Our School History
About Chamberlain International School
Chamberlain International School was opened in 1976 as the Frederic L. Chamberlain School. The concept behind the school was to create an environment that offered both educational excellence and support and guidance. It was an important goal to provide a feeling of family and caring.
Testimonial
"Chamberlain was a lifesaver therapeutically and academically for the three years she was there...we really feel now leaving with what she has been taught at FLC is giving her the coping strategies to transition."
– Parent of 2015 Graduate
Our Founders
This is the story of co-founder and Executive Director, Bill Doherty’s parents.
In 1944, during the height of World War II, a young American soldier found himself mistakenly separated from his army unit. His mission had been to disable bridges throughout Holland, so the German army could not retreat. However, the lines shifted, and the American soldier found himself stranded and seeking shelter from the dangers of the oppressive German occupation. The German army had advanced into the village of Susteren and set up a German garrison there. In the center of Susteren was a small inn and restaurant owned by Joseph Schulpen. The Schulpen family, risking their own safety, offered the American soldier refuge in the basement of the inn, where for six months he lived unsuspected by the enemy. While secretly living in the German army, that American soldier met and fell in love with the inn owner’s daughter, Josephine. Thus, out of the horrors of war was born a remarkable love story whose ties are forever linked to the Chamberlain International School.
“I will always be proud of my Dutch lineage and the Dutch culture of widespread tolerance, compassion, and outreach. That sense of outreach has pervaded my life, and is the very foundation of the Chamberlain International School.”
"I came into education from a strong family history of helping others in extraordinary circumstances. That's the ethic I bring with me, and it's one that works well in a school for adolescents who have been through so much. Many of our faculty and staff have been with the school for a very long time. I'm certain it's because they share that ethic. We are accepting of differences. We are by nature intent on creating safety and on 'parenting' students. 'Parenting' may sound like an imprecise word, but I think that most students and staff on campus would agree that the school community feels like family, and are consistently tolerant of and responsive to each other. I think students feel respected because the adults here treat them not as children or teenagers but as young adults. They are stakeholders in this school and in this family."
Statement of Purpose
Chamberlain International School was founded in 1976 in order to serve a diagnostically diverse student population made up of adolescents and young adults between the ages of 11 and 21. Chamberlain serves students with a wide range of learning and emotional challenges. We presently serve students with specific learning disabilities, bipolar disorder, ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Non-Verbal Learning Disorder, anxiety disorders, depression, and students with borderline personality traits. Traditionally, our students require increased supervision and support in order to be successful. Faculty and staff are available to provide social skills coaching, assist with mood regulation, and redirection of challenging behaviors. Our students benefit from low student-to-faculty ratios in order to receive the support needed to maintain positive behavior and/or access curriculum. From the beginning, the school has based its service delivery on interdisciplinary treatment teams, which come together to provide a range of comprehensive services to our students.
Guiding Principles
Chamberlain has a long history of assisting students in achieving academic, social, and clinical success. Chamberlain’s success is based upon the belief that all children are capable of achieving their goals in vital areas of their lives if they are provided the support they need. Our guiding principle is to engage and teach the students and their families to develop the skills necessary to manage their lives to their highest potential. These services are clustered into three main disciplines (educational, clinical, and student life) which work cooperatively and jointly toward successful goal completion. Our mission is to provide comprehensive and diverse therapeutic programming in an environment that inspires academic success and personal growth. We motivate and support our students throughout their school experience and teach them to recognize, nurture, and celebrate their individual strengths as they prepare for life.
