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"We looked at about six schools and Crotched Mountain was the last one that we saw. It was this shining perfect place on top of a mountain. I felt like I came to Harvard – a Harvard for my son, Charlie."
- Gretchen Bates, parent
A visit to Crotched Mountain School's campus and facilities speaks volumes about the depth of our services and the breadth of opportunities available to all students. With 1,400 acres in the beautiful New Hampshire countryside, we have the unique ability to inspire awe while providing the highest quality educational, vocational, therapeutic and recreational opportunities.
All of our buildings and classrooms are highly accessible – from everyday environmental controls to adjustable desks to adapted technology unique to each student's needs. Highlights of our school campus include:
 Accessible outdoor opportunities
With our natural woods setting, students can intimately experience the outdoors through beautiful vistas, wildlife sightings and camping on campus. An accessible playground provides recreational opportunities for all children. And a nearby lakeside beach and ski mountain offer additional opportunities for students to enjoy outdoor activities. Beginning in the fall of 2009, students will be able to experience fully accessible woodland trails in a mountain environment, a first in the nation when the mile-long Dutton Brook Wetland Trail opens. Read more and see a feature by WMUR TV's Chronicle on this accessible nature trail.
Assistive Technology Center – The certified assistive technology experts at Crotched Mountain assess and create custom solutions for communications, seating, environmental controls, mobility and daily living supports. They also provide equipment repair on site, significantly reducing the time students typically wait when equipment is shipped to manufacturers for repair.
 Aquatics Center – Our heated, 25-yard four-lane swimming pool is used for therapies, swimming lessons and recreational swimming. It is accessible by lift or ramp. Our adjoining heated therapy pool is equipped with a remarkable elevating floor that adjusts the water level from zero to five feet, allowing easy entry. Our aquatics program reduces muscle and joint pain, and creates an optimal balance of resistance and buoyancy for improving strength, balance, mobility, circulation and flexibility.
Carter Hall Theater – Our fully accessible theater boasts a stage and full audio visual capabilities for events and big-screen movies. It is used almost continually for school gatherings, weekly movies, plays, talent shows and performing arts.
 Greenhouse and Outdoor Gardens – At Crotched Mountain School, students are encouraged to explore as many interests as possible. Our greenhouse and outdoor gardens are part of the science curriculum and provide an ideal setting for students to experience the sense of accomplishment that comes from harvesting vegetables and flowers that they have planted and cultivated from seed to maturity. To complete the cycle, students prepare vegetables for meals and flowers for beautiful arrangements for themselves and others at Crotched Mountain.
Indoor Recreation– Crotched Mountain may be the only special education school with its own bowling alley. A favorite with the students, this space is used almost daily for fun and Special Olympics training. Students interested in additional sports activities can take advantage of our full-size gymnasium for adaptive physical education and sports activities such as basketball and cheerleading.
Media Center – Like all school libraries, our Media Center is a warm and welcoming gathering place for students to study and relax. Our multi-media library comes complete with assistive technology and a custom floor plan that provides access for all students to read or hear books and newspapers, watch movies in the mini-theater, access satellite TV, go online and use our video conferencing technology. The views from our two-story windows are breathtaking and add to the ambiance of the center.
 Therapy Gyms and Fitness Room – Students receive high-quality rehabilitative therapies in our fully equipped therapy gyms and fitness room. Highlights include weights, sensory activities, bicycles, a bolster swing for practicing balance and elevated platforms for therapies.
Vocational Skills Center – The Skills Center at Crotched Mountain provides students with vocational education, work exposure and career development and supports our Life Skills Curriculum. Students experience a genuine workplace environment--supporting the management of our campus--while learning valuable skills they can transfer to jobs in their communities. |
