Sweetser News & Events

The School at Sweetser in Saco Celebrates 20th Anniversary

Posted on 10/25/2011 at 02:00 pm

On October 27, The School at Sweetser in Saco will celebrate its 20th Anniversary. The celebration will begin at 5:00pm with a parade on the campus, and will be followed by a time capsule presentation and tours of the school during its Annual Open House. The 20th Anniversary was planned to coincide with the Annual Open House in order to offer students and their families the opportunity to participate.

Sweetser students, their families, teachers, administrators and Board members have been invited to the celebration. Students have been working for weeks on special art projects which show the progression of the school's building process from the ground breaking to its current state. The projects will be on display throughout the school, and visitors can view them during tours given during the evening. Visitors will also be able to sample food prepared by students in the culinary arts program.

Eslie Parquette, Director of Educational Services reminisced about the growth the school has experienced, "From the time I began my employment as a Special Education Teacher in the early 70's, I remember talking about 'having a dream to build a free standing school'. We wanted a facility that allowed us to provide students with as many opportunities as they received in public school. In September of 1991 our dream was realized. The results have been unbelievably rewarding and worth every effort."

The School had operated on the Saco campus for many years in the basement underneath one of our residential cottages, but a new facility was opened two decades ago, and has since served many students. The School offers special education for students age 5 to 20, and assists them in overcoming both behavioral and learning impairments. The goal of The School is to help those students gain the skills they need in order to return to a public school setting.

The School also offers an Experiential Learning program, which offers hands-on learning opportunities for those students ages 12 to 18 who experience varying degrees of difficulty in their present school and are better suited to an active learning experience. Experiential Learning on the Saco campus includes farming and animal care, woodworking, automotive maintenance and repair, greenhouse gardening and the culinary arts.