Focus on special needs

You can learn a lot about Tampa Day School by studying its walls.

Campaign posters for student government hang along the hallways. Dali-inspired paper clocks and Warhol-esque soup cans decorate another wall. Typed autobiographies and poems are pinned to a bulletin board, not far from forms younger children filled out with their likes and dislikes.

But more important than the content of the art projects, posters and writing lessons is the fact that they hang on the walls at all. It's a positive sign that Tampa Day School displays the student work, said Rick Lavoie, an author and motivational speaker who specializes in children with learning disabilities.

"These kids feel so anonymous," Lavoie said. "They're anything but anonymous here."

Tampa Day School serves students in kindergarten through eighth grade who need a smaller environment than a typical public school. Many have mild or moderate learning disabilities, such as attention deficit disorder.

Lois Delaney, the head of school, gave Lavoie a tour last week before he spoke to teachers and parents. The private school sponsored Lavoie, of Boston, to present two workshops about understanding children with learning disabilities. About 500 people were expected to attend.

Lavoie has three special-education degrees and has been an administrator of residential programs for children with special needs. He has written books on motivating the "tuned-out child" and helping children with learning disabilities succeed socially.

Like Tampa Day School, Lavoie deals with students who might fall through the cracks. He said he worries about the children who are ignored and praised Tampa Day School for making sure that didn't happen.

Administrators greet each child by name in the mornings, Delaney said. They also provide ample opportunities for public praise for students as well as staff. One corner of the lobby has a collage with every student's picture. Another corner has notes parents leave praising specific teachers.

Lavoie said the artwork in the hallways also is important. A student could be dyslexic, for example, but shine when painting.

"Art can be the great equalizer," he said. "The disability almost goes away."

Lavoie said a lot of the students he knows have been teased in traditional schools or never did well enough to have their work displayed. When they moved to a specialized school, they blossomed, he said.

"The magic of a place like this is everyone is different. Being different isn't different," Lavoie said. "Your best friend might struggle with spelling, but you struggle with math."

Delaney said she notices how comfortable the students seem with each other. They don't tend to bully each other, she said, because they know what it feels like not to fit in. School elections attract children who may have been too shy or intimidated to run for an office at their former school, although some decided not to run against their friends.

One campaign poster for a fourth-grade representative spelled out the candidate's qualifications, including that he doesn't "go to the office a lot for consequences."

"I have new ideas," the boy promised. "I will do my best."