Date Added: 15-08-2005

There is a path at The Paul Center that finds its way toward a fishing pier overlooking a small pond. From the pier you can hear the sounds of summer - the din of laughter, the bouncing of basketballs, the splashing of pool water - as they echo across the camp's acreage.
     Amid all this, something remarkable is happening. Teaching, learning and growth flourish freely, devoid of the judgement and competitiveness that exists in the world outside.
     It is a phenomenon that keeps longtime instructor Julie Cotton coming back year after year.

     "I've been here 16 years," she said, "and every year I'm struck by the acceptance that these students have for each other. It's a remarkable place."
     Each summer for the past 21 years, The Paul Center for Learning and Recreation becomes Camp Paul, a seasonal program that serves students ages 4 to 21 with moderate to severe disabilities. The spectrum covers a wide array of special needs, ranging anywhere from speech and language delays to ADD to Down syndrome.
     "We utilize structured programs to delivery unstructured activities," said Executive Director Warren Bouchard. "The summer program in particular uses a recreational milieu to deliver educational material. For instance, the other day an instructor made some popcorn and asked students to count up 25 cents in order to buy it."
     This method of "recreational learning" has become the camp's hallmark. The students learn but have fun doing it, all the while developing the social skills that will help them later in life.
     "We have a tremendous group of educators that allows us to make it work," Bouchard said.
     Marie Massotta is center's coordinator of development and public relations and has played an integral role in the school since 1973.
     "She's a dynamo," said Bouchard. "She has the uncanny ability to motivate people toward a common goal."
     Masotta brims with pride while speaking of the school's students and staff. As she traverses the schoolyard her emotions take hold.

For More Information:

http://www2.townonline.com/chelmsford/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=302559