Spotlight: Jordan Lake School of the Arts

Spotlight: Jordan Lake School of the Arts

Beth Kuklinski is our featured mother in Real Moms Share. In this issue, Beth shares about “The Gift” and life’s lessons from raising twins; one with Autism. We also asked her to share with us about the Jordan Lake School of the Arts and any lessons she has learned from founding and opening a school.

Overview of JLSA:

Jordan Lake School of the Arts (JLSA) is a small, inclusive, private school community in Apex, North Carolina. It offers a top quality liberal arts program with a focus on nature and arts. All students benefit from small class size, an arts-based education, and hands on activities in a beautiful stress free setting. Our school fosters independence, self confidence, and academic and social achievement. With a multi-faceted approach to instruction, children learn with their whole selves. Experiential opportunities promote learning, connection to peers, and inspire students to explore the world they live in.

Beth Kuklinski founded the school to be an arts and nature based pilot program inclusive to children with autism. She shares about “The Gift” in our “Real Moms Share” section of PSN Magazine.

After years of interventions, fighting for services, fighting for understanding, fighting against the world as it was, Beth and her son walked away. Literally, they walked away. In the short version, Beth struggled to find a charter school that would accept her son due to his bathroom accidents. He attended private school with an aide for a year while she went to grad school and worked full time. He went to a public school for four days. He began pulling his hair out and screaming not to go. To make matters worse, she watched boys tease and bully her son while she was a few feet away. “I felt helpless. So did he” she said. So I told the teacher “we were leaving”. “You can’t do that” the teacher said. “Watch me,” I replied, and we walked out of that school, and that life, forever.

A new fuel filled me. I was so tired of fighting against things that were, and instead I began to fight for the way I wanted things to be. After three challenging years, Jordan Lake School of the Arts opened its doors. It is now going on its fourth year of operation.

Five Things I have learned by opening an Inclusive School:

1. Students arrive with the ability to teach you of your own strengths and weaknesses. Welcome the lesson.
2. Remain true to your mission both in life and in work; a purposeful life is a powerful one. Stay on course.
3. My son whispered to me during one of my periods of doubt in my dream of a school, “You have to believe it Mommy.” He was right.
4. Not everyone believes in inclusion. They may have a lot of money and polish, but their lives with never be as rich as those who do believe.
5. Everyone says they will move mountains for their child. Some really will.  Hold these people close because they are bound to change the world.

To contact Beth, use the contact form at www.jlsaeducation.com.

Real Moms Share––> Beth Kuklinski