On a recent weekday in February, Guild School students strolled the aisles of the Market Basket in Burlington for butter, flour, and sugar. They navigated the store with ease thanks to their classroom lesson the day before, which previewed grocery store signs, layout, and other environmental features. Students crossed each item off their list as they went, taking care not to overlook any ingredients for the chocolate chip cookies they’d make that afternoon.

Over the past three years, The Guild has been part of a cohort of select schools chosen by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to improve the individualized education program (IEP) development process. The Guild was selected to participate for its organizational capacity and demonstrated commitment to improving educational and quality of life outcomes for students.

The Guild School, which serves individuals ages 6-22 diagnosed with intellectual and developmental disabilities along with concurrent mental health diagnoses, is now accepting referrals for immediate and upcoming residential openings.

CARF International announced that The Guild for Human Services has been accredited for a period of three years for its youth and adult residential programs. The latest accreditation is the second consecutive Three-Year Accreditation that the accrediting body, CARF International, has awarded to The Guild.

When she started at The Guild in 2019 as an Overnight Residential Assistant with Sassafras House, Sandra Kalambayi never could have imagined that she’d be working here five years later as a School Nurse.

This past Tuesday, The Guild School received a special delivery.

Michelle and Donnie Peters, co-founders of DJ’s Holiday Smiles, arrived with over 50 bags of customized gifts for Guild School students. Guild staff members gleefully collected the bags and began the annual days-long gift-wrapping activities.

On Sunday, October 29th, nearly 80 Guild community members laced up their sneakers and participated in the annual Flutie 5k Run/Walk/Roll for Autism! We were joined by Guild families, staff, students, adults and supporters at the Leonard Morse Hospital in Natick for the race. While skies were overcast, the rain held out just in time for everyone to complete the course!

Dear Colleagues,

On Monday, May 25, a man died right before our eyes.  He died in real time and on instant replay, over and over and over again.  He died not of a heart attack, a car accident or old age.  He died under the knee of a person, of four people, who swore an oath to protect him.

George Floyd was an African American man who had two daughters, several jobs, and countless friends.  He was one in a long line of men and women of color who have died under a knee, at the barrel of a gun or swinging from a tree in a “free” country. 

Since June of 2022, a group of Guild School students have spent each Monday morning working at Hale Education, a scenic, 1100-acre network of trails and swimming areas. During their shift, students roll up their sleeves and make an impact on Hale’s trail beautification, cabin maintenance, and firewood clearing projects. All students are paid each week for their efforts. 

September 10-16 marks National Direct Support Professional Recognition Week! On any given day, direct support professionals are asked to serve in a variety of roles: coach, clinician, family liaison, employment navigator, and chef, to name a few. They work hard to meet the needs of those in their care, and too often this work is underappreciated and undervalued. This week and every week, The Guild is committed to recognizing the skill, creativity, and work ethic of the amazing direct support professionals who are such a vital part of our community.