It was a trip of a lifetime for a group of special needs students who visited St. Thomas this week, and a brief visit home for one of them. All 47 attend the Stewart Home School in Kentucky.
The Stewart students arrived Tuesday aboard the Carnival Dream cruise ship, boarded the Kon Tiki party boat for a trip to Honeymoon Beach on Water Island, and later traveled to Coral World Marina Park.
It was also a chance for Luke Sorrentino to show his friends and schoolmates the island where he spent most of his childhood.
His mother, Sybille Sorrentino, co-owner of Ecotours, handled the St. Thomas arrangements and said she had a wonderful response from island vendors.
“Both Kon Tiki and Coral World gave a huge discount,” she said, as did the taxi drivers who provided ground transportation.
Her son has Down’s Syndrome and autism and by the time he had reached the age of 14, Sorrentino, herself a former special education teacher, had decided there was not enough for him in the Virgin Islands.
“People with special needs here are not valued. They’re hidden,” she said, adding that she wanted more for her child. A friend told her about the Stewart Home School, Sorrentino said, and she researched it.
“Luke and I flew up and looked into it,” she said. They liked what they saw.
About 400 people are enrolled at the home school, which Sorrentino described as a highly stimulating and nurturing place. Besides basic academic classes, activities include drama, music and a wide range of athletics. Resident students come in all ages. Currently Luke, 16, is the youngest; the oldest is 74.
The separation is hard, Sorrentino said. On Wednesday she was suffering mixed emotions: joy at the wonderful visit the group had and depression at having her son leave again. But she isn’t questioning her decision.
The school atmosphere has been good for him, she said. “He’s been thriving and advancing in leaps and bounds. Now Luke’s talking and he can read.”
Luke will also singing in an upcoming school program and he plays the guitar.
Sorrentino said the Stewart students all clearly enjoyed their Virgin Islands day. They swam and played in the water, danced the limbo to steel pan music and marveled at the sights at Coral World.
“They were treated with smiles and a very warm welcome from everyone they met,” she said.