-Founded by Patti Dorsey-
Patricia Dorsey
Patricia (Patti) Dorsey co-founded A Starting Place in 1979. She remained the Executive Director until her death in February 2014. Her commitment continues to create a culture that continuously improves services, sustains a high-quality team-oriented environment, and provides personalized education to each student and their family.
Below is a poem that held a special place in Patti’s heart. Everyday the staff of A Starting Place strives to keep her memory and teachings alive by believing that we can make a difference in every student’s life.
A Starfish Story
One morning a man walked along a beach covered with thousands of starfish that had washed up during a storm. Now they lay dying in the sun. He saw a young girl picking up the starfish one by one and tossing them into the sea. As he approached her he couldn't help but ask, "Why bother? There are too many of them. You won't make much of a difference." She picked up another starfish and tossed it into the water. Then she turned to the man and said, "I made a difference to that one."
Mission: to concentrate on the development of the whole child through an individualized developmentally oriented program. We believe that every child is born with strengths and weaknesses and we believe that much is possible if we emphasize the positive and address the weakness.
Vision: to create an environment where everyone learns and feels safe, and nurtured and that they are important and matter. Our goal is to provide our students and their families the opportunity to develop the skills and abilities to create the foundation necessary to move forward and reach their highest potential. Families are always told we don’t just take in a child, we take in the whole family.
Motto: First make good choices then you will reach your goals
Philosophy: A Starting Place’s cornerstone philosophy is to provide a safe, nurturing, and accepting School that includes and never excludes. We believe that young children learn best by interacting actively and creatively with their environment. We are committed to creating a curriculum for our students that provides for growth in all areas of development: social, emotional, physical, and cognitive/intellectual/creative. A child is part of a family, and when a child is in our program, so is their family. It is our mission to help our students reach their utmost potential by designing innovative and flexible learning opportunities that achieve outcomes for them and their families. We are committed to providing a secure and happy atmosphere for our students and their families during these most important years of growth, development, and learning.