Cotting School
# Cotting School

Cotting School is a private, non-profit school for children with special needs located in Lexington, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded in 1893 as the nation's first school for children with disabilities. Cotting's preschool, lower, middle, and upper schools offer academic instruction focusing on a variety of skills and content areas, vocational assessment, and training. Therapies are integrated into classroom instruction as much as possible, and the staff fosters student independence at all times. A Family Support Coordinator works as an advocate for parents. Monthly Parent Advisory Committee meetings and the Cotting Family Community encourage active parent involvement, which promotes communication between families and the School. HOPEhouse is a transitional 5-day residential program opening in 2013 for up to ten young people ages 18–22 with physical and/or learning challenges who will benefit from social, educational, and vocational training.

## History

Cotting School was founded in 1893 and was America's first day school for children with physical disabilities. From its founding until its merger with the Krebs School in 1986, Cotting School was located at 241 St. Botolph Street in Boston Massachusetts. The school was founded by Drs. Edward H. Bradford and Augustus Thorndike, both orthopedic surgeons at Children's Hospital Boston and was originally called The Industrial School for Crippled and Deformed Children. The school was also known as the Industrial School for Crippled Children and Cotting School for Handicapped Children.

| | Superintendent/President | Tenure | Events / Bio |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1. | Mary M. Perry | 1893–1919 | First Superintendent/First permanent home for school, 241 St. Botolph Street, Boston, MA |
| 2. | Charles Belknap | 1919–1923 | |
| 3. | Vernon Brackett | 1923–1955 | |
| 4. | William Carmichael | 1955–1984 | |
| 5. | Carl Mores | 1984–2004 | Krebs School merged into Cotting School and moved to 453 Concord Avenue, Lexington, MA |
| 6. | David W. Manzo | 2004–present | |

Cotting School, A Pictorial History (ISBN 978-0738557656) was written by David Manzo and Elizabeth Campbell Peters and published by Arcadia Publishing (April 2, 2008).

## Services

The school offers the following services: special education, assistive technology, art, music, library/media, dental, vision, nursing, occupational therapy, physical therapy, speech therapy, industrial arts, tutorial services, pre-vocational and vocational training. Cotting School is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC) and has full approval status from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

## Affiliations

* AccesSportAmerica
* Association of Independent Schools of New England
* Best Buddies of Massachusetts
* Boston College
* Boston University's Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
* Children's Hospital Boston
* Children's League of Massachusetts
* Emerson College Clinical Training Program
* International Association of Special Education
* Massachusetts Association of 766-Approved Private Schools
* Massachusetts Council of Human Service Providers
* Massachusetts Special Olympics
* New England Handicapped Sports Association (NEHSA)
* New England College of Optometry
* Northeastern University's Bouve College of Health Sciences
* Perkins School for the Blind
* Regis College
* Salem State College
* Tufts University School of Dental Medicine
* Wheelock College

## Resources

* Cotting School website
