By Andrew Winter
1.
Villa Marie Home and School for Exceptional Children is a special needs education establishment in Waverly, Nebraska, administrated by the Lincoln Diocese. It is situated on the Marian center property, the site of the Our Lady of Good Counsel Retreat Center and the Motherhouse of the Marian Sisters.
2.
Msgr. James Dawson founded Villa Marie in 1964. The building was originally designed as an orphanage, but as the foster care system took over the role of orphanages in the U.S., Msgr. Dawson asked Bishop James Casey to turn the Villa Marie building into a special needs school. Today the Marian Sisters staff the school, and Sr. Jeanette Rerucha is the current principal.
3.
The school accepts children ages 6-18 with varying degrees of disabilities and behavioral issues. It serves about 20 students on average annually, giving them instruction up to the equivalent of 8th grade, as well as gentle, realistic behavioral discipline. Although the cost for educating each child is $25,000 a year, very few parents pay this amount. Parents of enrolled students are encouraged to pay as much as they can, with advisement from school administration.
4.
Villa Marie offers 24-hour care for boarding students, and also gives classes for regular day students. Boarding students go home on weekends, holidays, and during the summer.
5.
Located in the middle of a spacious plot of open land, the school building contains three classrooms, a library, computer lab, chapel, dormitories, and a multipurpose room. Within these facilities, students learn all manner of subjects, from cooking to computer skills, physical education, math, religion, social studies, art, and many more.
6.
Boarding students rise at 7 a.m., and school begins for everyone at 8:30. Depending on the day, Mass punctuates study time at either 9 or 11:15. Then follows lunch, recess, and school until 3:15 p.m. Bedtime is at 8:15. Twelve to 15 priests minister to the students at Villa Marie, coming to celebrate Mass and hear confessions.
7.
Villa Marie is proud of its Special Olympics program. The school has basketball, bowling, and track and field teams.
8. The students at Villa Marie take frequent field trips, which help the students improve their social skills, as well as their basic navigation, safety, and shopping abilities.
9.
For more than 60 years, Villa Marie School has hosted the annual Villa Marie Dance, a fundraiser used to offset the operating costs of the school and therefore assist parents of Villa Marie students. This year’s dance will be held Friday, Feb. 6, at the Sandhills Global Event Center in Lincoln.
