When Laura McKirdy hears success stories from former students of the Lake Drive Program, it reinforces why it has been her passion for the last 40 years.
“It feels amazing to learn about their accomplishments,” says McKirdy, the school’s cofounder and former administrator. “It’s a gift every day.” One student became a dentist and just had a baby. Another is the proud parent of a soldier who just returned from Iraq, and another just graduated college with a degree in journalism.
Established in 1969, the Lake Drive Program, a division of the Mountain Lakes public school district, provides children who are deaf or hard of hearing with teachers; speech, physical, and occupational therapists; audiologists; social workers; and psychologists from birth through high school. McKirdy, a one-time speech pathologist at Morristown Memorial Hospital, was instantly drawn to hearing-impaired children.
“I saw hundreds of those types of babies, and I realized that if someone educated their parents and provided the children with hearing aids, they would develop the skills they needed,” says the Mendham resident.
The program started with eight children; when McKirdy retired five years ago, there were 200 children in attendance.
“Families know that a good educational placement is the best investment for their children, because we provide the proper services,” says McKirdy, 68. She continues to volunteer for the Lake Drive Foundation, a charitable organization she helped found. Her current focus is the Sound Start Early Intervention Program, which treats babies until their third birthday. “If we start treatment at a young age, we can do something that will positively affect their lives forever,” she says.
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