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Lawrence School marks first year in town

by Jeff Saunders

Reporter

Sagamore Hills -- Thirteen months after it opened, the private Broadview Heights-based Lawrence School's upper school on the former Fell Lake property has grown by nearly a third.

The campus, on 47 acres of wooded ground which includes the 8-acre lake, has as its focal point a 62,000-square-foot building with a capacity of 300 students in the seventh- through 12th-grades. Courtney Baker, communications manager for Lawrence, said the upper school now has 203 students, up from 157 in January 2007, when the building opened.

"It's not unrealistic to believe that if we continue to grow the way we have, we may have to build another wing in five years," said Baker.

Baker said that student population is not the only growth the upper school has seen.

"Because of the increase in students, we have hired new teachers," said Baker, adding that this is to keep the student/teacher ratio at its current 11 to 1.

Baker said a year ago that the upper school had 20 teachers. This year, she said, the school added nine new teachers, some to keep up with the increases in student population and some because the school has added courses to the curriculum. This includes Latin, law, video editing, mythology, Web design, robotics, speech, military history, sign language, and middle school choir and high school show choir.

"We actually staged our first choir program right before winter break," said Baker.

The school also now has a drama club, something it had never been able to do before. The club staged its first production, Noel Coward's "Private Lives," in spring 2007 and its second, Tennessee Williams "Glass Menagerie," was performed Feb. 1 and 2.

Athletically, Baker said that the school's soccer teams no longer have to find a place away from school to play.

"We have finished the soccer field so we were able to have home games this season," said Baker. "It was the first time our teams have been able to play at home."

In addition, the school's baseball field is expected to be ready for use by the start of the spring season.

The new school has also given students space to hold social activities, as well.

"We had our first big dance, prom, last spring," said Baker.

In October, she said, the high school students had a homecoming dance in October, the day after a varsity soccer game and pep rally, and a winter semi-formal dance is coming up. And the middle school students have also had their own dances, said Baker.

Baker said that having their own school has given the older kids something that they lacked in Broadview Heights.

"It has given them a sense of belonging to a school," she said. "I think that's important, especially for kids at that grade level."

A place to succeed

Baker said that Lawrence students, who come from all over the region, are smart, but have been hampered in ordinary school settings.

"We're trying to get away from the term "learning disabilities" because they aren't really disabilities," she said. "They just learn differently. Everybody does, but most people just happen to fit within a range of learning styles that's commonly taught."

Lou Salza, Lawrence's head of school since last fall, said that one advantage kids have at Lawrence is the opportunity to take part in extracurricular activities.

"When you've had struggles in school, I think it's important for kids to be able to take part in programs like drama and sports," said Salza. "In other schools, when you've had problems, you may be ineligible to take part, but these activities may be just the kind of thing that floats their boat and gives them a sense of success."

Salza said that besides dyslexia, kids may have language learning differences, memory difficulties and time management and organizational difficulties.

Salza said that as a result of all this effort, the students have a sense of confidence they may not have had.

"The kids in our classes are trusting. They aren't afraid to speak up," he said.

Eighth-grader Taylor Pedaline, a Lawrence student since the fifth-grade, said this has been a big factor for her.

"It's helped me to understand that I can ask questions in class without being afraid to ask because I don't understand something," said Pedaline.

Eighth-grader Nicholas Powell, who came to Lawrence in March 2007, said the low student/teacher ratio has helped him.

"It makes it easier to pay attention," he said. "There were, like, 30 people in my old school classes."

Salza said that in a way, learning differently, as Lawrence students do, can actually help a person succeed later in life if they are given a chance to succeed as kids.

"Our kids have to learn about themselves because of this issue they have with learning," said Salza.

E-mail: jsaunders@recordpub.com

Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3169