Summer School & Extended Learning
At Circle of Friends, learning does not stop when the traditional school year ends.
For many youth with complex disabilities, extended breaks from school can lead to regression in communication, mobility, social connection, emotional regulation, and daily living skills. Families are often left without safe, appropriate programming options during the summer months, particularly for students with significant medical, physical, and communication needs.
Circle of Friends was originally built through summer and community-based programming before becoming a full K–12 school. Long before our first student cohort officially launched, families gathered at inclusive parks, attended adaptive camps, and participated in programs intentionally designed around accessibility, dignity, and belonging.
Today, those roots continue through our Extended School Year (ESY), summer enrichment, and afterschool programming.
Why Summer Programming Matters
Traditional summer programs are rarely designed for students with complex disabilities. Families frequently encounter barriers including:
- Inaccessible environments
- Insufficient medical support
- Limited staffing ratios
- Lack of AAC integration
- Inadequate behavioral or sensory supports
- Few opportunities for meaningful inclusion
As a result, many students spend summers isolated at home or without access to consistent educational and therapeutic engagement.
Circle of Friends was created to change that.
Our summer and afterschool programs provide structured, joyful, and highly individualized experiences where students continue building skills while also experiencing friendship, recreation, creativity, and community connection.
What Our Programs Include
Our programming blends education, recreation, therapy-informed supports, sensory engagement, communication development, and adaptive play into one integrated experience.
Programs may include:
- Adaptive recreation and outdoor play
- Sensory-based learning environments
- AAC-supported communication activities
- Literacy and story-based learning
- Music, movement, and art
- Community outings and field trips
- Social connection and peer engagement
- Daily living and functional skill development
- Small-group instruction aligned to IEP goals
- Integrated medical, feeding, and mobility support
Every activity is intentionally adapted to ensure students with complex physical, communication, sensory, and medical needs can meaningfully participate.
Designed Around the Needs of Students
Circle of Friends summer programming is intentionally structured around individualized student routines and supports. Daily schedules incorporate sensory regulation, personal care, communication supports, mobility access, feeding protocols, and adaptive engagement opportunities.
Students participate in activities such as:
- AAC-supported group games
- Sensory exploration stations
- Adaptive art experiences
- Switch-access technology activities
- Literacy circles with visual vocabulary and object supports
- Community safety learning
- Adaptive playground and movement activities
- Water and sensory play
- Music and interactive movement games
Programming is deeply individualized. Staff coordinate feeding supports, medication administration, toileting routines, mobility transfers, sensory regulation, and communication accommodations throughout the day so students can fully participate in camp and enrichment activities safely and with dignity.
A Space for Families, Too
Summer and afterschool programming provide critical continuity not only for students, but for caregivers and families.
Families of children with complex disabilities often struggle to find reliable, safe supports outside the traditional school day. By providing consistent programming with highly trained staff, Circle of Friends helps families maintain employment, reduce caregiver burnout, and experience greater stability throughout the year.
Equally important, these programs create spaces where families find connection and belonging alongside others navigating similar experiences. Many families describe Circle of Friends as one of the first places where they no longer feel alon.
Learning Through Joy & Community
Our philosophy is simple: students deserve more than supervision during school breaks. They deserve opportunities to explore, communicate, build relationships, experience joy, and continue growing in environments designed specifically for them.
Whether students are participating in adaptive tie-dye projects, sensory beach-themed learning activities, switch-access games, literacy circles, or community field trips, every experience is designed to support independence, engagement, communication, and belonging.
At Circle of Friends, summer is not about filling time.
It is about continuing connection, growth, and community.
Afterschool Programming
As Circle of Friends continues expanding, we are actively developing additional afterschool enrichment opportunities designed specifically for youth with disabilities and their families across Lane County.
Future programming will include:
- Adaptive recreation
- Inclusive social clubs
- Arts and music enrichment
- Family-centered respite opportunities
- Life skills programming
- Community outings
- Transition and vocational exploration
- Disability-informed mental health supports
Our goal is to create year-round opportunities where youth with disabilities are not only supported, but fully included in community life.
Because belonging should not end when the school day does.