Cotting School

Cotting School
Location
Lexington , Massachusetts United States
Coordinates	42°25′12″N 71°14′15″W
Information
Type	Chapter 766 school
Established	1893
President	Bridget Irish
Faculty	70 - Over 75% have Master's degrees
Enrollment	120
Student to teacher ratio	3:1
Campus	Suburban, 13 acres
Color(s)	Blue and gold
Athletics	Cotting School Falcons
Mascot	Falcon
Website	http://www.cotting.org/

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.

Building at 241 St. Botolph Street, designed by Peabody & Stearns

History

Cotting School was founded in 1893 and was America's first day school for children with physical disabilities.[1][2][3] From its founding until its merger with the Krebs School in 1986,[4] Cotting School was located at 241 St. Botolph Street in Boston Massachusetts.[5] 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	2004–2021
7.	Bridget Irish	2021–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 All School Photo

• Cotting School website

References

1. "When home is a positive place". The Boston Globe. November 20, 2005. Retrieved December 14, 2006.
2. Belkin, Douglas (February 12, 2006). "More Than A Game". The Boston Globe Northwest. p. 1. Retrieved December 14, 2006.
3. Pryzant, Connie (June 12, 1981). "Cotting School Grants Diplomas to 17 Seniors". The Boston Globe. Retrieved December 14, 2006.
4. Elliott, Michael (February 28, 1995). "Ida Krebs, 86, Founder of School For Learning-Disabled Children". New York Times.
5. Coons, Phyllis (June 19, 1988). "Cotting School's Commencement Is Its Last To Be Held in Boston". The Boston Globe. p. B34. Retrieved December 14, 2006.