William E. Carter School

CONTACT:

396 Northampton St.
Boston, MA 02118
617-635-9832
boston.k12.ma.us/carter/

Marianne Kopaczynski, Principal

DESCRIPTION:

The Carter School (est. 1976) serves "profoundly developmentally delayed multi-handicapped" children – the lowest 2% of diagnosed developmentally delayed students, in the bottom 1/10,000th of live births. Providing education for so severely multi-handicapped children is expensive, labor-intensive, and definitely not competitively cost-effective – outside of philanthropy. In philanthropy, all that matters is that someone cares enough to do it. These children are prisoners of fate and biology. Should they be given the opportunity to develop to their fullest potential – whatever that may be? You bet, and in fact the law requires it. The Carter School staff is passionately committed to it. They realize that public spaces cannot be expected to accommodate this very small population, but is it unrealistic to expect that at least one space in a city like Boston – the same space where these children spend up to seven years of their lives – be modified to support their very special needs? Here is a lovely idea for a capital campaign: to design and build for these children an educational garden that will awaken and develop their senses, right in their school – where they can feel soft grass, hear tinkling sounds, pick and smell flowers, see bright colors, taste herbs, and move around safely on their own, peacefully and away from the rest of school traffic. This may be the least rational philanthropic investment you will ever make – go for it!

(2003: CULTURE: Education: Formal: Schools)