Mercy Centre proud of its 9 grads; Reports of school's demise were exaggerated.

Byline: Jacqueline Reis

WORCESTER - Most schools celebrate when they have their largest graduating class ever, but at Mercy Centre this spring, it was a mixed blessing.

The small school, which serves students ages 6 to 22 who have developmental disabilities, mental retardation or other disabilities, nearly closed last year because of dwindling enrollment. So even though this year's graduating class only had nine people, the students will be missed not only for who they are but for their numbers. Unless more arrive, the school will have about 26 students in the fall, said Doreen Donovan-Barbera, Mercy Centre's director of specialized education services. That's about half the school's enrollment in 2000.

"We've never had nine graduate in one year," she said. "I hope it never happens again, as proud as I am of them."

Nonetheless, she is hopeful about the school's future. Mercy Centre is asking the state to restructure its program to put more of its 23-member staff in high-need areas like the school-to-work program and to decrease staff in other areas. It is also asking to raise the tuition it charges to sending school districts by $8,000, to $52,500 per student.

Ms. Donovan-Barbera said she believes the changes will help the school stabilize, although perhaps with fewer students than before.

"It doesn't solve everything," she said of the proposed restructuring. "It's still going to require a lot of fundraising."

Tuition pays the bulk of the school's budget, but money from Catholic Charities and fundraising are a big part of what keeps it open. When Catholic Charities Worcester County announced last year that it was considering closing the school because of falling enrollments, parents created Friends of Mercy Centre, which agreed to raise thousands of dollars for the school as part of a five-year self-sufficiency plan. The school also benefits from the Emerald Club, which has raised money for Mercy Centre for years.

The two organizations raised $211,000 for the school through Dec. 31, 2006, Ms. Donovan-Barbera said. Under the five-year plan, they will raise $185,000 for the upcoming school year.

"We're on schedule at this point," said Sharon A. Berndt of Rutland, president of Friends of Mercy Centre. "We're constantly looking at new fundraisers and ways to reach new groups of people." The group also conferred with School of the Holy Childhood in Rochester, N.Y., a similar school that faced the same challenges.

Supporters say it's crucial that Mercy Centre keep its doors open. For the Berndts, for instance, Mercy Centre is a small enough community that their 13-year-old daughter, Samantha, can learn to get through her day by herself instead of having an aide as she would at a public school.

"What we've been working on so long is making her independent so that she can navigate through life without an adult by her side," Mrs. Berndt said. "They don't have inclusion (with non-special needs students), but on the flip side of that, all of these students participate in everything. They are the ones doing the sports with Special Olympics ... They're not the ones sitting in the back with an aide, watching."

Laurie A. Dearnley of Charlton said her son, Troy, switched from a public school to Mercy Centre when he was 13 for similar reasons. Inclusion in older students' academic classrooms didn't make sense once Troy's family realized he would never read or write, and they didn't want him in a resource room all day.

"We wanted him to have a school of his own, that he could walk the halls of," Mrs. Dearnley said. At the public school he attended when he was younger, she said, "it's not like he was included. He was included to watch what he actually did at the Mercy Centre" where, for instance, he could have a big role instead of a bit part in school plays.

Troy turned 22 this year, the age at which students graduate from Mercy Centre, and he left the school with a fiancee and a job at the YMCA in Southbridge. As a farewell gift, he sold candy and raised $1,036 for the school.

Closing the school doesn't seem likely any more, Ms. Donovan-Barbera said. "We will somehow continue running. There's a tremendous amount of public support, political support and community support that I hear and experience every single day. If someone were to say that we were to be done at the end of 2008, it just wouldn't happen."

Contact Jacqueline Reis by e-mail at [e-mail].

ART: PHOTO

CUTLINE: Members of the Mercy Centre graduation class are, front from left, Andrea Oberhelman, Michelle Camosse, Shannon Baxter and Amandajean Indelicato; back row, Troy Dearnley, Jonathan Lanoue, Eric Briand and Christopher Perron. Also graduating but absent from the picture was Nicholas Sherman.

PHOTOG: Photo courtesy of MERCY CENTRE