by Sr. Jeanette Rerucha, M.S.,
principal and teacher at Villa Marie School for Exceptional Children
Walking into a new school on the first day, with all the uncertainties that such a venture entails, is an unsettling experience for any child. For a child with special needs, it can be traumatic. However, walking through the doors of Villa Marie School as a new student has a different feel to it. Yes, there is uncertainly and nervousness, but at Villa Marie, those feelings quickly vanish as the current students go out to meet the newcomer and welcome him or her into the Villa Marie family.
Many students arrive at Villa Marie having experienced the frustration of not being able to keep up with their peers in a regular classroom setting. Not only have they struggled academically, but often they just don’t get those social cues and may feel awkward around their classmates. Tragically, some have been bullied or just left out of friendship groups. They may feel that they have no friends. Then their parents hear about Villa Marie, often by word of mouth, and everything changes.
Our new students quickly find that they are at a school like no other. They are surrounded not only by patient teachers and staff members who truly care about them, but also by peers who finally understand them. One student, after his first day at Villa Marie, went home and told his parents, “These kids are just like me!” Of course, not all our students are the same; each one has unique, God-given gifts, as well as their own challenges, but all have special needs of one type or another. This aspect of Villa Marie “levels the playing field,” so to speak.
Our students don’t have to try to prove themselves or try to fit into a neurotypical environment or try to figure out things that seem to come so naturally to their peers in a regular classroom setting. They can relax and just be who they are, and they soon find out, maybe for the first time in their lives, that that’s okay. Then they start to thrive, and the result is beautiful to behold. We have a school counselor on staff three days a week, and also an emotional support dog, Chief. Both are invaluable in providing opportunities for our students to better adjust to a new school, and to calm them down when they might feel anxious.
Academically, our students receive individualized and small-group instruction tailored to their specific learning needs as stated in their IEP (Individual Education Plan.) They no longer need to try to keep up with their peers in an inclusive classroom setting and experience the frustration that goes along with it. In Villa Marie’s academic setting, the students’ strengths are enhanced, thus giving them a feeling of success in the classroom and pride in their work. At times the progress is slow and painstaking, but every “baby step” is met with praise, which encourages the new student to work even harder at learning. With the patience and encouragement of Villa Marie’s talented, creative, and dedicated teachers, assisted by patient and caring paras and staff members, some of our new students make more progress during their first year at Villa Marie than during the whole time at their previous schools. For me, watching our students grow and achieve or even surpass their educational goals is one of the most rewarding aspects of teaching.
Most parents worry about their children finding good friends so that they don’t fall in with the wrong crowd; parents of special needs children worry about their children having friends, period. We celebrate birthdays with a movie night, so once when I was mentioning this to the mom of a new student, who was at the time a day student, and asked if she would like him to stay for the movie, she teared up and said, “He has never been invited to a birthday party before.” Hearing her say this was heartbreaking and I thought to myself, “Who wouldn’t want to be his friend?”
At Villa Marie, students find the friendship and acceptance that they long for, but more than friendship, for they become members of a family. Sometimes I just sit back and listen to the conversations and observe the interactions between our students and marvel at them. They can teach us so much, and they do teach our new students about friendship just by their acceptance and welcoming attitude. Our students are not perfect by any means; like any family, they have their share of personality conflicts and squabbles with each other, and some need to be taught how to be a good friend (since they have had so little experience with friendship), but they truly care about each other and form bonds of friendship that last a lifetime. Many of our alumni keep in touch with each other and enjoy reconnecting with their Villa Marie friends by attending our Christmas play, dance, and by helping at our summer camp.
Some of our students come to us feeling very discouraged and wondering why God made them this way. We are so blessed at Villa Marie to be able to help them through these spiritual struggles. The 20-some priests who generously volunteer to celebrate daily Mass at Villa Marie are always willing to lend a listening ear and provide spiritual guidance. The Marian Sisters who staff Villa Marie or volunteer at the school provide spiritual support and hope for our students who struggle.
Of course, Jesus is ultimately the One who can help our students, so we encourage visits to our chapel and try to help our beautiful children to deepen their relationship with Him by encountering His love in the sacraments and through prayer. The petitions of our students at Mass are heartfelt and sincere, and it doesn’t take long for our new students to join in praying aloud for their intentions. I find that all our students, new and old, both Catholic and non-Catholic, have a profound love for Jesus even amid their struggles, and they grow through them. A new student who may feel like a misfit slowly realizes by the end of that first year that he or she is precious in God’s sight (and in our sight, too.)
Each of our students has unique gifts and talents, which we try to help the students to fully develop, so that they can become the best versions of themselves. Our annual Christmas play is an opportunity for our students to showcase their talents—we have beautiful singers, great actors and actresses, and expressive readers. Our students’ talents also shine in many other areas, such as Special Olympics, 4-H and the science fair. Little by little, as these opportunities unfold throughout the school year for our new students, they begin to realize that God does not make mistakes, that their challenges are part of His perfect plan, and that through them He is glorified in ways that are beyond our imagining.
Whatever new students might expect on the first day at Villa Marie, by the time the last day rolls around, they have found that the opportunities experienced in the areas of academic success, friendship, and emotional and spiritual support have far exceeded their expectations. Then, by the following school year, they are ready to welcome new students and help them to find at Villa Marie what they have found, and everyone continues to grow together in Jesus.
We hope to continue to welcome many more students to Villa Marie. We are not connected to a parish, as the other Catholic schools are, so we depend on our generous benefactors and donors to provide the opportunities for our precious students to continue to grow and thrive.
Villa Marie’s annual Dance and Fundraiser will be held Feb. 9. This is our only fundraiser, so please consider your most generous gift, and please keep Villa Marie in your prayers. God bless you.
