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To better understand the origin of
the Batson Hewitt, Jr. Library at Trident Academy, a school for children with learning disabilities, a history of the
school and the educational climate of the period need to be examined. In the 1970’s, the research into learning
disabilities and educational methods was not a new field, but one in which
researchers had become very involved, developing new theories and treatment
methods. Prior to the founding of
Trident Academy in 1974, children in the Charleston, South Carolina, area who
were diagnosed as having dyslexia or learning disabilities received Saturday and
summer tutoring at the Charleston Reading Clinic. The
tutoring sessions were held in a meeting room in a church in Charleston. Parents
would bring their child and stay while their child was being tutored in
reading. Meanwhile, a parent would tutor
someone else’s child in reading. The Charleston Reading Clinic was a “Shedd School”
or a school whose teaching philosophy was based upon the research of Dr.
Charles L. Shedd of the Reading Research Foundation. Dr. Shedd was one of the early researchers
into dyslexia. His primary objective was the research aspect. “Each child who enters the program is a
research subject. Through the findings
of the research the program is able to help children in the program.” (Thompson)
In the early 1970’s, parents of
students attending the Charleston Reading Clinic were asked to meet to discuss
the future of the program. Included in
the meeting were a group of physicians, educators, and businessmen. The result of the meeting was a resolution
that a new school be established to meet the needs of the children in the
community who were diagnosed with learning disabilities. All the parents’ time and energy spent on
weekends and summer tutoring would now be focused upon a full time school. Out of that meeting twenty-eight parents of
the Reading Clinic each contributed to the formation of Trident Academy
Corporation by signing a note from their own banks. In
1972, the Trident Academy Corporation purchased five mobile classrooms which
were placed at the rear of the Mr. Pleasant Memorial Cemetery, Mount Pleasant, South
Carolina. The land for the mobile units was donated by
Mr. Bill Detyens at the cost of $1.00 per year. Bill and Sally Detyens had
children who attended the Charleston Reading Clinic. Mr. Detyens was a successful businessman who, although
left school at the age of fourteen, became the owner of a ship repair business,
Detyens Shipyard. By the end of two
years, the original twenty-eight notes were paid off. In 1975, a generous donation of seven and
a-half acres and the financial backing of ten prominent concerned citizens laid
the financial ground work for Trident Academy.
In 1974, thirty-six regular faculty
members conducted carefully planned individual curriculum and remedial language
lessons for one hundred fifteen full time students in grades K-12. In addition to local students, there were
several students from other states and various cities throughout South Carolina who attended Trident Academy and boarded with local families.
Members of the same group that founded Trident now served as its Board
of Directors. Construction of permanent
facilities commenced in 1975. The
community rallied around the development of the school and the first main
building of the school was constructed at cost.
Paula Craig, Nancy Welsh and Joannie
Gerkin, LEAD teachers and tutors who have been employed at Trident Academy since its inception, described the library in the first building as
consisting of some books on a book shelf.
The first library collection was developed slowly each year as funds
increased and people donated books through a fund raising project, the Birthday
Book Club. Eventually, the collection
increased to an amount large enough to warrant a small room the size of a
closet. Later the collection was located
in one of the smaller classrooms.
In December 1982, the Trident Academy
Long Range Planning Committee met to discuss future facility improvements. It was suggested that in the ten year plan,
the first building to be constructed would be a multipurpose classroom, library
and multipurpose facility. Efforts were
under way to plan the capital funding campaign necessary to construct the
building and the intent of the Long Range Planning Committee was to be able to
pay cash for it.
