{"id":7817,"date":"2016-06-14T08:18:16","date_gmt":"2016-06-14T12:18:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/?p=7817"},"modified":"2016-06-14T09:49:50","modified_gmt":"2016-06-14T13:49:50","slug":"ccdc-celebrates-graduation-with-former-eagle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/?p=7817","title":{"rendered":"CCDC celebrates graduation with former Eagle"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jon Runyon encourages grads to keep battling challenges<\/em><\/h2>\n

By Bob Ludwig, <\/strong>Special to The Times<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Photo1resized\"

CCDC graduate Cody and his dog Claire walk in the commencement on June 8.<\/p><\/div>\n

COATESVILLE \u2013 Standing 6-foot-7 and weighing 330 pounds, former Philadelphia Eagle Jon Runyon casts a large shadow.<\/p>\n

Even Runyon, the commencement speaker for the Child and Career Development Center (CCDC) graduation, could not overshadow the achievements of the 48 students who graduated on June 8 in Coatesville. The ceremony recognized graduates from CCDC, the Chester County Learning Center (CCLC) and the CHAAMP Program, a program for adolescents with autism. The Chester County Intermediate Unit (CCIU) operates all of the programs.<\/p>\n

The CCDC is a center-based school for students ages 3 to 21 years old with differing abilities. The school has approximately 430 students in the following programs: autism support, learning support, emotional support, life skills support and multiple disability support. This array of services means that student success is measured in very different ways. For some students, it is learning how to respond to their name and track with their eyes, for others, it is improving reading skills and coping with anger. The CCDC\u2019s mission is to provide a nurturing learning environment that meets the needs of all students, no matter their disability.<\/p>\n

\"Chase,

Chase, a CCDC student, receives his diploma from Bonnie J. Wolff, president of the Chester County Intermediate Unit Board, and Dr. Joseph J. O\u2019Brien, CCIU executive director.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cSome of the graduates will go into supportive employment after graduation,\u201d said CCDC principal Dr. Susan Mateka. \u201cSome students will enter unsupportive employment and others will join adult day programs, group homes or stay home with family because of their medical circumstances.\u201d<\/p>\n

For 20-year-old Chase Darlington, graduation means working at Home Depot.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m so proud of him,\u201d said Darlington\u2019s mother, Angela. \u201cIt\u2019s been a lot of hard work, a lot of tears, a lot of therapists and a lot of Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings. It\u2019s big for any child to graduate from high school, but more so for students with special needs. They\u2019ve had so many obstacles their whole lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

Darlington said her son has autism spectrum disorder (ASD), which describes a range of conditions classified as neurodevelopmental disorders. More specifically, Chase battles pervasive developmental disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and oppositional defiant disorder. Chase first attended CCDC and later the CCLC where he studied in the horticulture and small engine programs.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s doing really well now,\u201d said Darlington. \u201cBoth of my parents (Peter and Agnes Farley of West Chester) were teachers and a huge help. They advocated for him. The whole family has been very supportive, including my husband, John, and his family.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kristin Gallahan, principal of the CCLC, said, \u201cAll of the students have made huge gains. This is the culmination of what they\u2019ve worked so hard for. They\u2019ve come a long way academically, socially and behaviorally. By far, this is the biggest thing to date in their lives, and they\u2019ve earned all of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mateka echoed similar sentiments.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the culmination of all their accomplishments,\u201d she said. \u201cYou have to look at their accomplishments a little different that the typical public school student. Every little advancement is something to celebrate. I couldn\u2019t be prouder. I\u2019ve been here long enough to know some of the students since elementary school. Some come to us when they are five years old and stay until 12th<\/sup> grade, or until they\u2019re 21 years old.\u201d<\/p>\n

During Runyon\u2019s commencement address, he reminded the graduates and their families that everyone has challenges in life to overcome. The key is to become \u201ccomfortable in your own skin and to challenge yourself. Don\u2019t fear the challenges. Use them as an opportunity to grow, to take advantage of the situation. Find who you are, embrace it and move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Runyon, a challenge was presented when he was diagnosed with dyslexia during his freshman year the University of Michigan.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had to learn who I am and how to accomplish things,\u201d he said. \u201cWhy couldn\u2019t I understand English as well as my peers did? That (diagnosis) changed things. My coach (College Football Hall of Famer Bo Schembechler) said every day you either get better or you get worse. That\u2019s what it\u2019s all about. Don\u2019t be afraid to fail, and learn from that failure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Runyon said it was his hope for the graduates to be \u201cvery successful in whatever you choose to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to his 14-year NFL career, Runyon of Moorestown, N.J., served as a United States Representative for New Jersey\u2019s 3rd<\/sup> Congressional District from 2011-2015. Last month the NFL appointed Runyon as its vice president of policy and rules administration.<\/p>\n

The graduates received their diplomas from CCIU Board President Bonnie J. Wolff, CCIU Executive Director Dr. Joseph J. O\u2019Brien, Gallahan and CCDC assistant principals Diane Tallman and Nancy Young. As they were announced, Mateka gave a brief description of each graduate\u2019s accomplishments, outside interests and future plans.<\/p>\n

During the ceremony Mateka personally read something about each of the students. \u201cThey deserve that recognition,\u201d she said. \u201cThis is a very special moment in their lives, and I\u2019m privileged to be a part of it. They teach us more than we teach them about love, compassion and understanding. I know, without a doubt, that they make me a better person.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition, CCLC Learning Support teacher John O\u2019Rourke produced a heartfelt tribute of the graduates, with photos of each from childhood to graduation. The Senior Chorus, under the direction of Becky Sensenig, performed \u201cThe Climb\u201d and concluded the commencement ceremony with \u201cCups Song.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jon Runyon encourages grads to keep battling challenges By Bob Ludwig, Special to The Times COATESVILLE \u2013 Standing 6-foot-7 and weighing 330 pounds, former Philadelphia Eagle Jon Runyon casts a large shadow. Even Runyon, the commencement speaker for the Child and Career Development Center (CCDC) graduation, could not overshadow the achievements of the 48 students […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7819,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[2066,110,4351],"class_list":["post-7817","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-cciu","tag-chester-county","tag-child-and-career-development-center"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7817","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7817"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7817\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7818,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7817\/revisions\/7818"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7817"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7817"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7817"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}