Class of 2026: A Graduation Day in Brooklyn

On a Wednesday morning, August 12, 2026, in downtown Brooklyn, twenty-five preschoolers in caps and gowns lined up for a procession. Families filled the room at St. Francis College with phones raised and tissues ready. There was a musical performance by the children and their teachers with teaching artist Michel Gentile, a parent appreciation presentation, and then, one by one, diplomas.

The Class of 2026 of the Helen Keller Services Children’s Learning Center is heading to kindergarten this fall.

The graduates are children with autism, Down syndrome, multiple disabilities, and complex developmental needs, as well as children who are blind or have low vision. Most of them started at the CLC at age three. Over two years, each child worked with a team of teachers, speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, and vision specialists on communication, motor skills, social interaction with peers, and the independence they will need in kindergarten.

“Families come to us worried, and a lot of them have already been told what their child will not be able to do,” said Dr. Avien Henry, principal of the Children’s Learning Center in Brooklyn. “Two years later we are all standing in a room watching those same children walk across a stage. That is what today is. It is the families and the teachers seeing how far these children have come.”

“We graduated verbal”

For the families in the room, the ceremony marked the end of a road that began with uncertainty. Vanessa Jackson, whose son graduated with the class, spoke with us after the ceremony.

“Some children beat milestones that us parents were told they wouldn’t beat,” she said. “Helen Keller just put us in such a safe space. I appreciate all of the work they did with our children, and my son as well, because he came in nonverbal, and we didn’t just graduate. We graduated verbal.”

She paused, then added: “Thank you, Helen Keller, a thousand times. Words can’t explain it enough.”

A Brooklyn tradition, almost four decades in

The Children’s Learning Center has served young children and their families in Brooklyn for close to four decades, and opened a seventh classroom in November 2025 to meet demand. The graduation drew supporters from across the borough: Rev. Kimberly Council, deputy Brooklyn borough president; New York State Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon of District 52; and Ana Aguilar, attending on behalf of New York State Senator Andrew Gounardes. Tim Cecere, president of St. Francis College, welcomed the graduates to the ceremony.

“Today’s graduation ceremony was a celebration for our students, their families, and the teachers and therapists who worked with them every day,” said Dr. Sue Ruzenski, CEO of Helen Keller Services. “These children have come so far in two years, and today they got their moment to shine. And we are excited to be bringing this program to Long Island families soon.”

Coming to Long Island beginning in 2026

The program that Brooklyn celebrated is expanding. Helen Keller Services is opening two Children’s Learning Center preschool locations on Long Island beginning in 2026: one at 11 Oval Drive in Islandia, Suffolk County, and one at 303 Sunnyside Boulevard in Plainview, Nassau County.

Families across Nassau and Suffolk will have access to the same specialized preschool program, the same multidisciplinary team approach, and the same family partnership that carried the Class of 2026 across the stage.

For Long Island families: the CLC enrollment team can be reached at (631) 675-2273 or clcenrollment@helenkeller.org. Learn more at helenkeller.org/clclongisland.

The Helen Keller Services Children’s Learning Center is a specialized preschool program serving children ages three to five with autism, Down syndrome, multiple disabilities, and complex developmental needs, as well as children who are blind or have low vision. The program operates in downtown Brooklyn and is expanding to Long Island beginning in 2026 with locations in Islandia and Plainview.