Linwood Center held an unveiling reception and plaque dedication on June 12 in honor of its new sister school relationship with the Daniel School, in South Korea. To mark this new relationship, the Daniel School and Linwood School received a donation of matching sculptures made by artists Thomas Clement and Wonsook Kim.

The sculpture, called “Hyunsu’s Butterfly,” depicts a young boy holding a butterfly and was inspired by the story of a boy from South Korea with disabilities who was adopted by an American family. As a native-born Korean adopted by an American family himself, Clement felt a connection to this story and designed the sculpture with a vision of using it to connect two schools serving students with disabilities in South Korea and America.

The new relationship between Linwood School and the Daniel School was introduced and facilitated by Maryland’s First Lady Yumi Hogan in coordination with Secretary Carol Beatty from the Maryland Department of Disabilities.

Hogan and Beatty felt that Linwood School would be the perfect fit for this new partnership, given the organization’s long history of supporting students on the autism spectrum. Linwood Center provides comprehensive programs and services for children and adults with autism and related developmental disabilities.

“The possibilities for this new relationship are endless. The opportunity to provide a concrete way to learn about the wider world through real-life experiences is invaluable for our students. And the chance for our teachers to share best practices with a similar school across the world is really exciting,” said Linwood Center Executive Director Bill Moss. “We are very grateful to both Mrs. Hogan and Secretary Beatty for creating this connection which we hope will continue for years to come and benefit our current and future students.”
The sculpture at Linwood was installed in a small garden with the assistance of donations from the Howard County Department of Recreation and Parks, Walnut Springs Nursery and the Hogan family.