In May 1986, the Trident Academy
General Campaign Plan, “Open Minds to Success, One-On–One” was prepared by
Allen Mac, Inc. of Winston-Salem, NC. The plan was
initiated to determine the level of constituency support to meet the needs of
the preliminary planning study. Members
of the Board of Directors, past parents, current parents, alumni, friends and
community leaders were surveyed to gauge their support for these capital
needs. The results of the Planning Study
showed substantial support for the Educational Center. Along with other improvements, the Educational Center would provide for an expanded library facility. The campaign was officially begun by a
unanimous vote of the Trident Academy Board of Directors on September 23,
1985. The Board of Directors soon became 100% in
support of the campaign by making contributions totaling over $40,000. In early December, Trident Academy received the largest single gift in its history when Mr. Detyens
announced a $250,000 commitment to the campaign. Mr. Detyens who was the first individual
solicited beyond the Board, said that his gift could be used as a challenge to
all donors on a $1 for every $3 basis.
With the momentum of this gift, the Campaign Steering Committee worked
through the winter and spring making over 130 personal visits to many
individuals who had been close to the school.
This Advance Gift effort raised another $150,000. “As a long term benefit of the Campaign for
“Opening Minds to Success, One-On-One,” the report stated, “we see a growing
primary objective to be the development of a close group of strong Trident
supporters. Calling them “owners” for
lack of a better term, for what Trident needs is greater “constituency
ownership.”
In the fall of 1988, the Batson
Hewitt, Jr. Library was opened in the completed new wing of the school. Named
in his honor, Mr. Hewitt was a Board president whose son attended Trident Academy. The first librarian was Lynn
Ward who had taught library skills to the students and had built the collection
from a few books on a shelf to a collection worthy of its own facility. The library opened with 6,000 titles color
coded to accommodate the varied age levels of the students. As in the past, lower school students
continue today to come to the library once a week for library story time and
library skills instruction appropriate for the age group. Library skills instruction is given to middle
and upper school students as their teachers request.
During the last twelve years, the
library has continued to expand its collection under the management of
librarian Terry Field. Today’s library
collection consists of approximately 11,500 titles. In addition, the Ed Duckett Computer Lab
located within the library, provides seven computers for Internet and library
research. There are an additional five computers
within the study area of the library to be used for research and catalog needs. Internet access is available through a modern
high speed T-1 line system. In 1997, the
old card catalog and inventory system was replaced by a computerized one. To encourage reading comprehension, the
Reading Counts Program, consisting of approximately 1,200 titles, is available
to all students and teachers. The
collection of audio-visual materials continues to grow. Daily newspapers and a variety of magazines
are provided for pleasure and informational reading. A parent resource collection on topics
relating to learning disabilities is available for parent check-out.
The 1970’s was a period in Charleston, South Carolina, when there was a large societal interest in
assisting children with learning disabilities as a method towards
self-improvement. Fortunately, it was
also a time when the economic prosperity provided sizeable and individual
wealth that encouraged philanthropic giving.
A combination of knowledgeable physicians, concerned parents, dedicated
educators, and philanthropic businessmen were responsible for the origin of Trident Academy and the Batson Hewitt, Jr. Library and its continued success in
providing the informational needs of the school’s students, faculty, staff and
parents.
References:
"Academy Breaks Ground for New
Complex." Charleston Post and Courier
28 February 1988:
Craig,
Paula. Personal Interview. 26 September 2003.
Detyens,
Bill. Charleston's Bill Detyens: An Autobiography. Sullivan's Island: Professional
Research Publishing Company, 1985.
Field,
Terry. Personal Interview.
22 September 2003
“General Campaign Plan”, Trident
Academy Board of Director’s Minutes, May 1986
Gerkins, Joannie. Personal
Interview. 26 September 2003.
Harrington, Myron. Personal
Interview. 27 September 2003.
“Long Range Plans”, Trident Academy Board of Directors
Minutes, December 1982.
Thompson, P. (1992). “Dr. Charles L. Shedd: A History of His Work.”
Retrieved Sep. 27, 2003, from Shedd Academy: http://www.sheddacademy.org/information/drshedd.html
Trident Academy, “Student
Information Guide,” Fall 1988
Trident Academy, “Community Support for the School,” circa 1984
Welsh,
Nancy. Personal Interview. 26 September 2003
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