St. Coletta Special Education PCS (District)

St. Coletta of Greater Washington is a non-sectarian, non-profit organization that operates school and adult day programs for children and adults with mental retardation and autism. St. Coletta was founded in 1959 by parents of a child with Down Syndrome. The school began in the basement of St. Charles Borromeo School in Arlington with five students. Over the intervening years it moved to several different locations in Arlington and in 1996 school leaders made the decision to purchase a permanent facility in Alexandria that would allow for growth. The larger facility allowed the school to begin an adult day program as well as to expand the student population. In September 2006, a new state of the art school building in Washington, DC was completed. Today, St. Coletta of Greater Washington serves over 300 children and adults from Washington, Maryland and Virginia in a school program and two adult day programs.

The mission of St. Coletta of Greater Washington is to serve children and adults with cognitive disabilities and to support their families. At St. Coletta we believe in the immeasurable value of the individual human spirit and the right of each individual to live as full and independent a life as possible. We respect the dignity of all persons entrusted to our care and our goal is to serve them in an atmosphere that encourages their talents, celebrates their successes and builds their self-esteem.

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