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This field trip finds us at The Lab School of Washington in the District of Columbia, the only primary and elementary school in the United States for learning-disabled students that employs a multitude of art forms as a fundamental part of its curriculum. At the Lab School, where nearly every conceivable art form is integrated into the learning process, the basics of reading, writing, and arithmetic are just the beginning.

Because learning-disabled youngsters often lack certain mature neurological skills that are required for success in regular schools, teachers at the Lab School emphasize cleverness, ingenuity, and imagination. The use of art and technology to supplement traditional methods of instruction helps to raise students' self-esteem and enables them to feel like productive members of society.

The Lab School was founded in September 1967 by its present director, Sally L. Smith, at a time when her youngest son, Gary, was being described by teachers as lazy. Although Gary was bright and creative, he had trouble with his schoolwork. Unwilling to accept the diagnosis she was given, Sally set out to prove that Gary had a disability that hindered his ability to learn.

After borrowing money from friends to pay for teachers' salaries and obtaining classroom space from the Kingsbury Center (a diagnostic and tutoring facility in Washington, DC), Sally began working with gifted learning-disabled students and developed an arts-based curriculum. Her theory that the arts could be used as a valuable teaching tool was so persuasive that by May of 1983, attendance at the Lab School had increased to a point which warranted the purchase of the 3.6 acres of land where the school stands today.

Although the school is located in the city, an atmosphere of tranquility and solitude prevails. Resting atop a small tree-covered hill overlooking the Georgetown Reservoir, the picturesque school grounds could have been taken from a fairy tale. A yellow school bus stands in stark contrast to a red castle structure which serves as the focal point of the school. Constructed in 1890 from the same stone that was used to build "The Castle" at the Smithsonian Institute, this striking building provides a warm and inviting setting in which to learn.

Upon entering the building, one is immediately surrounded by artworks of all types -- wood works, tapestries, murals, tiles, and drawings. One wall displays a huge rug that was created by the entire elementary class (with the help of artist Jason Henley) from 150 carpet remnants. Another features beautiful tiles, designed by high school students, depicting the signs of the zodiac.

In another room, photos display the winners of the school's "Outstanding Learning Disabled Achiever's Awards." These awards are given yearly tow omen and men who have overcome learning problems and gone on to achieve success. Recipients have included such notable figures as Cher, Tom Cruise, Magic Johnson, Greg Louganis, and Robert Rauschenberg. Although recipients are not necessarily graduates of the school, these people represent the limitless possibilities available to the learning-disabled child.

While half of the primary and elementary school day is spent concentrating on math, oral and written language, reading, and spelling, the other half of the day focuses on the arts. At any given moment, one class may be baking ethnic food as part of its lesson in social studies, another might be watching the movie 1776 to learn American history, and yet another might be preparing for a debate. Whether the students are developing their motor skills during play acting, or their coordination in physical therapy, the unique methods used at the school continue to work well.

Even though the Lab School follows a more traditional secondary-school curriculum, junior and senior high school students are able to spend at least part of their classes learning through the arts. Last year, for example, high school students in the school's film animation class produced a video entitled L.D. Stories, which was awarded the 1992 Rosebud Award for Animation, given to outstanding independent film and video artists in the DC area.

In order to provide the elementary school students with a special environment in which to learn, Sally Smith has conceived of a special system of "academic clubs." Each club is fashioned after a particular era in history, depending upon the level of the class. Passwords are required to enter the clubs -- words like "Neolithic" for the Caveman Club and "cathedral" for the Knights and Ladies of the Middle Ages Club. Once the proper password is uttered, the student steps inside and the learning begins.

Children in the Caveman Club pretend to be cave dwellers and scout for wild animals while they learn an array of subjects from history to literature. Making gargoyles and discussing Gothic architecture and The Canterbury Tales are just a few of the activities in the Knights and Ladies of the Middle Ages Club. In the God's Club, students study ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome while sitting around the Nile River in the center of the room.

In the Museum Club, students collect artifacts from world history beginning with the Stone Age and continuing through the time of the first explorers of America. While in the New World, they learn about Native Americans, the frontier, and the American Revolution. There is even an Industrialists Club, in which the great robber barons are studied.

The buildings comprising the Lab School are constantly abuzz with activity. The classrooms are designed to provide a favorable environment for learning. The club rooms are decorated by the teachers and students to fit the particular themes. A library contains handmade books such as The Harp by Joseph Green, Friend from the Sea by Stacy Lloyd, and The Banquet by Hillary Cole, all written and designed by the students on Macintosh computers.

The school also has a stage area for dance and play-acting, a music room, a woodworking shop, a store, and a writing lab. A film animation studio, physical therapy unit, and theater are also available to the students. In the school's Media Center, children use books for the blind along with charts and maps of the world so they can see where events are occurring.

The staff of the Lab School is very devoted to helping its students; the student-teacher ratio is four or five to one. Some of the instructors, like Steve Johnson who teaches play-acting and dance, are parents of learning-disabled children themselves. Paul Kaiser, a dedicated educator who instructs in the Writer's Lab, won the 1991 Third Annual Computerworld Smithsonian Award for Education and Academia for his work in teaching the learning disabled children. In addition, volunteer artists of all kinds offer their talents to help the children.

A six-week summer school program begins in mid-June for children who do not normally attend the school. Evening year-round, the school offers classes to adults who want to get back into college, pass the GED, or hone their employment skills. In addition, the school offers career and college counseling for high school students and adults, as well as the learning disabled; provides tutoring for all age groups; conducts an after school program; and provides psychological and diagnostic services, occupational therapy, and speech and language therapy.

There is a great force behind the Lab School of Washington, an intellectual persuasiveness that began twenty-five years ago with Sally Smith. Her innate understanding of the needs of learning disabled children, combined with her uncanny talent of reaching into their minds through a mixture of love and dynamic dedication, is impressive. Sally's hard work and special vision have broken through boundaries once considered impenetrable by students and their parents who, in some other time, would have been forced to give up all hope.

The greatest miracle, without doubt, is that students attending the Lab School are not simply holding their own. When they leave the school, some ninety percent of them go on to colleges such as Brown, Duke Law, and the Corcoran School of Art, to name a few. Clearly, the experiences and training students receive at the Lab School will last a lifetime. Highly gifted learning-disabled children at the Lab School in Washington, DC are learning their ABCs and turning them into careers.

Michael Walker is a freelance writer based in Washington, DC.   He is also the founder and proprietor of DREAMWalker Group.

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