Founded in 1963 under the auspices of the Greater Hartford Mental Health Association, River Street School has undergone many changes over the years. We began as a half-day a week program of social services to a three-day per week program and quickly grew to include an educational component by 1967 and became known as The Day Treatment Service. By 1970, the program made the transition to providing full-time services and began operating on a traditional school calendar.

Our continued success was recognized in 1972 when the program became a member of the Capitol Region Education Council. In 1974, an Extended Day Program was added to our service menu and offered additional programming for many students. The school experienced on-going growth over the next few years as we added summer programming, expanded gross motor programming, a full pre-vocational curriculum, classrooms for the instruction of Activities of Daily Living, and job training skills curriculum in building maintenance and food services. Computers were introduced into the classrooms for instruction and augmentative communication devices. In 1986, the program expanded beyond its walls and opened group homes in Southington and Bloomfield.

In 1990, we opened our new, state-of-the-art facility in Windsor, CT., and became known as River Street School. Our new school provides a spacious layout designed specifically to meet the needs of our student population. The enrollment at River Street is currently at an all-time high, and the addition of the Early Autism Program, the Integrated Program Model, the Outreach Program, the Children’s Therapy Services Clinic, and the Program for the Assessment of Special Children have greatly enhanced our overall range of services.

Throughout our history we have always been proud of the quality of services offered to our students. Our program has received awards and recognition from many sources over the years including the Council for Exceptional Children, St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center, the Computer Learning Foundation, the Governor's Coalition on Employment Opportunities for Youth with Disabilities, the Northeast Communication Enhancement Group, and others.

The Mission of River Street School is "...to improve the life of the severely behaviorally disabled student by providing him/her with the opportunity to learn the skills needed to be a productive, self-sufficient, behaviorally appropriate member of society." As we continually strive toward that goal, River Street School will continue its rich legacy of care and commitment in the education of students with special needs.