James Barefoot, a participant in the Longwood LIFE program at Longwood University (Photo courtesy Coy Barefoot)
Twice a week, Coy Barefoot drives an hour from his Midlothian home to Longwood University in Farmville to make a dream come true for his 23-year-old son, James, who has autism spectrum disorder.
A two-year, nondegree certificate program called Longwood LIFE, designed for students with intellectual disabilities, has changed James’ life and those of many others who commute from the Richmond area to attend college classes.
“One afternoon I was walking down a hallway in the education building at Longwood. I glanced in the open door and saw my son sitting there listening to the lecture,” Barefoot says via email. “James was rocking a little bit back and forth in his chair (a calming technique), but he was absolutely paying close attention to the teacher. I honestly couldn’t believe what I was seeing — my son in a college classroom enjoying a lecture. I was seeing the world make a space for him. If you’d passed me in the hallway that day, I promise you, those were happy tears on my face,” Barefoot says.
The idea began in 2017 as a collaboration of educators that included Karen Feathers, an assistant professor of special education at Longwood and now the director of Longwood LIFE. Feathers’ daughter was born with Down syndrome and, years ago, Feathers adopted a 2-year-old daughter from Ukraine who also has Down syndrome. As a mother, she wanted to make sure all students had the opportunity to reach their life goals, including attending college.
“Every person who wants to continue their education should be able to,” Feathers says. “To have that sense of belonging, to develop greater independence in life and to be a contributing person in their home communities.”
Fifty-three students have received certificates from Longwood LIFE since spring 2018. Feathers’ birth daughter died from a heart condition when she was 18, before the program began. However, Feathers says, her adopted daughter completed the program and now holds a job on campus as well as volunteering for Longwood LIFE.
Members of the current Longwood LIFE cohort with their student teacher mentors (Photo via Facebook)
Designed to help students gain skills for independent living, the program curriculum includes academics, music and fine arts, career and social skills training, and health and wellness. Students hold campus jobs; participate in internships; and take part in university sporting events, performances and volunteer opportunities. Feathers’ team includes student teachers majoring in special education who serve as mentors to students in the Longwood LIFE program.
“There is a lot of love in this program, where we try to understand our students and how we can support them uniquely and work with them where they are,” Feathers says.
James Barefoot enrolled in Longwood LIFE last fall, one of 11 students from the Richmond region among the 26 current participants. He is an artist who shares short, animated sketches on his YouTube channel. Also a movie reviewer, James volunteers at The Byrd Theatre as a ticket collector. He has been active in Jacob’s Chance, a Richmond nonprofit dedicated to creating meaningful experiences for individuals with disabilities, and he was included in the 2024 “CapABLE” portrait exhibition at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture, which highlighted remarkable young adults with diverse abilities.
James’ father, Coy, taught at the University of Virginia and has worked as a journalist, while his mother is a professor at Washington and Lee University. James has a twin sister who attends college. Barefoot says that every time James visited his sister at school, he would ask if he, too, could go to college like she did. The turning point, Barefoot says, came the day one of James’ teachers at Jacob’s Chance heard him ask yet again, “Please, please, can I go to college? Please!”
Sadie Hodges, director of athletics at Jacob’s Chance and a former Longwood student who had worked with Feathers, asked Barefoot, “Have you ever heard of Longwood LIFE? James would love that!” He had not, but he immediately reached out to Feathers and took James to visit. “Before you knew it,” he says, “my son was going to college!”
Noah Lowry (Photo by Jay Paul)
Another Richmond area student, 25-year-old Noah Lowry, was diagnosed with CHARGE syndrome, a rare genetic disorder, when he was 2. His mother, Jackie, says Noah is thriving at Longwood LIFE. “I noticed a change in Noah immediately upon starting the Longwood LIFE program,” Lowry says via email. “He seemed more confident, he started articulating more about his day, and he started telling everyone that he was in college.” A former teacher in the Richmond area, Lowry contributes to Longwood LIFE by teaching a weekly sign language class.
Lowry says the program is worth the 75-minute drive from their home in Henrico, thanks to the warmth, dedication, support and welcome from everyone at Longwood — not just Feathers and those involved in the program but university students, as well. “One of the biggest parts of this lovely puzzle is the support the Longwood LIFE students receive from students that attend Longwood University [full time],” Lowry says. “These student volunteers support and ensure that all student needs and accommodations are met while they are in their classes and during their work experience. This, to me, is a win-win for everyone.”
Barefoot appears to agree, writing on his Facebook page, “A phenomenal program at Longwood University has changed my son’s life! Thank you so much to Karen Feathers … and all the student teachers who bless our children’s lives with love and patience and care.”
“We build a community,” Feathers says. “I feel it’s a privilege to watch our students grow.”
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