difference MAKING A By Kathryn Finegan Clark


MERCY


When children with special needs pass through the doors of Mercy Special Learning Center in Allentown they enter a new world, a place de- signed especially for them. They are not pressed to fi t into that school world; from the beginning


.......We don’t make the child fi t the program; we make the program fi t the child.


of the day until its end, teachers make sure that world adjusts to their special needs, encouraging them and helping them to reach as high as they can, despite their limitations.


Mercy Special Learning Center is the only pri- vate, non-residential school for the intellectually and/or developmentally disabled in the Lehigh Valley. It makes an enormous difference in the children’s lives.


“A miracle happens here every day,” said Bridget L. Muehlenkamp, principal, as she conducted a tour of the classrooms, the gym and the cafeteria. Everywhere were children, some young, some old, and busily engaged in social and learning ac- tivities, chattering and smiling as they stretched their abilities, either working with familiar ob-


20 May 2013


Muehlenkamp has been principal since 2002 and taught at Mercy for 25 years before moving into her leadership role. Her affection for the students and her devotion to the school was evident as she walked through the building and paused before a collection of small drawings used by non-verbal children to express their needs. For example, those children choose their luncheons by select- ing cards bearing the symbol of a sandwich, a slice of pizza or a glass of milk.


The children at Mercy all have intellectual and/ or developmental needs. The center establishes individual objectives for each child and through- out the school year teachers help them to meet those new standards. The faculty includes eight lay teachers and 10 assistants. They create what is clearly a nurturing environment – and a color-


SPECIAL LEARNING CENTER


jects or facing new challenges. They bustled here and there and, best of all, they looked happy.


“We don’t make the child fi t the program; we make the program fi t the child,” said Muehlenkamp.


ful one. Bright stars and streamers are suspended from ceilings, colorful decorations dance along the hallways, and one classroom is even fi tted out as a tropical Treasure Island.


There is a busy-ness, a sense of purpose through- out the school, as children work on their own projects or team up for group activities.


The center’s mission is “to educate the whole child in the areas of physical, social, emotional, intellectual and spiritual development.” Eleven pre-schoolers are enrolled in the Mini Mustangs program and 51 students, aged 5 to 21, take part in the regular program at the center. The school is operated by the Diocese of Allentown, and as it is a Catholic school, religion is part of the curriculum. About half the children are of other faiths. The school day opens with prayers and the children learn liturgical music. “They love their music,” said Muehlenkamp. The center prepares Catholic students for First Communion and Confi rmation.


All children attend a daily religion class and visit the school’s chapel during the week. The stained glass windows in the chapel reveal images of for- mer students. “I remember everyone of them,” said Muehlenkamp.


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