The School Committee gave the Christopher Donovan Day School the green light on Wednesday, October 13, allowing the private alternative-education school to apply for accreditation from the state.

"I'm ecstatic," said Christopher Donovan President Helen Bradbury following the approval. "We're eager to move forward with the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education."

The school has been working with district administrators for many months. By law, a new private school must be approved by the School Committee in the district in which it resides. It then can seek accreditation from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

The school, located at 4 Recovery Road, currently operates as a tutoring center for students with special needs. If approved by the state, the nonprofit Christopher Donovan Day School will service children with communication disorders in grades one through five, whose needs can't be met in a traditional, public school setting. (The tutoring center will continue to operate.)

"Without this program, [these students] are isolated in their homes," Bradbury said. "These are not kids that we're taking out of the public schools."

Lynne Burroughs, president of the Wareham Special Education Parent Advisory Council, urged the School Committee not to hold up the Christopher Donovan Day School. "We have a severe need for this school in Wareham," she said during the public participation portion of the meeting.

The School Committee also heard from parents who currently use Bradbury's tutoring services and advocated for the opening of the day school.

School Committee Chair Cliff Sylvia said the School Committee was not trying to hold up the school. "There was no discussion, either pro or con, about approving [your] school. We wanted to go through the process," he said. "We have to do due diligence."

Wareham Public School administrators reviewed the Christopher Donovan Day School's proposed curriculum, assessment methods, educational materials, staffing, as well as its location and finances, pursuant to School Committee policy.

Robert Louzan, Director of Student Services, said he was concerned about the possibility of low enrollment at the school, meaning students would not have the opportunity to interact with peers, as well as the risk of closure if the school cannot pay salaries due to low enrollment.

School Committee member Rachel Gillette said parents are aware of the risks. "This is such an extreme situation with these families. They get that risk. They understand that risk," she said. "If [the school] works, great. If it doesn't work, they already know that they're going to have to find another way to move on. But it's a possibility. It's an option."

Wareham Superintendent Dr. Barry Rabinovitch noted that the school's staff has come a long way since its first meetings with the School Committee and school administrators. "I feel that they have met the criteria necessary to be an approval."

School Committee member Geoff Swett said that though he was concerned with the school's financial solvency, "it appears that there's so much passion and so much commitment on the part of the people involved in this, that you're probably going to find a way to make it work."

The School Committee unanimously approved the Christopher Donovan Day School. The approval elicited clapping from meeting-attendees.

"It's for the kids," said Bradbury, nearly speechless after the approval. "They're the ones who are going to benefit."