The Summit Children’s Residence Center in Nyack, NY, is a top-rated residential school for adolescents with learning, emotional, or behavioral difficulties. The comprehensive 24-hour-a-day program includes counseling, special education, recreation, and social support. The faculty and staff focus on fostering the intellectual, social, and emotional development of all students.

Giselle Salvador is a Senior Child Care Worker at Summit. She has been working here for nearly 10 years and loves her job. As a Senior Child Care Worker, Giselle is responsible for tasks such as cottage organization, delegating tasks, creating new activities, conducting and leading community meetings, and communicating pertinent information to staff and supervisors.

Child Care Workers play a vital role in creating a supportive and nurturing environment for the students. They work closely with the students, providing guidance and support in managing their lives outside of academics. This includes helping students take care of themselves and teaching them how to compromise and negotiate with others. Child Care Workers aim to create an environment where students can develop the skills and tools to be independent, successful, and fulfilled individuals.

In this video, Giselle speaks about how the campus provides a home away from home for the students. She describes how she and her co-workers help take the load off from the school day and manage the students’ lives after school, on campus. This is particularly beneficial for students who don’t have ideal situations at home.

Summit is committed to providing an enriching, supportive, therapeutic, comfortable, and fun program that allows each student to become an integral part of a thriving community. Through group living, students learn to take care of themselves and their possessions, compromise and negotiate with others, and develop leadership skills. The school also provides home visits and social workers who maintain contact and provide support to family members to establish effective home rules and predictable responses to problematic circumstances.