The first day of school went off without a hitch for the Special Learning Center (SLC). Teachers and students participated in many activities, including the unveiling of the school's United Way scarecrow and a memorial rose garden.
"We are opening this school year very full," said Debbie Hamler, director for the SLC. "We had a lot of new children starting today that have never been here before, and for a lot of the kids it was their very first day of preschool or school at all."
The SLC provides comprehensive, early intervention services for children with developmental delays and disabilities, according to the SLC website. Children without delays or disabilities also attend to serve as friends and role models to their peers.
"We serve kids with a variety of disabilities," Hamler said. "We can serve children that have a mild speech delay, children that are visually impaired, kids with autism, cerebral palsy - really any child that has any sort of a developmental disability or delay can qualify usually to come to the Special Learning Center."
The SLC was started in 1985 when the Goshorn Handicapped Center and the Peter Pan School merged into one institution, Hamler said. Their current building was constructed in 1991, and expanded in 2001. The school started with around 25 students and now has around 120 at their facility and serves approximately 600 children in the 11 different school districts it assists.
As parents were dropping off their children they stopped and posed for photos with the United Way scarecrow posted outside the front door. As they went inside, Hamler and the creator of the scarecrow, who is a high school graduate and former SLC student, greeted children and parents.
The dummy is a well made replication of Ray Bolger, adorned with a United Way T-shirt and a crow perched on his pointing arm. Beside it sits Dorthy's ruby red slippers and a sign that says "There's No Places Like Home," which is the 2014 United Way campaign theme.
On a sad note, the children were also shown the newly planted roses in front of the school, around the sign by the entrance. The roses were planted in memory of Grace DeGraffenreid, a former SLC student. They were planted by Grace's parents and April Drewel, who, after loosing her son at a similar age, started volunteering at the SLC, Hamler said.
"We are lucky that our (students') parents really become part of our family, we all become part of a family when you are working with kids with special needs," Hamler said. "Some of the parents really do cling to us if they lose a child. They have good memories of being at the Special Learning Center and they seem like they always want to give back and be resourceful and helpful for other parents. And that is trying to bring something good out of something bad."