January 30th, 2012
Oneonta, New York: Springbrook, a leader in providing innovative supports for people with developmental disabilities, today announced the planned purchase of the St. Mary’s School property located on state highway 7 in Oneonta, New York.
The property will provide a programmatic hub for the growing agency, which recently completed a historic $22.5 campaign. The success of the campaign will mean the creation of 112 new jobs in 2012 and an estimated $5 million annual increase to the local economy. Springbrook plans to use the 52,000 sq. ft. building to house an expanded Kids Unlimited Preschool and centralize many of its community functions. The purchase will be made possible by an agreement between Springbrook, Citizens Bank, and the County of Otsego Industrial Development Agency.
Plans for the building include creating a new employee training center as well as relocating administrative offices for many of Springbrook’s community programs, including day habilitation, Consolidated Supports & Services, service coordination, respite and rehabilitation services, and community recreation. In addition, Springbrook plans to relocate their IT and Purchasing departments. Springbrook’s existing main campus, located on state route 28 near Portlandville, NY will remain the agency’s headquarters and location of the recently expanded K-12 residential school program.
Additional plans for the St. Mary’s School building including relocating and expanding the Kids Unlimited Preschool. Kids Unlimited Preschool offers early intervention and evaluation services and is the only preschool in Otsego County, New York with an integrated program for both typical and disabled children.
“This agreement has provided us with not only a beautiful, well-maintained facility, but also a wonderful opportunity,” said Springbrook CEO, Patricia Kennedy. “Expanding our Kids Unlimited Preschool is just one more way we can meet the increasing needs of our community while continuing to use the building in the spirit of its intended purpose.”
“Many people also don’t realize the extent of Springbrook’s regional presence. The central location off I-88 in addition to the exceptional condition of the facility, make the St. Mary’s property well positioned to meet our expanding needs as an agency,” said Kennedy.
Springbrook currently provides at-home care, residential and educational services, day services, and clinical, therapeutic, and behavioral supports to people with developmental disabilities from across New York State, including Broome, Chenango, Delaware, Otsego, Tioga, and Tompkins counties. The breadth and reach of the agency’s services brought about the need for a more centralized location and resource for Springbrook’s nearly 1,000 employees.
“We are more than happy to see that St. Mary’s School will continue to be used for educational purposes, and quite pleased to know that Springbrook’s plans for the building will also provide an important and much-needed economic boost to the community,” said Ken Goldfarb, director of communications for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany.
Springbrook’s board of directors and St. Mary’s Parish approved the planned purchase of the St. Mary’s School property in late December. Plans for the building will be carried out in the first half of 2012. An announcement regarding a new name for the property will be made in coming months.
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October 31st, 2011
Springbrook Behavior Analyst Traci Lanner has been selected by the New York State Association for Behavior Analysis [NYSABA] to receive the award for Human Service in Applied Behavior Analysis. Recipients of the award are selected for their commitment to human service in New York State, utilizing the practice of Behavior Analysis.
Lanner has been with Springbrook for 12 years, starting with the organization as the only behavior specialist on staff. In her time with Springbrook, she has built a department that now boasts four behavior specialists. Her team will soon be taking on important work at the new Tom Golisano School at Springbrook, scheduled to open next spring. The new school will be a behaviorally-based teaching environment specializing in serving students with all levels of autism, also providing residential living. As the Assistant Director of the Golisano School, Lanner’s work has been instrumental in leading to the development of curriculum and programs for the new school.
“This award is a great honor. Not only for me, but for Springbrook,” said Lanner. “I’m very excited! I love my work and am grateful for the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of the students.”
Lanner was nominated for the award by the Director of the Golisano School, Cathy Bryson, and the Director of the School at Springbrook, Jeff Edelstein. “Traci is an exceptional, warm, and dedicated practitioner,” shares Bryson. “She has a wonderful rapport with the children she serves and is well respected by parents, residential staff, and the school team.”
“Traci has touched hundreds of lives in our rural area,” said Edelstein. “Her empathy and skills are all the more valued given the lack of highly specialized service providers in the area, especially behaviorists. We are very thankful for the 12 years of dedicated service she has provided.”
The award will be presented to Lanner at the NYSABA Annual Conference on November 10, 2011 at the Gideon Putnam Resort in Saratoga Springs, New York. All nominees were considered by the board of directors of the NYSABA, New York’s chapter of the Association of Behavior Analysis International.
