The New York Institute for Special Education(NYISE) is a private, nonprofit, nonsectarian educational facility which provides quality programs for children who are blind or visually disabled, emotionally and learning disabled and preschoolers who are developmentally delayed.

The school was founded in 1831 as The New York Institution for the Blind as one of the first schools in the United States to provide an educational program for children who were blind or visually impaired. Early in the twentieth century, the name was changed to The New York Institute for the Education of the Blind to emphasize the educational character of the school. A pictorial history of the school and a major collection of disability links called the Blindness Resource Center are available at this site.

Today, our Schermerhorn Program continues its rich tradition of educating children who are blind or visually impaired. We have also used this expertise to develop new programs to help children with other disabilities.

In the 1980's educators recognized the need to provide programs designed specifically for students with learning and emotional disabilities. In response to this need, the school established the Van Cleve Program for those children who could not be served in a traditional school setting. In 1986, the school's name was changed to The New York Institute for Special Education to better reflect this expanded focus and commitment to children with a variety of disabilities. In 1987, a program for developmentally delayed preschoolers was established called the Readiness Program. .

Nearly 300 students from ages 3 to 21 now attend NYISE. The school offers the options of a day program or a five day residential program. All students return home on weekends and holidays. An Individualized Education Program is developed for each student. In addition, a full array of services is provided, which include counseling, career guidance, occupational therapy, physical therapy and speech-language therapy, individual and team sports and adaptive recreational activities.

The New York Institute for Special Education is chartered by the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York for and on behalf of the State Education Department, and is accredited by the National Commission for the Accreditation of Special Education Services.

Additionally, we have assumed a leadership role as a recipient of the Technology Literacy Challenge Grant which is a federally funded educational technology program to promote the use and integration of technology for classroom teaching, learning and information access. Our grant is designed to assist educators of students with disabilities implement the New York State's learning standards.

Please sign our guestbook and let us send you additional information about the school and about how you can help support our programs. Our Alumni Association wishes to get in contact with former students.