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History of The Learning Center

The Learning Center is a program of The Protestant Guild for Human Services, (The Guild) a non-sectarian, non-profit organization. It has its origins in The Protestant Guild for the Blind, which began in the 1940s as a collaboration of independent churches providing religious instruction to blind youth in the Boston area. During the 1950s, The Guild opened offices in Boston and relied on the support of volunteers from local communities. In 1970, The Guild sponsored a learning center for multiply handicapped blind adolescents. A year later, it opened a facility in Watertown to house its offices, headquarters, and an expanded learning center, including both residential and day students. It was called The Learning Center for the Multiply Handicapped, but as the population it served shifted to a majority of individuals with moderate mental retardation and other complicating conditions, its name was later changed to The Learning Center.

Additional historic milestones:

• 1970s and 1980s - The population of students requiring specialized educational and residential services grows and The Learning Center expands to meet this need.

• 1993 - To more accurately reflect its expanding role in helping young people with a variety of special needs, The Protestant Guild for the Blind changes its name to the Protestant Guild for Human Services.

• 2000 - Students being referred are diagnosed with severe to mild mental retardation as well as autism, behavioral problems, mental health issues, hearing impairments, and communications disorders.

• 2005 – The Learning Center added 13,500 square feet of program space for additional classrooms, group activities and a play area.

• 2006 – Through the Department of Education’s Program Reconstruction, The Learning Center recommits itself to the goal of providing students with special needs a unique and supportive environment in which to learn.

• 2007 – The Bridge Program is established.

• 2008 - The Pre-Bridge Program is established.

• Today - We continue the tradition started by the founding members of The Guild as we strive to help young people with disabilities.