Sometimes in life, someone crosses our path for a reason. That someone for me is Nora Reade. As a parent of a special needs student, I have had the privilege of working with Nora, a high school senior for the last nine months.
Together, with her initiative and determination, and the blessing of Farmingdale Youth Council, we have created a special needs instructional swim program, SPLASH, (Special Swimming Program for Lifelong Aquatic Safety and Health) for students in our community. Expecting only 12 potential students, we were pleasantly surprised to have had 25 sign up for the eight-week Saturday program at the Farmingdale High School pool.
Under Nora’s direction, the Farmingdale High School students from the Swim and Diving Teams and Farmingdale Aquatics, have shown a strong commitment to the special needs students in our community.
To see the interaction between the typical students and those that have challenges is a humbling sight. We should be proud of these students and hope that this experience will make them more tolerant and understanding of those with special needs. They have already enriched their lives as well as those of us watching and participating. We can only hope that more programs like this one become available to our students.
Jean Brown
Farmingdale SEPTA President