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September 26th, 2011
Oneonta, NY- Springbrook is pleased to welcome Stacey Grady as the newest member of their growing team. Grady joined Springbrook earlier this month as the Assistant Director of Development. She brings several years of fundraising experience in higher education and museums including management of direct mail, annual campaigns, sponsorship solicitation, events, individual gift solicitation, donor cultivation, stewardship, and volunteers.
“Ms. Grady brings to Springbrook the education, experience and enthusiasm required to continue to advance our dreams and goals for the residents and their families at Springbrook” said Patricia Kennedy, CEO of Springbrook.
Most recently Grady served as Associate Director of Annual Giving at Hartwick College. She received her BA from Hartwick College and her MA in History/Museum Studies from the Cooperstown Graduate Program.
Grady said, “I am extremely excited about the opportunity to become a part of such an important organization. I truly feel at home here and I am grateful to have found such a wonderful place to work. The potential of Springbrook is limitless and I look forward to helping them with their continued success.”
Springbrook is a not-for-profit, state-licensed organization serving nearly 700 people with developmental disabilities from across New York State and beyond. Our programs are designed to teach the skills needed to maximize potential while putting those experiences in context. With nearly 1,000 employees, we work at school, in communities and in the home to create a comprehensive learning experience that makes every day a chance to discover, build and grow.
Click here for the official press release.
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July 19th, 2011
The circus was in town last weekend and, as usual, Springbrook students were out in full force!
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July 8th, 2011
The Parker House residents just got back from a trip to Niagara Falls! We can’t wait to see where they go next!
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July 7th, 2011
Springbrook held their annual employee luncheon at the Otesaga last week to recognize all of our employee’s that have been with us for 10 years or more (there are a lot)! Congratulations to all!
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June 21st, 2011
Following up on their promises from the article, Bringing Students and Butterflies Back to New York this Year, from our Spring Newsletter, Thomas and the LeChase Constuction crew were out spreading milkweed seeds this week to bring Monarch butterflies back to Springbrook. If you’re not familiar with the article, click on the link above and enjoy the pictures below.
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June 20th, 2011
This is an article taken from our Spring 2011 Newsletter. Stay tuned for more on Thomas and the butterflies this week!
It is a well known fact that the Coming Home Expansion, which broke ground last summer, will be bringing twenty-four students back to Springbrook when it is completed in April of 2012. LeChase Construction Services, the construction management firm that undertook the $22.5 million project, knew this going in, but what they did not know was they would also be embarking on a project to bring thousands of Monarch Butterflies home.
Taylor house resident, Thomas, is a near expert on Monarch Butterflies and has the unique ability to teach the subject in great detail. Want to know how many eggs the Monarch Butterfly can lay in a week? Thomas can tell you: 700. What does the Monarch Caterpillar turn into before it becomes a butterfly? Thomas can let you know: A chrysalis. Care to dive into the vast subject of butterfly migration patterns? Thomas will happily fill you in. But the most valuable piece of information came late last year when the Coming Home Expansion became a reality and construction broke ground, endangering the Monarch Butterfly habitat on the Springbrook campus Thomas has come to know so well.
During the groundbreaking ceremony on July 29, 2010, Thomas approached members of the LeChase Construction Services team and informed them that with the current project expansion the crew would be destroying the habitat of thousands of Monarch butterflies. It would also endanger a four generation, 2,000 mile migration that has been occurring for hundreds of years. The construction crew, and in particular Ron Clark, the quality assurance manager, took the information to heart, and went with Thomas to the Joseph L. Popp, Jr. Butterfly Conservatory in Oneonta to get a detailed profile of the Monarch butterfly. Soon after, they began to hatch out a plan to save the beautiful orange and black butterflies.
It was decided that the best way to attract the butterflies would be through the use of milkweed plants. “The milkweed plant is the only plant material that Monarch caterpillars can eat,” says Thomas. Remove Monarch caterpillars from milkweed and they will starve; or they will eat other plant material, get sick, and then die. Milkweed is a very serious issue when it comes to Monarch butterflies. Thanks to Thomas, as soon as the ground thaws, LeChase will put hundreds of these plants on a stretch of field west of the Springbrook School so we can welcome students and butterflies back to Springbrook next year.
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June 16th, 2011
Springbrook’s preschool program had its graduation celebrations this morning. Each class sang songs and presented certificates to each student on their unique achievements and interests. Such a fun morning with smiles all around!
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June 16th, 2011
We have a great group of graduates this year. Congratulations to all!
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