Howell Mania Leaves Lasting Memories

For the past 25 years students in the Howell Township Public Schools have had the opportunity to take part in a unique activity.

At the end of last month, the district held its annual Howell Mania celebration for the district's special education students. The event itself is sponsored by the Special Education Parent Advisory Council, also known as SEPAC, and serves as a more localized version of the Special Olympics.

Patricia Callandar, the district's Assistant Superintendent for Pupil Services, said the organization puts a lot of work into the three-day event to make it a success for everyone involved.

"They have put all of the outside things together, they provide the food, they get the sponsors. They work very hard to pull this day off."

Not only do the preschool students get a chance to enjoy some activities out of the norm, but the older students get a chance to compete in a field day of their own and get to go to Howell Lanes to show what they can do on the bowling alleys.

Unlike the regular field days which might not allow the students to succeed as much as they do at Howell Mania, she said the days give the students a chance "to win at certain types of contests which otherwise would maybe be difficult for them in their home schools and really just try to learn about recreational activities and to use the skills they've been working on in the classroom and transfer them to other environments."

No matter how the students finish in their respective events, they all leave the field with a trophy and a day full of memories of everything they accomplished.

Unlike other districts which might send their special education students to other schools and compete in the larger Special Olympics events, Superintendent Enid Golden said it was  a point of pride that the Howell schools get to keep everyone together.

"It's a real community effort," she said. "It's our teachers and our staff and it's also heavily funded by the PTAs throughout Howell and it's funded by the Howell Alliance and the Optimist Club." Golden also said the Chamber of Commerce contributes to the day to make it a hit. 

Having been around for 16 of the 25 years the event has been held, Golden said it gets better every year. "It's an amazing event and the kids love it," she said. "It lets the kids who may not ever get to win a trophy get recognized for something that they're really good in."

All the winners from the day also will be brought to an upcoming Board of Education meeting to be honored for their accomplishments.

Golden said one of her favorite parts is not only seeing the participating students succeed, but also seeing the support they get from the regular education students. "It's just a great lesson for all of them," she said. 

In addition to the running, jumping and throwing events, Dorothea Fernandez, the district's Supervisor of Special Education Programs, said the day also includes more quiet activities such as arts and crafts. "There are three main track and field type events. The others are more fine motor skills," she said. 

Fernandez said seeing these students on a regular basis in their classrooms makes the day that much more special as they get a chance to try something different. "When we had the bowling and when we saw the kids light up for getting trophies that they don't generally get in any forum is probably the best part for me," she said. 

It is the pride and enjoyment they get in accomplishing something that Fernandez said makes the whole experience worth it.

"It means a lot to see them be successful in all aspects of life, and this is one piece that they generally don't have opportunities to join in on because our kids don't always participate in sports activities outside of school."