For 18 special needs students at a private institution in Ancaster, back to school will mean no toys for recess.

Vandals burned an outdoor shed to the ground and with it all the
balls, skipping ropes and sleds the autistic and learning disabled
children use.

The Gregory School for Exceptional Learning is a private program
that operates out of Grace Church, a Baptist church that’s been in
Ancaster for more than half a century.

The church, on Carrington Court, has struggled with vandalism
recently. Windows have been shot out by pellet guns and rocks thrown
through large windows.

Graffiti has marred its walls, some of it racist such as "KKK," the rest of it profane.

Church elder and property manager Doug Wallace said the vandalism
has spiked in recent weeks. He doesn’t know if it’s just random
juvenile destruction or something more sinister. "Our church also
houses a Korean Presbyterian congregation and the Gregory School."

But what really hurts, said Gregory School founder and director
Angeline Sarabura, is that the vandalism robs children, and special
needs children at that.

"On the weekend, someone ripped the doors off the shed and stole
four bicycles our children use that had been donated by parents,"
Sarabura said yesterday, while standing amid the shed’s charred
remnants.

"Before that, they sprayed an obscene work on the shed’s roof. Then on Wednesday, they burned it down."

Sarabura, who has worked as a teacher and researcher at Toronto’s
Hospital for Sick Kids, opened the private school in Ancaster five
years ago.

The program, called direct instruction, differs from what is
available for special needs children in the public system. It revolves
around constant interaction and the development of long-term
educational plans for individual students.

The school has drawn families from across southern Ontario. Some moved to the Hamilton area so that their children can attend.

Teachers work on basic skills in a logical sequence so that students
progress at their own speed. Music and outdoor exercise are an
important part of the curriculum.

Gudrun Thomas, of Dundas, said she enrolled her autistic daughter in
Gregory School because the program provides things the public
educational systems simply doesn’t match.

Now, Thomas said, the increase in vandalism makes her wonder if the
school is the target. "The last thing my daughter needs right now is
not to have any toys to play with."

Police say the shed’s destruction was arson, but have no suspects.
They have assigned the case to its elite arson investigation unit.
Anyone with information can call Detective Marco Del Conte at
905-540-5085 or Crime Stoppers at 905-522-TIPS.

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