Student Council took a trip yesterday to the Alexander Leigh Center for Autism, learning about this year’s charity bash selection.

“It’s a school that has about forty moderately autistic kids,” Nathan Holbrook, sophomore, said. “It’s for people with autism that can’t fit in at a public school. So their home district pays for them to go this type of school.”

The school was founded by two mothers with a vision, who wanted to help their children and kids like them.

“It was an incredible experience,” Addie Howell, senior, said. “We got to sit down with the founder of the school, and she told us a little bit about her story. She started the school for her own daughter because she realized that the public school system wasn’t right for her, so she and a friend of hers paired up and started this school. They started off with about five students.”

The students brought back a jack o’ lantern for the school.

“A couple of the kids were carving pumpkins,” Christopher Bennett, student council cosponsor, said. “The kids actually picked that one for us. They have a little pumpkin patch out back so they carved that one and they gave us that one to take back.”

The money from charity bash will go toward helping expansion.

“They want to get an apartment so that the high school years can have a few transition years,” Howell said. “They would all live in the apartment together, like a group home setting. They would live together and learn skills for the real world. They’re also trying to move into a new space because they’re planning on getting more students next year.”

The school personalizes the education for each student, tailoring it to their needs in a way that public schools cannot.

“Each of the kids has their own individual teacher,” Holbrook said. “There are five kids in each class, and there’s one ‘head teacher’ for each class.”

The students’ individual teachers help the students work in their own ways.

“What’s special about the Alexander Leigh center for autism is their staff,” Howell said. “Each student has a teacher, and that teacher works with them everyday to help them with their specific goal. Each lesson plan is specialized just for that kid.”

The program greatly helps children with autism, Howell said, and an excellent cause to support.