One Singular Sensation - A Musical Spectacular Celebrates The Harbour School's 25th Anniversary

Owings Mills, MD, May 2007 - The Harbour School will celebrate its 25th Anniversary with song and dance as students present “One Singular Sensation” on May 6, 2007 at Martin's West from 1 pm. to 5 pm. Featuring vignettes from Annie, West Side Story, Guys and Dolls, The Wiz, The Music Man, and A Chorus Line, the event will bring together students, their families, alumni, and faculty to celebrate the profound difference the school has made for hundreds of Maryland children.

Founded in 1982 by Dr. Linda Jacobs in a rented room with fours students, The Harbour School today serves more than 260 students in grades 1 through 12 with learning disabilities, high-functioning autism, Asperger Syndrome, speech and language disorders and other disabilities like ADD/ADHD at campuses in Annapolis and Owings Mills. An integral part of the program is the Village, an in-school model economy where each classroom is transformed into a working business. This enables students to apply their academic knowledge to real-world tasks. The Village is a preparatory tool for adult life, further developing the students' ability to communicate and collaborate with others. This distinctive curriculum is copyrighted and registered at the National Library of Congress.

The ultimate measure of a school's success is expressed in the lives of its graduates. The Harbour School's 2006 survey of graduates dating back to the school's founding determined that more than 90% are employed or enrolled in post-secondary education or both. In a nation where the employment of disabled adults averages 25% the school's history of success is worth signing and dancing about!

Parents of Harbour students and alumni will tell you the school is itself a Singular Sensation. In contributing to a forthcoming book about the school's history one parent addressed the impact on her son by writing, “There is no other place where he would run to the school bus with a smile on his face in anticipation of the day ahead. Learning all the while and showing improvement daily.”
A second parent observed, “The family atmosphere, sense of community and pride in accomplishment is wonderful, but the peace of mind Harbour School brings to families is priceless. We are blessed to be a part of this family and will be forever grateful.” Finally a third parent said simply, “I feel that not only has The Harbour School given my son a wonderful education, it has also given him life.”

Dr. Jacobs, whose vision and passion for educating challenged learners founded and guided The Harbour School these 25 years is thrilled to be celebrating this milestone. “ When The Harbour School was founded 25 years ago as The Innovative Learning Center, the smart people said we would not last six months. Guess they weren't so smart after all. We are celebrating 25 years of providing a very special education for very special students.”

One Singular Sensation is the first of two gala events scheduled to mark The Harbour School's 25th Anniversary. On Saturday June 9, 2007 the school's faculty, close friends and supporters will gather at the Renaissance Harbourplace Hotel for a black tie dinner. Dr. Linda Jacobs will receive citations from the County Executives of Anne Arundel and Baltimore Counties, and will welcome dignitaries from other state offices as well. For more information about the June 9th gala event, contact Stephen Peacock Director of Development of The Harbour School.

The Harbour School, a registered 501(c) 3 nonprofit school, is an innovative educational organization providing supportive, caring, and individualized education to students with learning and other disabilities from first through twelfth grade by assisting each child to attain academic, personal achievement, and success commensurate with the child's abilities. Currently the school is celebrating its 25th year of continuous service to Maryland students. Our two campuses in Annapolis and in Baltimore County provide special education programs for more than 260 students from 14 school systems within Maryland, the District of Columbia and Virginia.