New Jersey in order to teach and care for eight children. Devereux Schools: The beginning In 1912 several children continued to live with Devereux in her own home in Philadelphia, which became her first private school. This marked the beginning of The Devereux Foundation. During that time, Devereux remained a public school teacher, and employed two assistant teachers to teach and look after students during the day. Devereux devoted herself to learning how to best serve her students. Between the years of 1910 and 1918, Devereux participated in several post graduate endeavors, including the study of psychiatry, psychoanalysis and speech therapy at colleges and universities in the Philadelphia area. She also took apprenticeship training in the areas of occupational therapy, woodworking and handicrafts. All her efforts focused on improving the education and experience of the students in her charge. In 1914 she began working for the Philadelphia Normal School in order to teach post graduate students in the country's first course on special education. In 1918, she resigned from the Normal school to teach her private school students full-time. In January 1918 she used $94 of saved and borrowed funds in order to rent a house in Devon, Pennsylvania. Organizational growth On May 1, 1918, Helena Devereux and her students took residence in the house that became known as “Devereux Stone.” Soon her students numbered 12, and in 1919 Devereux was able to purchase the rental property, as well as the neighboring estate. Over the course of two years, school enrollment doubled. In 1920 Devereux purchased another property in Berwyn, Pennsylvania in order to provide a home to some of the younger developmentally disabled children in her care. From 1920 onward, the organization saw continued growth, both in enrollment numbers, as well as in properties purchased. In 1922, the different schools and facilities became united under one name—Devereux Schools. Despite an operating deficit of $250,000 during the Great Depression, Devereux continued to acquire real estate throughout the Philadelphia area. Creditors were kept at bay through the shared burden of Devereux staff, and loans from the parents of Devereux's students. In 1938 The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania granted The Devereux Foundation its non-profit charter. In 1940 Devereux transferred all the assets and properties of Devereux Schools to the Foundation. In 1943 The Devereux Foundation expanded tremendously, purchasing another building in Devon as well as a 350-acre estate in Santa Barbara, California. She