The Biggest Lesson is Love
By Sara Gividen
State Journal Staff Writer
Frankfort offers a unique schooling and living environment for intellectually
disabled at Stewart Home School located on Lawrenceburg Road. State Journal
Staff Writer Sara Gividen recently sat down with the school's Superintendent
David Sellwood to discuss programs and services the school provides as
well as the school's mission.
For our readers unfamiliar with Stewart Home School, can you briefly
describe the school and its mission?
We are a private residential facility. We are currently under the jurisdiction
of our fourth generation of Dr. Stewart right now. We began in 1893.
Our mission is the complete and total care of our students in the fulfillment
of all their needs physically, educationally, socially, vocationally
and spiritually.
What does the school offer students socially?
Socially we offer our students the opportunity for peer relationships.
We have a very, very active lifestyle here. We want our students to be
anywhere that anybody else would be. We also offer them the opportunity
to integrate into the community with all the different functions that
go on within the community. But more than anything they have peer relationships
here.
What about emotionally? What are some of the things you offer?"
Emotionally, I think I could just state it in just a very simple term
of just unconditional love. They have a secure environment here. We have
a very loving population and we want them to be safe. We do everything
we can to love them through anything.
What about academically?
Academically, we offer a wide range of academic classes here. We have
23 teachers on our staff. We have a complete range of academic programs
as well as electives. We try to offer our students a wide range. We have
a lot of students that are on special schedules but we try to tailor
fit each students schedule according to their needs.
Do you offer regular classes like Math and English? Can you list some
of the electives?
We offer math, English, social studies, computer classes, science, but
then we also have the elective subjects like music, art, drama, and fitness.
We just have the whole range of that. We are very strong believers in
a strong continuing education program.
What do you offer for students physically?
Physically, we have, I feel, I'm a little partial here, but I feel
we have as active an environment for our students as youre going to find
anywhere. We not only have the school day for our students, we have a
lot of students who work, but then in the evening we have a wide range
of recreational activities. We have a weekly dance night, weekly bingo
night, square dancing, intramural programs, were in all the sports that
the Special Olympics offers but we try to tailor our activity levels
for all the different ability levels that we have here.
We offer programs seven days a week, seven evenings a week.
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How are students selected for the school?
Basically, our families call and we have a very simple process
that we ask them to come in and see us and our families know when they
come in here and see what we have, they know if were the place or not
for them. We do an interview, we're selective on who we want here at
school and so they come in and we'll interview for the school and see
and then we'll be able to see if they feel they would be suitable for
us too.
During the interview do you talk about the physical needs, the emotional
needs? Do you go into those kinds of things?
We go into that whole area. Our whole goal here is to offer the complete
lifestyle for our students. It's something that we take very seriously
and we look at that and pretty much our families will know after they
see us if we're the place. And also we can do the same.
Is Stewart Home School unique to Frankfort and the central Kentucky
area or are there other campuses like this?
I really feel that we're very unique throughout the country. There
are so many places that will offer vocational opportunities and things
like that but we offer so many more activities not only an academic program,
a strong continuing educational program, but then we also have the vocational
opportunities as well as all the immense amount of activities that we
offer. We also do a lot of traveling with our students.
I know you offer some off-campus work opportunities. What other
programs do you offer?
We have over 20 students that hold down competitive employment in
the community. We also have around 16 students that are at Frankfort
Habilitation here in town and then we have around 160 of our students
do on-campus jobs, which it might be working in our food service area,
might be working with our pool of secretaries, teachers' assistants,
things of that nature. So we have those opportunities as well as our
academic program.
Is there anything else you want to cover about programming?
That's something that we take very seriously here. We want our students
to be everywhere that anybody else would be. We do cruises. During
the summer months we're at King's Island, Kentucky Kingdom, baseball
games, the zoo. We feel the way you take care of behavior issues is through
a constant stimulating environment and that is something we take very
seriously.
How does the school handle such a diverse group of students?
You have all ages, all backgrounds.
Our youngest right now is currently 14, our oldest is 87; when a
student comes here we try to see what their needs are and then we'll
pair them up as far as the living unit goes. We use the Wide Range Achievement
Test for our classes to do class placements so we try to put groups together
according to their ability levels and then they rotate throughout the
day with the group that is similar to their needs.
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What are some of the challenges
the school faces?
We just constantly try to upgrade the physical plant that we have.
We feel our physical plant is in the best shape it's ever been in and
then also we are always trying to improve in our programming area. We
have no desires to get any larger than what we are, but on the same hand
too, we can always get better and we're always striving to offer our
students the best quality of life. Through that we want the best instructors,
the best activity directors. We want to make sure our programs are top
quality.
Our biggest challenge is always reaching the contentment level of our students
and through our programming and through our physical plant we can reach those
needs. Those are areas that we try to always work on and always try to improve.
What are some goals you have for the short term for the school?
We just try to offer everything that our students want. Our students
are precious as can be and we want them to have everything that anybody
else would have and that is something we really try to work on.
And for the long term do you have bigger goals?
No, just trying to always improve, keep ahead of everything. Technology
is an area that our students have all the opportunities anybody would
with technology.
Is there anything else that our readers might not know about
Stewart Home School?
Our philosophy for our students is to pursue skills and self-sufficiency.
Academics, vocational programs, we provide a non-frustrating environment
that stimulates self-confidence, which then promotes learning and happiness.
Our total aim is to provide an atmosphere of acceptance and that is so
important for our students.
INFOBOX:
DAVID SELLWOOD
Age: 56
Education: Graduated from Union College. Superintendent of Stewart
Home School for 15 years.
Student Population: 384 students.
Family: Widowed, one daughter, Shelley, a junior at Hanover College
Hobbies: "Stewart Home School is my main love, but then also
golfing," Sellwood said |
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