Personal Narrative: A Day At Meeting Street

When I had first walked into Meeting Street as school was being dismissed, I couldn’t help but notice the smiles of the children, as they were each being escorted by their own private nurse. Every child I passed waved hello to the best of their ability even though some may not have had full motor skills in their hands. After walking in I had been instantly greeted upon my arrival with great hospitality from the employees. I was fortunate enough to interview Ashley DeSimone, the Marketing Manager of Special Events, at Meeting Street, who from the minute I had shaken her hand treated me like part of their “family”. One of the first things I had asked Ashley was “What makes you different than other schools in the area that provide the same services

that you do?” She had mentioned that Meeting Street was the only inclusive special education school in Providence that offers educational programs from nursery to high school, also including home visits and consultations for infants that are unable to make it to the actual facility. I had the privilege of receiving a tour from Ashley to see their classrooms, facilities and even their playground and activity center, which to my surprise, was one of the most beautiful campuses I had ever seen. Their classrooms and facilities were each catered to the needs of their students. Their computers had handicap accessible computers that allowed for students in wheelchairs and others with limited motor skills to participate in activities with the rest of the students. One of the things that I had never seen before and caught my attention was the ramps that were located within the school; the ramps themselves were color coated, red for decline and green for flat platform to allow students in wheelchairs to recognize the different levels. These ramps located throughout the school also had three levels of railings to hold on to so no matter how tall, or what level of disability if any a student had, they were able to hold on as they walked down. Meeting Street has adaptable supplies in every classroom for every student, so no matter the degree of a student’s developmental delay they were able to partake in every activity.