WICOMICO COUNTY, Md. -- Better access for children who need special education services on the Lower Shore is right around the corner. Within the next year, two brand-new facilities will open in Wicomico County.
Chimes International and the Benedictine School. Both organizations provide specialized care to children and adults with cognitive and physical disabilities, and both organizations are headed to Wicomico County.
"We will provide educational services that may also include speech and language pathology, occupational therapy, physical therapy, nursing services, certainly behavioral supports, social work and counseling," said Julie Hickey, Vice President of Children's Services at the Benedictine School.
That kind of support that Hickey just listed out is sorely needed on Maryland's Lower Shore.
"We learned very quickly that there is a desert as far as special education schools on the Eastern Shore," said Stephen DaRe, CEO of Chimes. "Currently, for the entire shore there is one school and there are roughly 7,000 students with special education needs, that require services on the shore."
That one school is the Benedictine School.
"We've had referrals from Wicomico, Worcester, Somerset County, but that can be a really big distance for students to travel," said Hickey.
The Benedictine School's new facility, however, will be much closer to those families, and it's expected to open in September of this year.
Then in 2027, Chimes expects its new school to open.
Chimes does have a location in Millsboro, Delaware. The difference is that facility services adults.
"We'll be addressing, initially, kindergarten through about age ten," said DaRe.
Now, DaRe said the arrival of both organizations and the eventual opening of a Kennedy Krieger Institute campus won't solve the Lower Shore's problem entirely. It's progress, though.
"Feels like we're just getting started," said DaRe. "There's plenty of room in the Eastern Shore community for all three of these schools. Everyone is a little bit unique."
Life-changing facilities are on the way to the Lower Shore.
