Social Restoration
Also in 1971, the School of Education was invited by the Pennsylvania Department of Education to consider applying for a grant to prepare teachers who would work in correctional institutions, such as the state prisons in Graterford and Dallas, Pennsylvania. Application was made for funding of a pilot program, which was approved. A certification program was approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Education, and the School of Education created a master’s degree program that was named for the certification (social restoration). Juvenile correctional institutions such as the Youth Detention Center at Camp Hill and Youth Development Centers hired social restoration teachers. Professor Raymond Bell was director. He developed an expertise in addressing delinquent behavior. In addition to placement of social restoration teachers in correctional institutions, the program was expanded to place social restoration specialists in positions designed to prevent delinquent behavior in adolescents.
Special Education Special education was a growth area during the 1970s in response to court decisions at the state and federal levels. By 1972, Lehigh’s School of Education added an intern program which was approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Education for the preparation of special education teachers. Professor Wesley Brown was recruited to the School of Education to coordinate the special education program.
Centennial School Importantly, special education at Lehigh preceded the formal program to prepare teachers for certification in the field. A small, experimental program in a university classroom building next to the old barracks grew into a school program for exceptional students that has served hundreds of students over half a century. In February 1964, the department opened a laboratory school for youth in need of special instruction. During the next few years, the school occupied various locations—“a garage, a synagogue, churches, university structures, and abandoned public school buildings” (Yates, 1992, p. 286)— and promoted the philosophy of child-centered teaching and learning, with a great deal of flexibility for the instructors. At first the school was known as the Laboratory School, but in July 1967, it was officially named the Centennial School for the centennial of Lehigh University. On August 28, 1967, the Pennsylvania superintendent of public instruction approved the Centennial School for its work with exceptional children.
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