History of the de Paul School
For nearly 40 years, The
de Paul School has provided unsurpassed service to children with
learning differences. Our heritage began with the work of noted
psychologist and researcher, Dr. Charles Shedd. Dr. Shedd was Director
of the Reading Disabilities Clinic of the University of Alabama
School of Medicine. He devoted many years of research into the identification
and remediation of students with dyslexia. As a result of his research,
he created a curriculum which used specific techniques for teaching
reading and spelling to students with dyslexia. This curriculum
was used and researched for several years through the Reading Disabilities
Clinic in Birmingham , through several Birmingham public schools,
and tutorial programs offered at Berea (KY) College. Dr. Shedd's
work added to the growing body of evidence that children and adults
with dyslexia could learn to read, when taught through a multisensory,
systematic, and structured linguistics approach.
Sister Anne Rita Mauck , an educator in Louisville , Kentucky ,
began working with Dr. Shedd in 1965. Strengthening Dr. Shedd's
curriculum, Sister developed a broader instructional program tailored
to meet the academic and organizational needs of children with dyslexia.
She founded The de Paul School in 1970 and directed the program
within St. Gabriel Elementary School in Louisville . The success
of the program led to dramatic growth in the number of students
seeking enrollment, from 36 students in 1970 to 90 students in 1973.
Due to the demand for additional classroom space, The de Paul
School relocated to the St. Bridget Church facility in 1974, and
the Board later (1977) purchased the former Longfellow Elementary
School building from Jefferson County Public Schools as our current
site.
Throughout these early years of growth, the school broadened its
expertise. In addition to developmental dyslexia, the school began
to identify and remediate other learning differences, including
deficits in reading comprehension, mathematics, attention, and organization.
The faculty and staff developed unique instructional materials for
teaching mathematics, social values, social skills, science, and
computer science. The de Paul School also guided educators
in other states to create schools modeled after the Louisville example.
Programs similar to The de Paul School have continued to thrive
in Eastern Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Florida, New Jersey, Louisiana,
and Pennsylvania.
Recent years have featured dramatic examples of de Paul's continued
commitment to providing the best educational program to its students.
An adjacent classroom building was constructed in 1988. Our campus
footprint grew again in 2000 with the addition of a multipurpose
building (gym, cafeteria, and convocation center). The school now
enrolls 250-275 students each year. Families from across the United
States , as well as from India , Great Britain , Central America
, Canada , and Japan have turned to de Paul to help their children.
Our summer school program continues to thrive. A vibrant athletics
program, featuring The de Paul Huskies
, helps us present a full-school feel for our students.
The de Paul has earned accreditations from the Independent Schools
Association of the Central States , the National Association of
Independent Schools, the KY Non-Public Schools Commission, the North
Central Accreditation, and the Kentucky Association of Independent
Schools. The most recent ISACS accreditation visit, conducted in
2006, garnered substantial acclamation for our school. |
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