News Archive

WASHINGTON (December 14, 2020) – The Episcopal Center for Children (ECC) has been talking with partners who might share its grounds, and Maret School has been actively searching throughout the city for long-term athletic space. The ECC and Maret are in discussions about Maret using some of the open space behind the ECC’s buildings as well as the smallest of its four buildings. The two organizations do not yet have a formal agreement, and these conversations do not preclude the ECC from working with additional partners who might seek to use its remaining space. When the ECC and Maret finalize their agreement, they will work together through all appropriate city review and approval processes and promptly initiate discussions with the…

We deeply appreciate the many expressions of support and concern for the Episcopal Center for Children since our May announcement to suspend operations. Since then, ECC has been focused on assisting our students, their families, and our staff members to transition into new special education placements and employment opportunities. Over the past 125 years, it has been necessary several times for the Center to update its mission and to re-focus its efforts to best serve children and families. In the late 1950s the Center actually closed for two years as it advanced from an orphanage to a residential treatment and education program. We now find ourselves, again, reviewing our mission to determine how ECC can best serve children and families….

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – May 17, 2019 WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Episcopal Center for Children (ECC), a nonprofit organization providing therapeutic and special education services to children ages 5-14 in the greater Washington, DC area, issues the following statement: “We deeply regret the need to announce that, effective June 14, 2019, The Episcopal Center for Children will cease operations as a therapeutic school. The number of children referred and placed in the Washington D.C. region by traditional public and charter schools to nonpublic programs like ECC’s has decreased year-over-year for some time. This has been a very difficult decision to reach and the Board recognizes the impact it will have on our students, their families, the therapeutic and education community,…

On Friday, 12/7/2018, Kären Rasmussen, Director, No Child Goes Hungry contributed $1000.00 to ECC to support our efforts to assist our students and their families in times of need.  The funds will be used to support our food pantry that allows for us to send food to families in crisis, provide grocery store gift cards to families in need and provide snacks to our students. Pictured left to right: Stefanie Nash, Chief Program Officer, ECC; Rev. Gayle-Fisher Stewart; Kären Rasmussen, Director, No Child Goes Hungry; and Dodd White, President/CEO, ECC

The Center was featured in an article by Exceptional Parent magazine. “11 Tips for Selecting a School for Your Child with Special Needs” offers advice to help parents and guardians when considering placement options for their child. The story talks with staff members about choices parents face and their concerns. You can read the story here