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The Mt. Pleasant Blythedale Union Free School District
Blythedale Children's Hospital is the only hospital in New York State with its own public school district on site, uniquely created to serve inpatients and Day Hospital patients at Blythedale Children's Hospital.
Mt. Pleasant Blythedale UFSD is a New York State public, special act school district, chartered in 1971 to serve the highly specialized needs of the patients of Blythedale Children’s Hospital.
Children in grades K through 12, who require intensive rehabilitation and medical care, attend school either as inpatients or through Blythedale’s Day Hospital Program. There is also a preschool, special education program that accepts community Committee on Preschool Special Education (CPSE) referrals. Each day is a dynamic interplay of medical care, therapies, and education. All children receive daily medical and nursing care, physical, occupational and/or speech therapy, as well as appropriate medical consultation based on an individualized treatment plan. Education is a vital component of the rehabilitation program, and our multidisciplinary approach ensures that students receive coordinated services. Mount Pleasant Blythedale (MPB) offers them a comprehensive, public school alternative to homebound instruction.
Mount Pleasant Blythedale offers all New York State accredited diploma options, including Regents diplomas. There is also a General Educational Development (GED) preparation program for students ages 16 and up. All teachers are certified by New York State in special education, and either a secondary content area or elementary education. Teachers provide specialized learning environments to address the academic, social and emotional needs of students in small class settings. The instructional programs are congruent with the New York State Learning Standards and the Common Core Curriculum. They are designed to address Individualized Education Program (IEP) goals while simultaneously helping students to maximize their learning potential and work toward grade level standards and recognized secondary credentials. Special subjects, such as technology, art, music and library are also part of the school curriculum. The District is governed by the Regulations of the New York State Education Department.
Mount Pleasant Blythedale is a public school district and New York State residents attend tuition free. Out-of-state students attend by referral from their home school districts. At the time of discharge, a comprehensive transition program helps students, parents and local school districts identify appropriate placement options. Even though they are patients in a hospital, children are encouraged to pursue the primary tasks of childhood and adolescence: having fun and growing emotionally, socially and academically.
- Services provided in 32,000 square foot, state-of-the-art school building, attached to Blythedale Children’s Hospital
- Experienced nursing staff
- Differentiated instruction
- Central Westchester location, convenient to the New York City boroughs, Long Island, and the lower Hudson Valley, including Putnam, Rockland, Orange and Dutchess counties
- Medical supervision by Board-certified pediatricians and pediatric specialists
- Largest hospital-based pediatric therapy department in New York State, with 75 full-time pediatric therapists (physical, occupational, respiratory, speech pathology and feeding)
- MPB can accommodate 120 school-aged children and 24 preschoolers
- Transportation is provided by the child’s home school district, by school bus or ambulette
- Full-day program runs 9:15 a.m. to 3:15 p.m.
- Flexible schedule to accommodate intensive therapy regimens
- Transition services to ensure successful return to community
- Extended year/summer school programming
- Parent support groups
Contact Information:
- Griselda Reyes, Principal, Mt. Pleasant-Blythedale Union Free School District
- greyes@mpbschools.org
- (914) 347-1800
The Mt. Pleasant Blythedale Union Free School District Staff

Mount Pleasant Blythedale School includes a staff of 21 certified educators, a school psychologist, guidance counselor and 23 teaching assistants and aides
Treatments We Support
Acquired Brain Injury
Blythedale Children’s Hospital is a longtime leader in the treatment of children recovering from brain injury including Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), post-infectious diseases such as meningitis or Anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis (ANMDAR), brain tumors and stroke. The extraordinary...
Learn moreAssistive Technology
Assistive Technology expands opportunities for children with special needs to increase participation in school settings, build social interactions, and access their environments in a variety of specialized ways. Blythedale’s dedicated team includes Assistive Technology experts from speech...
Learn moreCancer Rehabilitation
A customized therapeutic regimen enables patients to regain their strength and function while undergoing or recovering from surgery, chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy. We recognize the vital importance of an ongoing relationship with the child’s referring oncology team, and we participate...
Learn moreCardiac Rehabilitation
As more infants and children are undergoing complex cardiac surgical procedures to repair congenital conditions such as hypoplastic left heart syndrome, tetralogy of fallot, transposition of the great vessels, coarctation of the aorta, or cardiac injury due to myocarditis or traumatic injury,...
Learn moreComplex Post-Surgical Rehabilitation
Patients are admitted for acute medical and rehabilitative inpatient care following major trauma (such as head and spinal injuries, extensive soft tissue trauma/burns, vascular injuries, major muscle/ligament injuries, amputations or fractures), extensive scoliosis surgery, selective dorsal...
Learn moreComplex Wound and Burn Management
The child’s clinical team works collaboratively with parents and other caregivers to identify developmentally appropriate medical and therapeutic goals. This team is also committed to meeting the psychological and social challenges that accompany burn and wound treatment and recovery,...
Learn moreNeuromuscular Disorders
The goal of our Neuromuscular Disorders program is to help children maximize their functional abilities through comprehensive medical care and rehabilitation, utilizing state-of-the-art technology, environmental modifications and adaptive equipment. Following an intake evaluation, the child’s...
Learn morePulmonary Rehabilitation
The goal of the Pulmonary Rehabilitation program is weaning from technology completely or to the least invasive support to facilitate the family's transition to home. Parents are involved in the care of their child every step of the way, and learn proper use of equipment, care of tracheostomy,...
Learn moreComplex Chronic Conditions
Many children come to Blythedale with multiple, complex chronic conditions that impact their function. These chronic conditions - including cerebral palsy, CHARGE syndrome, congenital and chromosomal abnormalities, severe epilipsy - can complicate recovery after surgeries, acute illnesses or...
Learn morePre/Post Organ & Stem Cell Transplant
These children require the highest level attention of a multidisciplinary team of pediatricians, pediatric physiatrists, nurses, nutritionists, pharmacists and physical, occupational, speech and feeding therapists familiar with the problems inherent in recovery from and living with a transplant. We...
Learn moreSpecialized Feeding
Children referred to Blythedale for Therapeutic Feeding have wide-ranging conditions including prematurity, short-gut syndrome, brain injury, oral-motor dysfunction, aversion behaviors, cognitive deficits or post-surgical complications. Services for these children include evaluations for both...
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Mt. Pleasant-Blythedale Union Free School District
We are the only public school district in New York created to educate a hospital population. Our students are inpatients and day hospital children and adolescents receiving rehabilitation and medical services at Blythedale Children’s Hospital.

Mt. Pleasant Blythedale UFSD Welcomes Back Students
The pencils were sharpened, the backpacks were filled and the classrooms were spotless. It was the first day of school for students at Mt. Pleasant Blythedale Union Free School District (UFSD) on Tuesday, September 5th. These students, in pre-K through 12th grade, are not only coming to learn but to also receive intensive therapies and comprehensive medical services as inpatients or Day Hospital patients at Blythedale Children’s Hospital.

Mathew's Perfect Pitch
Thirteen-year-old Mathew was well-known as a baseball prodigy in the Little League community. A versatile player, the talented teen hit more than 70 home runs in one year alone. The road that led him to Blythedale is heart-breaking, but his tenacity and courage in the face of adversity has led to an extraordinary recovery.