JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It was an emotional day on Monday for students and faculty at the Jericho School for Children with Autism after officials told families that the school will not be reopening.
What the Board of Directors had hoped would be a temporary closure is now a permanent one.
The closure now leaves 27 families without a school for their children. They were on campus on Monday, packing up their students’ belongings.
“This is just completely devastating for all of us. My son’s been here for 12 years. He loved the school. He’s very familiar with it and comfortable here,” parent Laura Skipper said.
The school, a nonprofit run by a Board of Directors that has been helping children with autism for more than 30 years, initially closed on Oct. 19.
Angelo Martinez, the school’s executive director, said at the time that the decision was temporary as officials determined the best path forward after funding delays caused by the government shutdown.
But a message sent to families on Sunday said the board had since “made the heartbreaking decision to permanently close The Jericho School” because those funding issues “have created an operating deficit that the school cannot overcome.”
“In one word, heartbroken. It’s devastating for our kids,” said parent Jinnie Benedict. “I they can’t process that their routine is disturbed. I kind of think they think it’s like a spring break.”
For many families, the school has offered more than a classroom — it was a lifeline. Now, parents are left trying to explain to their children why they can’t come back to the place that feels like their second home.
Martinez wrote in the message to those families that “despite our best efforts to sustain operations,” the school was severely impacted by the recent federal government shutdown and delays in insurance payments, which are vital to the school’s ability to serve students of military families.
“Our priority now is to support our students and families through this transition,” Martinez wrote.
Families who need student records, therapy documentation, or assistance identifying alternative educational or therapy options, should contact Martinez via email at info@thejerichoschool.org.
In a statement to News4JAX, Martinez wrote:
The admin team has also already started to reach out to parents to assist in any way we can to help find appropriate educational options for all of our students that have been affected by this.