History of Scenic Land School

What is a perceptual handicap? Good question, but it's difficult to define. In 1966 only a few psychologists, pediatricians and concerned parents and teachers in the Chattanooga area had the slightest idea what a perceptually handicapped child might look like.

As a parent, when the diagnosis from psychological testing was "perceptually handicapped", you might have asked, “Does that mean she is retarded?” No! She is not!

At that time, very little was going on in the public schools to meet the needs of these children with perceptual handicaps (now referred to as learning disabilities or more specifically, Dyslexia). With so little information available then, can you imagine how frustrating it was to a small group of concerned parents, a pediatrician and a psychologist who all had a great desire to help and a dream of starting a private school for these children?

How would we start a school for children whose needs were undefined? How would we find someone with the expertise to educate them? Who would provide the funds? How would we deal with authorities who have possibly made laws and rules that are harmful to the children?

In 1966, considerable local and national research was done by this small group— a group with a great vision. Information concerning possibilities of resources for curriculum, definition of the student, and trained teachers was of utmost importance. With very little idea about what we were doing, we birthed Scenic Land School.

The group realized that personnel were critical. An authority on learning disabilities—a professor at Syracuse University—made us aware of a well-trained young woman who actually lived in Chattanooga. Wow! That was the best news we had heard.Thus, Linda Harris became the first Director/Teacher of Scenic Land, and the Rivermont Presbyterian Church graciously supplied the space for six students. We are indebted to the Church; Scenic Land occupied the facilities for 32 years.

Early in Scenic Land’s history, marketing was one of the most difficult tasks because the majority of the community had little or no understanding of the student or the education/program required for enabling the student to learn. We worked hard to get the name and purpose of Scenic Land out to the public.

Stabilizing the faculty and staff was a continuous effort. But with experienced and dedicated directors and teachers, it improved through the years..

In 1995, the school relocated to Mountain Creek Road at the foot of Signal Mountain. During the summer of 2006, Scenic Land moved to it's current location in Four Squares Business Center, just a few blocks east on Mountain Creek Road. The school looks forward to growth with continued strategic planning and marketing. We enthusiastically tell everyone who will listen about our mission.

In recent years, the term "perceptually handicapped" has moved on and the term "learning disability" is used by the general population to define the child. At Scenic Land we believe that the term "learning difference" better describes our students, but the underlying purpose remains the same.

MISSION STATEMENT: Scenic Land School provides an environment of individualized learning experiences that enables students to develop intellectually, spiritually, socially, and physically.