Clyde Henry was born in Alexandria, Minnesota, in 1950. He started in public school
at Washington Elementary, but was moved to Saint Mary’s Elementary when it opened
in 1957. There, without any professional assessment, he and other children who suffered
from a variety of physical or mental shortcomings were placed in the “Special Needs
Room.” There he remained for six years. At the age of twelve he moved on to public
school, where his learning and speech disabilities were diagnosed and treated.
In 1973, despite his learning disabilities, he graduated Magna Cum Laude from St.
Cloud State College. In the mid-seventies Clyde served as the director of the Art
Department at The Education Center of Bonao, Dominican Republic. During his service
at the school he participated in its accreditation as the world’s first American
accredited bilingual school. The school met the needs of students from twenty-four
nations. He then returned to the United States. While working in rural Appalachia
he founded The Learning Tree. The Learning Tree operated to meet the needs of newborn
to school-age children with programs in language, dance and art, as well as full
daycare, after school care and tutoring. Day camps were operated in the summer months.
The Learning Tree pioneered mainstreaming. Learning and physically handicapped
children were seamlessly incorporated into the comprehensive educational programming.
Even children with Down’s Syndrome were incorporated into the fabric of this innovative
learning environment. Recognized for his leadership role, he was appointed by then
Governor Rhodes to the Ohio Daycare Advisory Board, where new rules for the care
of children were developed and passed into law.
In the 1980’s he continued his education, receiving a Master of Architecture degree
from The Ohio State University in 1987. In 1997 he co-founded TRIAD Architects.
He served as the firm’s first president, bringing TRIAD Architects from a four-person
operation to a nationally recognized firm licensed in 38 states. Working with BASA
(Buckeye Association of School Superintendents), he developed the BASA/TRIAD School
Facility Conference where he promoted community-based school design and facilities
that are planned to meet the needs of all children, regardless of their abilities.
Among the programs he developed is CROSSROADSTM, the nation’s leading community-based
school design and planning program. CROSSROADSTM has been recognized by the KnowledgeWorks
Foundation and the Rural School and Community Trust as an effective and authentic
community participation program and has been the subject of numerous publications.
He has received numerous awards and gubernatorial appointments from three governors
to various state advisory boards.
In 2005 he and his wife Janet returned to Alexandria for his class reunion. After
the reunion, Clyde was moved to write Stanley James, the story of learning disabled
children in a Catholic school during the 1950’s. In 2007 he retired to devote full
time to writing, charitable work and community building. In 2008 he completed Stanley
James. Though all the names are fictitious and the events are too altered to be non-fiction,
the novel still tells the story of disabled children. It is an account of heroism
and nobility told with humor, truth and compassion.
