CORPUS CHRISTI, Tx — In our Defying the Odds segment we are featuring the Rise School of Corpus Christi.
The school, which has been around for seventeen years, gives children with or without developmental delays the opportunity to learn and play together.
Kayla Everett is the Director of the Rise School of Corpus Christi, she said teaching children inclusivity is important because it will help them as they continue to grow out of the school setting.
"Our children don't see a difference with their friends, everyone is a friend here, they are learning together, growing together, they are treated as an equal," said Everett.
The school offers a variety of services including therapy and music therapy which helps children who may need that extra push.
Becky Grady, a mother of two who attends the school said this has been an amazing place for both of her children but her daughter has really flourished.
"Claire's best friend is Lucas. The only difference he sees in her is that she wears glasses, and to us, that is pure perfection and that is inclusion at its finest," said Grady.
The school currently has fifty-seven kids with three openings. However, there are more than one hundred children on the waitlist.
The school is a nonprofit and it relies on donations to keep running. A fifth classroom just opened up, but the school wants to grow even more.
"Forty-seven percent of our students are on tuition assistance programs, so if we didn't have donations, forty-seven percent of our students wouldn't get the therapies they need or the education," said Everett
If you would like to help donate your time or send a monetary donation, contact the Rise School of Corpus Christi at 361-814-9399 or click here.
