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Scoala Raza de Soare (Sunshine School) opened
the doors of its new, wheelchair-accessible facility on Sept.
10, 2004.
 The
new school building includes 5 classrooms, therapy areas,
office space, and a large multipurpose room as well as a sports
field and playground. Located next to Darius House, it is
an ideal location for serving kids from RCE's programs, Arad's
orphanages, and the local community. Local church support
is critical to Sunshine School. Six local churches provide
financial support, volunteers, prayer and involvement in the
lives of the children and their families.
 Scoala
Raza de Soare welcomes students from ages 3-14 – children
previously denied an education. At present, we have 35 students,
with half coming from local families and the other half composed
of orphaned and abandoned children from state institutions
and Darius House. Our students have a variety of disabilities,
including autism, mental retardation, language delay, cerebral
palsy, medical issues, Down Syndrome, and sensory impairment.
 Dr.
Daria Neta brings many years of leadership and administrative
experience to her role as Sunshine School's principal. All
the students (including Crinel, pictured here) enjoy their
daily interaction with "Doamna Director"!
 Ovidiu
Martin, one of RCE's field directors, provides strong leadership
and Godly guidance to the staff and students at Sunshine School.
Ovi works tirelessly to ensure the high quality of education
offered at the school, and cultivates partnerships with local
businesses and organizations in Arad. Ovi also carefully sets
up a wide variety of mentoring activities and opportunities
with other schools.
Each classroom is staffed by a qualified teacher
and a teaching assistant. Together, they provide thematic
unit-based instruction that is tailored to meet each student's
individual needs. Students are regularly assessed and the
team (including the parents or guardians) meets together to
set educational goals for each year. We delight in their accomplishments
and progress!
 Like
any other 6 year old, Flavia works hard to make sure her project
is extra special. In the Romanian system, children with Down
Syndrome like Flavia cannot attend school, but here at Sunshine
School she has a chance to develop her potential!
Major emphasis is placed on reading and writing
skills each day at Scoala Raza de Soare. One parent said,
"I never thought I'd see my daughter ever write her own
name, but now she's doing it by herself! Thank God for this
school---- until now we never knew what she could learn!"
 Major
emphasis is placed on reading and writing skills each day
at Scoala Raza de Soare. Few families can afford books so
Sunshine School has a growing lending library.
 Planned
activities with non-disabled, typical peers ("mentoring")
are an important part of Sunshine School's curriculum. Mentoring
fosters compassion, communication, and friendship between
our staff and students and those from other community schools.
Here, Anca leads a fun motor activity for our students and
a local kindergarten class.
 Our
teaching staff has been comprehensively trained by American
special education leaders from the James E. Duckworth Special
Education School in Maryland. Educators, therapists, and administrators
from the U.S. continue to provide in-service training, instructional
support, and collaboration on an on-going basis to the staff
of Sunshine School.
Physical therapy, speech therapy, and motor
development classes are all important aspects of Sunshine
School's mission to appropriately meet each student's individual
needs. The Physical Therapy department has a close consultative
relationship with the National Rehabilitation Hospital in
Washington, D.C. (USA)
 Each
class room is equipped to meet the special needs of every
Sunshine School student.
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