Kingsway’s beginnings date back to 1966, when The Camden County Section of the New Jersey Association for Children with Learning Disabilities (ACLD) was formed by social worker Elfriede Bergmann. The original program offered Saturday Formative Play Therapy Groups and parent counseling in Cherry Hill and Runnemede, NJ.
In 1970, ACLD established a new five-morning per week nursery school program at St. Michael’s Lutheran Church, Cherry Hill. Lois Wolf, still teaching at Kingsway, taught the class of 3 to 5 year olds.
By 1973, it was apparent that Kingsway needed a place to call its own. The Board leased the former St. Mary of the Angels School in Haddonfield in August of that year, and by September, Kingsway opened its doors with four classes in place. By 1976, Kingsway peaked at 22 classes. The school also broke away from the New Jersey ACLD to become more responsive to the needs of South Jersey. The following year, Kingsway purchased the St. Mary of the Angels building, and opened its Early Intervention Program soon after.
In the coming years, Kingsway established itself as a well-respected private, special education school with an excellent staff and cutting-edge technology. From 1987 through 2001, Kingsway boasted seven regional and national “educators of the year,” and in 1997 became the first private, special education school to have a technology plan approved.
In 2002, the seeds were sown for a long dreamed-of Secondary Program, expanding Kingsway’s horizon and serving students ages 14 to 21. With the help of $60,000 in start-up funding from Subaru of America, Kingsway geared up for a new chapter in its history. By 2004, that dream became a reality as Kingsway Learning Center at Moorestown opened its doors to the school’s Secondary Program.
While older students learned about job and life skills, their younger counterparts in Haddonfield welcomed “Building Bridges Pre-School” in 2007. Building Bridges is a full-day, pre-school program for children ages 3 to 5 years old with medical, learning, communication, sensory and motor challenges.
Kingsway Learning Center continues to write its history, always with the needs of the multiply challenged at the forefront because, as Elfriede Bergmann said so perfectly 44 years ago, “If a child can’t learn the way we teach, we’d better teach the way a child can learn.”
The Coalition of Southern New Jersey Private Special Education Schools
Student/Parent Handbook
(Haddonfield)
Student/Parent Handbook
(Moorestown)
Staff Manuals
(Kingsway Personnel Only)
Your help is Needed!
