About Lighthouse School

We Are a Corporation for Kids

Lighthouse School, Inc. is a private, not-for-profit (501(c)(3)), Chapter 766 approved human service corporation serving the needs of students with a wide array of disabilities. We are both a school and a treatment center.

Our services are designed to promote total life development, both in school, and at home. Students live in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine, and are transported to and from Lighthouse School daily.

We have successfully helped a diverse range of children for over 50 years, providing quality treatment and educational services to meet their needs.

Lighthouse is a treatment center. Students typically come to Lighthouse School having struggled in other settings; especially those with a more educational focus. These challenges go far beyond the classroom setting and may accurately be described as life challenges. Our primary objective is to help all students gain the insights and skills necessary to successfully master all challenges in life: at school, at home and in the community.

Lighthouse is a school. As a school, we conform to all of the regulations and expectations of every school in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Lighthouse School has operated under the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education as an approved private, not-for-profit 501(c )(3) school serving in excess of 100 communities in the states of Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine for over four decades. Over these years, Lighthouse School staff have worked diligently to develop effective technologies that address the needs of students and their families and the communities that Lighthouse School is so privileged to serve.

Why the Name "Lighthouse"?

We chose the name “Lighthouse” for our school because we wanted a name that would properly represent our goals, philosophy and mission.

A lighthouse represents direction, guidance and safety through complex or difficult passages. Our students come to Lighthouse School with a wide range of strengths and difficulties. They require direction in their daily experiences; guidance in mastering the challenges of life; and a safe environment in which to learn and grow. A lighthouse also represents light, brightening the shadows and offering hope and success to those who come here. Lighthouse School offers the brightness of a better future.

Our Treatment Philosophy

Lighthouse School’s treatment philosophy is called APEX Biodevelopmental Technology. Given its importance, APEX is described in far more detail in our brochure. At this point it is important to describe four major features of APEX, features that will impact every student every day of their enrollment.

  • First, every action, every event, every situation is viewed as a treatment opportunity. APEX doesn’t start and stop like a discrete course or program. Rather it is woven seamlessly into the fabric of every student experience.
  • Second, APEX is flexibly adjusted to meet the needs of all students. The student population of Lighthouse School is highly diverse. Through planning, discussion and consultation both within our staff and with families and other parties working with the student we are able to develop a treatment plan that addresses the unique strengths and needs of each and every student.
  • Third, APEX Biodevelopment requires a very strong inter-disciplinary approach to education. Lighthouse School's highly skilled team members deliver clinical, educational, vocational, medical, neuromotor, and communication services in an integrated manner.
  • Fourth, APEX is a comprehensive services model that addresses and integrates home, school, and community; it is not limited to what happens at school.

There's No Place Like Lighthouse!