February 25, 1975

How the search for a school for a very special girl led to the founding of the school whose 50th anniversary we celebrate this year.

On February 25 we celebrate not only the anniversary of the founding of The Meher Schools but the birthday of its founder, Ivy O. Duce. Mrs. Duce was the murshida, or spiritual teacher, of a small nonsectarian spiritual order, Sufism Reoriented, that was founded by the Indian mystic Meher Baba in 1952. Meher Baba was Mrs. Duce’s spiritual teacher.

Mrs. Duce’s granddaughter, Mary, played a special role in the founding of our school. We asked her father, Duncan Knowles, to share his memory of how the school came into being. (Mrs. Duce passed away in 1981.)

“Our daughter, Ivy Mary Knowles, who we call Mary, was born with Down syndrome. Up to her fourth year, she attended a special program in Danville, but on her birthday she passed its upper age limit. The program’s principal loved Mary dearly and broke down in tears because she didn’t know where a child like Mary could go next.

“My wife, Charmian, and a dear friend, Ellen Sirota, were very concerned and talked with Charmian’s mother, Murshida Duce, about this. She loved her granddaughter Mary deeply, and the bond between them was very strong. It turned out she was already pondering where Mary could go, and they launched a search for a school with the right values. When that proved unsuccessful, she decided she would have to start such a school.

Mary with Mrs. Duce

“Although Mary was the catalyst for this idea, Murshida Duce also knew many young married couples in our area with children who needed a school that offered not just solid academics but a grounding in love, honesty, fairness, respect, and service to others. So she founded her school in 1975 as the White Pony School.

“Once the school was up and running, Charmian brought Mary’s former principal to visit. She thought it was perfect! And so it was.

“Mary attended the school for seven years. She was never isolated for her disability. Instead she was integrated into normal classrooms and always  embraced and supported.

“A huge benefit to Mary was that the teachers were dedicated to bringing about an environment where students could learn to express love in their lives. And since Mary’s nature was so purely loving, she grew and responded with a love that melted my heart.”

Ellen Sirota became Ellen Evans and would go on to be the school’s principal for its first 41 years. The school was formally established on February 25, 1975, modeled on the principles of Meher Baba’s “Prem Ashram” (“School for Love”) in India in the 1920s. (Meher Baba’s birthday is also February 25, and we honor him along with Ivy Duce as the school’s founders.)

Mrs. Duce with Meher Baba

The school has always welcomed children with atypical developmental patterns. Children with Down syndrome, language and developmental delays, and autism have joined our classes as fully participating members. Before moving to our current location in 1979, we shared space in a Lafayette school with a county special education program for severely handicapped children, and we provided opportunities for children from that program to join us in our classes.

Duncan reflects, “It’s now 50 years later, and I still feel that love in Mary that was nurtured by what is known today as The Meher Schools. I have no words to express how grateful I am.”

Mary lives in Walnut Creek with Duncan and her stepmother, Annie, a former Meher Schools teacher. She is enrolled in Futures Explored in Lafayette, a program for adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities. Twice a week she volunteers at the Hospice Thrift Store in Walnut Creek. The staff has called her “the hardest worker” there!

Mary has won trophies in ballroom dance competitions. In one program she performed to the song “If I Could Dance With My Father Again.” And here she is, dancing with her father!