelo Martinez, the school’s executive director, wrote in a message to families.
The school, a nonprofit run by a Board of Directors which has been helping children with autism for more than 30 years, initially closed on Oct. 19.
At the time, Martinez said the decision was temporary as officials determined the best path forward.
But the message sent to families on Sunday said the board had since “made the heartbreaking decision to permanently close The Jericho School.”
Martinez wrote that “despite our best efforts to sustain operations,” the school was severely impacted by the recent federal government shutdown and delays in insurance payments, which are vital to the school’s ability to serve students of military families.
“Our priority now is to support our students and families through this transition,” Martinez wrote.
Families who need student records, therapy documentation, or assistance identifying alternative educational or therapy options, should contact Martinez via email at info@thejerichoschool.org.
The mother of Jericho student Declan Foose told News4JAX her son was struggling to understand what was going on when the school first closed.
“He went from wondering what he did wrong to wondering what happened above him…he’s going through the motions of grief where it’s like denial and acceptance and sadness and then anger and round and round and round,” Sabrena said.
She and other parents had been trying to homeschool their children during the uncertainty, but now permanent changes must be made.
In a statement to News4JAX, Martinez wrote:
The admin team has also already started to reach out to parents to assist in any way we can to help find appropriate educational options for all of our students that have been affected by this.
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