One-of-a-Kind Special Needs School Secures Building in Wisconsin

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It was a vision started by a Wisconsin mother. This coming school year, a one-of-a-kind school for students with special needs has a home in Southeastern Wisconsin.

The school exclusively showed their new home to CBS 58. 

Bloom360 is currently enrolling students to their school in East Troy. The school will work with children with neuro-diverse needs including Autism, ADD, ADHD, Dyslexia and other learning differences.

The school closed on a one-room school house on Friday.

"We came across this one and it just felt right," said Laura Rauman, President & Founder of Bloom360.

The school was built in 1858 and was renovated in the 1950s.

"The historical society in East Troy has put a lot of documentation together and we found out it was a very welcoming school even back when it first started. That's really who we are," said Rauman.

Rauman started the school because of her daughter, Morgan, who's on the Autism spectrum.

"It's really an opportunity for those kids that are maybe struggling or falling between the cracks," said Rauman.

Morgan has been home-schooled for five years now.

"We've incorporated baking to help support her math skills of measuring ingredients," said Rauman.

Buying the groceries also built math skills and reading the recipes incorporated language arts. Rauman is hoping to share the approach to Morgan's schooling to other children

"When we moved here I searched and searched for a school for our son, Darren," said Dawn Frasa.

Dawn Frasa is excited to have enrolled her son in Bloom360. She believes the individualized approach to learning will help Darren reach his life goals.

"He has dreams of owning his own business, maybe being a building inspector, he definitely plans to go to college. These were all things that were maybe in the picture, but now there's a concrete plan that we know it's possible," said Frasa.

Renovation starts on the school building next week. A lot has to be done to make the school sensory-friendly by the first day of school in August.

"The team that's developing the school has included him in every step along the way, and that validates him on so many levels," said Frasa.

Frasa says she's already seeing her son learn so much at Bloom360.

"He brought clipboard to the building inspection and had questions for the inspector and thankfully inspector was a really good sport and appreciated this level of detail from a child who wanted to better understand ADA compliance in building and plans for renovating building and what's needed and required," said Frasa.

Bloom360 does need some help with the renovation. They've entered a contest to win $100,000 to will help make the school sensory-friendly. They are asking for you to vote for them at http://act.usatoday.com/submit-an-idea/#/gallery/60233932/

If you'd like more information about the school visit www.bloom360.org/

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