Growth in Facilities, Fundraising, Students Served, Technology
Southborough, Mass. – January 3, 2017 – The New England Center for Children® (NECC®), a global leader in education and research for children with autism, announced a record year of growth and development in 2016. NECC experienced growth in all areas of operations and reached new milestones in fundraising. Operating cost for 2016 was up 10% to $94 million.
“The success that NECC experienced in 2016 strongly positions us to extend our leadership in autism education, research and technology,” said Vincent Strully, Jr., CEO and Founder of The New 
England Center for Children. “I am very proud of our community of teachers, parents, donors and researchers who zero in on each student with extraordinary focus and sophistication to foster independence, maximize skills, and help transform the lives of children with autism and their families.”
Most notable in 2016 was the completion of NECC’s $10M capital campaign, which exceeded its goal, and the opening of the new John and Diane Kim Autism Institute. This new, 33,000 SF building houses research, professional training, and technology. NECC also received a generous software grant from Microsoft Corp. valued at $3.4 million.
Among other achievements in 2016:
- In 2016, total students served increased by 10% to 4,120 students, including home-based, day school, residential, consulting program, partner classes, and ACE customers. NECC served 329 children in its Southborough programs. Internationally, students served by NECC-Abu Dhabi increased by 21% to 184 students, including supporting students in 19 government and private schools in the emirate.
- Consulting Program – In 2016, 307 students across 27 school districts in five states received the benefits of NECC expertise from consultation services. The Consulting Program provides collaborative training between NECC and a school district to build ABA-based teaching skills and expertise within school systems.
- Training and Workshops – In 2016, we provided 90 training sessions and workshops to more than 886 parents, educators, paraprofessionals, and behavior analysts.
- Partner Program – In 2016, NECC teachers provided classroom instruction for 202 children in 34 classrooms in their home districts, across 23 school districts. The Partner Program provides a full-time master’s level NECC-certified special educator onsite along with a full complement of educational programming.
- Staff – In 2016, NECC expanded its staff by 13% to 1,217, of which 775 serve as teachers. These include more than 160 Board Certified Behavior Analysts, 200 master’s level educators, and nearly 20 Ph.Ds. NECC continued its on-site master’s and Ph.D. degree programs in applied behavioral analysis and special education, awarding close to 100 degrees. Since 1987, more than 1,300 employees have completed a master’s degree onsite at NECC with partner colleges including Western New England University and Simmons College.
- Technology – NECC is at the forefront of technology for children with autism with its Autism Curriculum Encyclopedia, or ACE® ABA Software System. In 2016, ACE expanded its user base by 15% to 4,120 students in 24 states and nine countries. ACE also received an Invented Here! award by the Boston Patent Law Association. ACE is a cloud-based teaching system that includes more than 2,000 customizable lesson plans, gathering NECC’s 40 years of teaching, techniques and research into a practical, step-by-step program to ensure highest quality educational standards and effectiveness.
- Research – NECC conducts and publishes research to further the understanding and treatment of autism. In 2016, NECC staff published in seven academic journals, including two book chapters. Staff presented 138 presentations at professional conferences. NECC had the second highest number of contributing authors to the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis. Historically, NECC staff have published 251 studies in peer-reviewed academic journals and presented more than 2,060 times at professional conferences around the world.
- Campus Renovation and Expansion – In addition to the completion of the new John and Diane Kim Autism Institute, an existing 13,500 SF space is undergoing renovation to comprise a new Student Activity Center, including classrooms for art, music, library, vocational studies, a leisure center and a school store, as well as a new student infirmary and expanded office space.
- Celebrating Our Achievements – NECC garnered recognition in dozens of media outlets; these stories can be read at https://neccwebsites.wpengine.com/about-necc/media-center/. The Center produced several new videos celebrating students, staff and community partnerships, which may be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/user/NECCvideos1.
- Events: NECC continued its program of events to benefit children with autism, including the Children of Promise Gala, Boston Marathon, 5K Walk/Run for Autism, Carlos Placido Dunkin’ Donuts Golf Classic, and “The Mike” Golf Tournament, raising a total of $1.3M for the Annual Fund.
- These annual events will continue in 2017 on the following dates:
- Team NECC Runs the Boston Marathon – April 17, 2017
- 5K Walk/Run for Autism – May 6, 2017
- Carlos Placido Dunkin’ Donuts Golf Classic – June 5, 2017
- “The Mike” Golf Tournament – August 28, 2017
- Children of Promise Gala – November 2017
For more NECC news visit our Media Center.