| History of Woodfords |
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Woodfords Family Services was originally founded by a small group of determined parents who had the vision to see that there was much more that could be done to enrich the lives of their children with special needs. Rather than keeping their children at home or institutionalizing them — the standard of care in 1967 — they started their own school in the basement of the Woodfords Congregational Church. A radical departure from all other options, the "Woodfords Concept" was born with the establishment of this non-profit day school where children with varying special needs could learn and have the freedom to interact socially with their peers. Woodfords had many homes and took many forms during the ensuing years. The school grew from the original class of six children in the late 60's to well over a hundred children in the 70's and 80's. Woodfords Adult Services and Practical Life Program were established for those individuals aging into adulthood and were located on Oxford Street and then later on Preble Street in downtown Portland. Woodfords also extended their services to include 2½ to 5 year-olds with the opening of Westwood Children's Center in the old West School on Douglass Street in the fall of 1984. This program included a preschool, two day-care rooms and after-school care. In the late 80's the Educational Center, Westwood Children's Center and the administrative offices moved into the renovated Cummings School on Ocean Avenue in Portland. In the 90's some drastic changes occurred at the state and federal levels. These changes were bittersweet ones. Although the long time goal of integrating our children into the public schools had become law, it meant the closing of the beloved Educational Center, as the school had become known. This of course meant Woodfords no longer needed the big space of the Cummings School. |