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WORKING THROUGH LIMITATIONS
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CHURCHILL CENTER & SCHOOL FOR LEARNING DISABILITIES IS MIRACULOUS IN ITS SUCCESS.
By James Nicholson
Imagine the sense of helplessness of being the
parent of a highly intelligent child seemingly
incapable of learning to read. Imagine the utter frustration of a highly intelligent child unable to keep
up with his or her, in many cases, less gifted
classmates. Imagine the relief of both, when a school is found capable of unlocking the barrier obstructing the child’s ability to learn. Welcome to the Churchill Center & School for
Learning Disabilities.
 (Left to right): Danielle Fitzgerald, Director of Community Outreach Mary Brotherton, Anna Chong |
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Churchill, a National School of Excellence, is literally a
lifesaver (or, thinking in terms of what it grants its students
educationally, a life-giver) for its students—and their parents. The small school in Ladue is anything but a well-kept secret. Families literally move to St. Louis to give their learning
disabled child the benefits of a Churchill education. “These kids”, says Sandi Gilligan, the Director of the School, “many times are written off and under expected of, and when they get the appropriate attention they have so many gifts and so much to offer.”
The Churchill approach is brilliant in its simplicity, miraculous in its success. Each child’s particular need is identified then addressed in daily one-on-one tutorials with their own
faculty member cum case manager. What might seem as an onerous sentence in a typical school environment is so routine at Churchill; it commences with smiles. Students are taught to recognize (and verbalize) their limitations while learning to work through them. Classes in art and theatre are prioritized as activities in which all students can excel. “When they are praised for activities that come naturally”, explains Gilligan, “it enhances their performance in more difficult areas.” Students ready to make the transition back to traditional schools are eased into the process with classes that remove the pressure from the move to suddenly being mainstreamed.
Churchill Center sponsors an array of Outreach Programs,
running the gamut from the predictable, through the practical, to the altruistic and absolutely sublime. A Speaker’s Series provides access to recognized professionals and cutting-edge pioneers in the fields of Learning Disabilities and LD Education.
The Parent Education Workshop Series is designed to give parents a deeper understanding of the appropriate expectations for
their children according to grade level.
The workshops also expose parents to the world of students with learning disabilities, and to significant signs that indicate the
need to have their own children evaluated to identify a learning disability. They also expose
parents to a variety of strategies to help
them inspire their children to become
independent learners.
The Student Abilities Awareness Work-shops provide students at other schools
with the opportunity to identify their own learning strengths and weaknesses. It also exposes them to the point of view of students who have learning disabilities. The goal of the workshop is to empower students with
knowledge about how people learn, and with
a deeper understanding of those who
learn differently.
“We realize we service only a small percentage of students with learning disabilities and believe it is important to share our expertise with other educators to impact the greater percentage of LD students,” explains Gilligan. Hence, Churchill’s Teacher Professional Development Series—a series of workshops designed to provide participant educators with in-depth training on the challenges
faced by people with learning disabilities, as well as strategies which empower their struggling students.
The final outreach program, Terri’s Tutors, is a memorial to a former Churchill teacher who experienced a sublime moment of exceptional insight. While undergoing treatment for breast cancer, Terri Thornton realized that the combination of radiation and chemotherapy was affecting her mind. (“I’m beginning to think like the kids,” she told her colleagues.)
The professional educator in Mrs. Thornton told her that, if her mind was being affected, the minds of young cancer patients would certainly be affected providing them with an unusual array of learning disabilities. Her immediate reaction was to state the need to start a program offering the assistance needed to provide young patients with the means to learn.
Mrs. Thornton died before her vision became a reality, but, in her honor, Churchill created a new program, Terri’s Tutors. The program is staffed by past and present Churchill faculty, as well as other certified teachers from the community who have completed the Terri’s Tutors training program. Two pediatric oncologists (a St. Louis Children’s Hospital Attending Pediatric Oncologist and the Head of the Pediatric Cancer and Hematology Center of St. John’s Mercy Medical Center), along with an Educational Consultant from Washington University School of Medicine, support the tutoring staff. Among services provided at no
cost to the families who have a child that has survived cancer, but is experiencing the late effects of the treatment are individual and small group tutoring, daily after-school help sessions and—on re-quest—student ad-vocacy with home school personnel.
Through all of Churchill’s Outreach programs last year, the Center was able to reach 771 educators, 92 students, 250 parents, 235 grandparents and 22 cancer survivors and their parents for a total of approximately 1,370. Since the inception of the outreach programs in 1990, Churchill has reached over 13,000 educators, parents, students and others.
Not surprisingly, Churchill has outgrown its well-populated 70 year-old building and has embarked upon a $10 million campaign to build a more adequate training facility for teachers and parents, a more suitable learning environment for students and expanded programs to foster greater understanding of the challenges faced by students with learning disabilities. The new facility, to be located near the intersection of Interstate 270 and Clayton Road, will be a national focal point for those dedicated to helping all students overcome their learning challenges.
| (Left to right): Joe Berra, Danielle Fitzgerald, Brooks Hayes, Director of Community Outreach Mary Brotherton, Anna Chong, Justin Suvarna and Fletcher Greer. |
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The new 46,000-square-foot facility will emphasize community outreach, individualized attention and a commitment to academic excellence. It will include a large community space to accommodate workshops,
training sessions and special events, individual tutoring areas, a performance stage,
an art studio, a gymnasium and recreational space, a dedicated science room, a student
commons area, increased space for teacher offices, research areas, conference rooms
and Internet access in all classrooms.
All areas of the new building will be handicapped accessible.
Churchill Center & School obviously has solid support, as the campaign has already reached the $7.8 million level and has recently been issued a $500,000 challenge grant from the Mabee Foundation contingent upon raising the remainder of their funding. It also produces solid results. Gilligan tells a full circle story of a former student currently in a Ph.D program at Washington University who recognized that she was having trouble
learning technical terminology. No problem. She knew where to get help by contacting her
former case manager at Churchill and, as Gilligan proudly relates, “she knew how to
ask for it.” |
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