About
the School
Dr. Ellyn Lerner and Dr. David Winikur opened the High Road
Lower School in 1986. The founding school began in Highland
Park, New Jersey and moved to a new building in 1988. The focus
of the program has always been to individualize the program
of each special needs child. Every facet of the curriculum is
geared towards increasing the self worth, confidence and academic
excellence of every student who comes through the doors.
The High Road Lower School currently serves students ages 5
through 14 years of age. Instructional and behavioral programs
are individualized to meet each child’s unique learning
and emotional needs. Reading is one of the most important areas
of concern and there are approximately 12 to 14 different reading
programs currently available to teacher within the school. The
children receive Occupational and Speech therapies as dictated
by their individual IEP’s. The High Road Lower School
also has a career ecuation program that prepares students as
they progress moving back to district, to vocational school
or on to our High Road Upper School
Student Success Story
August 1, 2003
Annette Hockenjos
The High Road School
11 Lexington Ave
East Brunswick, NJ 08816
Dear Mrs. Hockenjos,
I have been sadly remiss these last months---since I have wished
to write to you and thank you for the amazing things your staff
has already done for our daughter, Desiree. Today, when I was
coming to pick her up, I saw a mother walking toward your school
with her daughter--- and I could see by the look on her face
that she was where we had been 7 months ago, when we first set
eyes on your school.
I had heard wonderful things about High road, of course. You
already used some of the educational practices and programs
that I had researched, and of course, I knew that you endeavored
to tailor the academics to each child’s needs. But 7 months
ago, I had a daughter who had been bullied, brutalized, and
was spiraling into a pattern of failure. The combination of
Dypraxia, and Dysgraphia had left her believing little in herself,
and her speech difficulties had never responded to the traditional
methods in our school system. We were told that Desi would never
learn to write cursive—and that it wasn’t a necessary
skill in the “modern world”. We were told to “lower
our expectations for her future”. And we simply did not
accept that assessment.
But it was a real question—could we find a school that
even a partial fit for our child? You sounded too good to be
true. And when we got through the IEP process, high Road seemed
not only a good option—but the only one. Desi was so excited
to start there—and almost overnight, the child I used
to pull from her bed in the morning was chipper, and up and
just raring to go.
After just one month in your school, the change in Desi was
profound, homework stopped being a tug of war, she would bounce
in from the bus, grab a quick snack, and hit the books—on
her own. And she started TALKING again. The sad silence that
had become such a part or vanished. I was amazed. Has this been
just a change in venue, it would have pretty much petered out.
Since then, we watched Desi change so much for the better. We
now hear constantly from friends and family—that she is
like a different child. But she’s just Desi—as she
always has the potential to be. And it’s all due to your
remarkable staff, and school. When I saw that mother today,
I had the urge to stop, and tell that your school had been a
miracle for our child—that you had done amazing things
in so little time… and it was that urge that reminded
me to sit down and try to find the words to thank you all.
The world does not see our children as we do—and it is
a frightening process to find that your child has special needs.
It is frustrating to not be able to help your children alone—and
it is little short of miraculous to find a place staffed with
such gifted, caring teachers.
Thank you all, for making a place for my daughter!Yours truly,
