Wednesday, April 29, 2009

The Eighth Annual Spring Dance sponsored by the Student Council for Exceptional Students (SCEC) at the University of North Carolina Wilmington will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, April 30, in the Warwick Center Ballroom on the UNCW campus.

UNCW expects approximately 160 middle and high school students from New Hanover County to attend the dance. They are students with moderate disabilities in the Transition Program for Young Adults or New Hanover County Schools special education programs. Participants will enjoy a fun day of dancing, socializing and refreshments with SCEC members and volunteers from other organizations.

“This is an event that the students wait for all year. It’s like prom to them,” said Linda Mechling, a faculty member in the Watson School of Education and SCEC faculty advisor. “This is a chance to reach out to people with disabilities when they normally wouldn’t have the chance to participate in such an event.”

Mechling noted that SCEC students want to support exceptional students, promote awareness of the needs of students with disabilities and foster understanding and acceptance in the community.

The UNCW Student Council for Exceptional Children (SCEC) is a student chapter of the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), an international professional organization.

Media are invited to attend and cover this event. Visual opportunities will be available of student participants dancing and interacting with UNCW students and other volunteers.

Media contact:
Joy Davis, UNCW Marketing and Communications, 910.916.8603 or davisjc@uncw.edu