Based in Nutley, NJ The Phoenix Center is an accredited private special needs school serving the educational, behavioral and therapeutic needs of students ages 5-21 with autism, multiple disabilities, behavioral and intellectual disabilities. Our customized programs are built around the whole child and anchored by a hands-on, real-life, community-based instruction model.
Personalized Programs
Customized Programming Individualized for Each Student
Planning for the Future
Preparing Our Students for Life Beyond the Classroom
Enriching Our Students' Lives
Enabled by Your Direct Support and Contribution
Working Together
Bringing staff, professionals, parents & districts together
A Message From the Executive Director
Welcome to The Phoenix Center. I invite you to explore our website to get an understanding of the scope of programs and services we provide to our students. Our Core Values and Mission illustrate our primary purpose – to serve our students and their families and to provide cutting-edge and highly customized educational, therapeutic, and transition services and supports. Our parents have entrusted me as the Executive Director to develop and oversee programs that will uncover their children’s full potential. It is my honor to continue to serve this community, which has provided 32 years of educational excellence.
At TPC, we embrace the FISH Philosophy, which centers on being kind to one another. As educators, we specialize in extending kindness to our students, their families, and each other, every single day. This collective effort contributes to our ultimate goal of making a lifelong positive impact.
Unwrapping the many gifts and talents our students have is at the heart of what we do at TPC. Together with our dedicated staff and our partnerships with our parents and school districts, we prepare our students for life beyond the classroom.
I invite you to browse our website and like us on social media. My door is always open, so feel free to contact me with any questions you may have. Take care and be well.
With gratitude,
Julie Mower, M.A.Ed.
Executive Director
PS Please remember that you can support the initiatives and programming not covered by tuition dollars by donating through our DONATE page here.
Celebrating All Graduation Success Stories: OpEd Featured on Mosaic
We are thrilled to share that Julie Mower, Executive Director of The Phoenix Center, has been featured on Mosaic with a compelling OpEd highlighting the importance of celebrating diverse graduation success stories, especially those of students with autism and multiple disabilities. In this insightful piece, Julie emphasizes that while traditional graduation milestones often involve college […]
Empowering Neurodiverse Students: TPC’s Innovative Approach
We’re excited to share some wonderful news: The Phoenix Center was recently featured on News 12 for our groundbreaking use of virtual reality technology in the classroom! In a recent article titled “Nutley school uses virtual reality to help children with neurodiversity succeed in the real world”, Amanda Eustice explores how we’re harnessing the power […]
Building Bridges Through Inclusion
The Phoenix Center’s Journey to Foster Understanding & Friendship The Phoenix Center (TPC) is pioneering efforts to foster inclusion and enhance social skills among students from different backgrounds through a series of engaging and educational events. Tracy Hanna, MSW, LSW and a dedicated school social worker at The Phoenix Center, has played a pivotal role […]
