North Pointe Center

• Lewis Cass ISD believes that people with disabilities need to be as productive members of society as possible. In order to produce that result for the students we serve, community based instruction (functional living skills taught directly at the location where the skill will be used, ie: ordering from a restaurant, buying stamps at the post office, etc.) is found to be far more effective than simulating that activity in the classroom. 
  
  
• North Pointe Center was a direct result of the need for a facility to house classrooms of older students with moderate to severe disabilities in a community setting where this community based instruction could occur daily. With the purchase of a former grocery store (the old Village Market), it became evident that it contained more space than was necessary for the needs of two classroom programs. Non-profit organizations/agencies that needed space, or more space in the community, were targeted for joining us at that location.
  
  
• With the assistance of the Dowagiac Downtown Developmental Authority and the county administrator, several agencies expressed interest and the project began. A "one stop shopping" theme, where a variety of community members needs can be met at one time, became the focus. Currently open at North Pointe Center are the following agencies: Cass VanBuren Health Clinic; the Lewis Cass ISD Life Skills Center; Secretary of State Office; and the Employment and Resource Center. This philosophical intiative was promoted by Governor John Engler.

Our Goal...

The Life Skills Center's goal is to help each student develop to their maximum potential and allow the students to be productive, both in their homes and within the community. Upon completion of the program, some of the students should be employed within the community on a part-time basis, according to each individual's developed abilities and skills.