Unique Learning Center Curacao

Hi, I’m Donna van der Dijs, president of ULC Foundation and former director of our school.

Sometimes reality is difficult to face, which is why I left ULC’s page floundering, unresolved, for months… Now finally I am writing the last post on ULC’s page.

When the idea of starting a school for children with autism popped into my head there were two things driving me. First a huge need, a need for the right school for my daughter and right behind it the dream for every child in Curaçao to have access to a school that could cater to their unique needs. The founding parents and all parents who joined along the way put all their love and energy into creating Unique Learning Center, a school for children with autism.

ULC was built on love and a vision for the future, a vision that demanded a very different approach compared to what Curaçao’s department of Education was and is doing. A vision that embraced the knowledge that every child deserves the right tools to reach his or her full potential, no matter what that may be.

We (parents) started this process back in 2017 naively believing that with a pure heart and purpose everything was possible. We trusted that the ministry of Education would support us, we had the verbal guarantee from the minister of Education and while the incidence of autism was on the rise worldwide, Curaçao had no school specifically for children with autism. We had a sponsor to help with the start-up costs, so we went to work and created a lovely, effective school.

Our children were happy, and our parents were happy with the results they were seeing but the government kept us stuck in a vicious circle of lies. During our second school year we realized that we didn’t have the power or influence to achieve anything through the government and it was becoming near impossible to cover all our costs without any subsidies. Our parents were paying Ang. 1000 a month and even that wasn’t enough to cover our operational costs. We also had a waiting list of children who needed our school but the parents couldn’t afford our tuition.

This lead us to talk with the Vereniging voor Protestants Christelijk Onderwijs (VPCO - Protestant school board), hoping that as part of an established school board we would be able to receive the needed support and continue providing the proper approach to educate our students with autism and other disabilities. We went to battle and finally in September 2019 received approval to continue as part of the VPCO. The plan was to start with one class and by the following school year opening up more classrooms and moving to a new building, for which ULC had already secured a sponsor.

Yet our government had other plans and by January 2020 we received a letter that they would not continue to subsidize our current class and future expansions. We went to bat again and put everything into the battle, hoping that they would come to their senses, after all for many of our students there was no other option… but long story short, they made it impossible for the VPCO to continue with our plans and ULC itself was already depleted after moving and fighting for our children’s rights repeatedly. It’s worth noting that our teenagers were already left behind without a school as VPCO could not provide a space for them.

As I’m writing this my heart breaks all over again because the children that were in our school are now scattered all over the place. Some found temporary solutions in other schools that have to do for now, and many are at home because Curaçao does NOT have schools for children with autism. The current government of Eugene Rhuggenaath should be ashamed of their part in breaking this wonderful school and leaving all the children and their parents to fend for themselves. I wonder how people like Wladimir Kleinmoedig, who sit in important government positions, can look at themselves in the mirror, they are a disgrace to our educational system!!

The government is supposed to ensure appropriate education for every child. As they like to promote at conferences and meetings, “No Child Left Behind.” In this case they chose knowingly to shut ULC down and suggested placement for children with autism in schools that don’t have the appropriate teachers or materials. Instead of working towards a solution that would provide these children a brighter future, they stopped a project that wasn’t their idea, not caring about the end result. They left our children and all children in Curaçao with autism behind.

Our children deserve better and Curaçao deserves better! I’m not just talking about children with autism either, if you don’t believe me, go visit some of our schools. It will make you very sad but will also bring understanding as to the poor state that our dushi island of Curaçao is in today. Without a healthy and thriving educational system, our society will continue failing in every aspect. Our future will not be bright until this is fixed, until we can unite and truly work together towards a better overall education system, this will remain an island on a path to self-destruction.

We remain with hope for a better future and will never stop fighting for the rights of all children to receive an education that allows them to reach their full potential, regardless of disability or any other hardship! Curaçao, you can do better.

Happy World Autism Day!! 💙💙

It’s been a while since we have posted on Facebook. The main reason being that ULC’s students were finally in transition, starting at Divi Divi School in a temporary classroom. As a lot of details were/are still being worked out we felt the best thing was to give things some time to fall into place. Also, we didn’t want to give other parents information that we weren’t sure about. That being said, the class has been doing great and students have been adapting to their new surroundings.

On Thursday, Jan. 23, 2020, the VPCO received a letter from the minister of education that surprised everyone. The letter seems to question the validity of the students currently in the class, again without talking to parents, psychologists or even observing the class. We thought we had established the dire need of more focused special education in Curaçao and that things were heading in the right direction. We hope that in the long run this is still the case.

Attached is the link to an article that ran in today’s Antilliaans Dagblad. We will keep you updated to the latest developments moving forward. Have a great week, bon siman!!

VPCO laat zich niet afpoeieren De snelst groeiende krant van Curaçao, Bonaire en Aruba

Today ULC and the VPCO were supposed to have a meeting with minister Alcalá-Wallé and other members of the ministry of education regarding the petition that was turned in on May 29, 2019, asking for ULC to join with the VPCO’s Divi Divi School as a “cluster 4” dependence. Yesterday, ULC was contacted by the government and informed that they are in the end phase of reaching a decision but need another week or so. As the new school year is getting closer every day, we truly hope for and expect a positive answer soon! ULC started a much-needed school for a group of very special children, and we hope to continue helping more and more students to reach their full potential and therefore have a brighter future! We want to thank the media and the community for all the support we are receiving. We hope to have good news to share soon!

On Thursday, July 4, 2019, ULC and the VPCO (Association for Protestant Christian Education) organized a second information evening about the cluster 4 school that is planned for the 2019/20 school year. A cluster 4 school provides education for children with a variety of special needs such as autism.
On Wednesday, July 3, 2019, representatives of ULC and the VPCO sat with members of the minister's department of education to discuss the request that was submitted at the end of May 2019, to the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture & Sport (OWCS) for the funding of the school. The purpose of the evening was not only to provide information, but also to update parents of the process.
Attendees consisted of not only interested parents but also education and healthcare professionals. All recognize the need for a cluster 4 school in Curaçao. Since the current government focuses on the fact that every child has the right to an education, we expect a positive response from Minister M. Alcalá-Wallé to our request. The VPCO and ULC expect an answer by July 24, 2019.

ULC & VPCO are holding a second information session for parents and everyone interested in our school on Thursday, July 4, 2019, at Unique Learning Center at 6 p.m. We look forward to see you there!

A group of ULC’s students, parents and teachers paid a visit to the office of minister Alcalá-Wallé today. Even though the minister is aware of ULC’s petition together with the VPCO (Association for Protestant Christian Education) for a “cluster 4” school, we wanted minister Alcalá-Wallé and her co-workers to meet us and listen to our stories. Since minister Alcalá-Wallé wasn’t there herself, we were able to hand in our letter stressing the importance of a cluster 4 school in Curaçao to Mr. Wladimir Kleinmoedig. After two successful school years, ULC cannot continue with the school due to a lack of funding. We hope to be able to continue providing the right education in the right setting for our students for school year 2019/20, and providing this opportunity for all children in our community who need a specialized education together with the VPCO.