Linwood Center To Hold Unveiling Reception With First Lady Yumi Hogan

ELLICOTT CITY, MD – Linwood Center will hold an unveiling reception and plaque dedication on June 12th in honor of their new sister school relationship with the Daniel School in South Korea. To mark this new relationship, the Daniel School and Linwood School received a donation of matching sculptures made by artists Thomas Clement and Wonsook Kim. The sculpture, called “Hyunsu’s Butterfly,” depicts a young boy holding a butterfly and was inspired by the story of a boy from South Korea with disabilities who was adopted by an American family. As a native-born Korean adopted by an American family himself, Mr. Clement felt a connection to this story and designed the sculpture with a vision of using it to connect two schools serving students with disabilities in South Korea and America.

The new relationship between Linwood School and the Daniel School was introduced and facilitated by Maryland’s First Lady, Mrs. Yumi Hogan, in coordination with Secretary Carol Beatty from the Maryland Department of Disabilities. Mrs. Hogan and Secretary Beatty felt that Linwood School would be the perfect fit for this new partnership given the organization’s long history of supporting students on the autism spectrum. Linwood Center provides comprehensive programs and services for children and adults with autism and related developmental disabilities. These services include a nonpublic special education program for students ages 5 to 21, vocational training, residential support, and supported employment. Linwood’s mission aligns well with the Daniel School, which provides a special education program for children with a variety of disabilities. Students from Linwood School recently made stepping stones as a gift to their new friends in South Korea, and both schools plan to communicate online and develop a letter exchange program in the future.

“The possibilities for this new relationship are endless. The opportunity to provide a concrete way to learn about the wider world through real life experiences is invaluable for our students. And the chance for our teachers to share best practices with a similar school across the world is really exciting,” says Linwood Center’s Executive Director, Bill Moss. “We are very grateful to both Mrs. Hogan and Secretary Beatty for creating this connection which we hope will continue for years to come and benefit our current and future students.”

The sculpture at Linwood was installed in a small garden with the assistance of donations from the Howard County Department of Recreation and Parks, Walnut Springs Nursery, and the Hogan family. The sculpture and garden plaque will be dedicated on June 12th at 10:30 am at Linwood Center, located at 3421 Martha Bush Drive, Ellicott City, Maryland 21043. For press inquiries or further information, please contact Peyton Plummer at pplummer@linwoodcenter.org or (410) 465-1352.
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