Honoring Frances McNulty: Continuing the Vision of New Horizon Special School

Our beloved mother Frances McNulty spent her life turning compassion into action. After she and our father, Bill McNulty, moved to Accra, Ghana, they became close friends with Eddie and Salome Francois, a Ghanaian couple. Frances and Salome shared a deep friendship, often meeting during the day while their children played together. They also bonded over shared experience. Salome’s daughter, Helen, had developmental disabilities, while Frances also brought the deep and personal experience of lifelong care and advocacy for her brother, Joe Toohey, who also had special needs. Frances had already gained experience in that field when she established the School of Hope in Pennsylvania. As the friendship between these two visionaries deepened, the two women realized urgent need for a similar school in Accra.

What began as a few classes in the Francois home soon blossomed into something extraordinary. Harnessing their relationships, networks, and determination, Frances and Salome raised the funds to build New Horizon Special School, opening its doors in 1972. Over the decades, the school has received international recognition - including an award from the Kennedy Foundation for excellence in education—and has become a model of what inclusion and dignity can achieve.

Today, New Horizon Special School teaches academics, social skills, music, and sports. It also offers a sheltered workshop where students produce marketable goods, fostering self-reliance and pride. For more than 50 years, it has been a place where students gain skills and dignity, families find support, and society learns to see the potential in every individual.

As we celebrate Frances’s life, our family has chosen to honor her legacy in a way that reflects her deepest values. In lieu of flowers, we invite friends and loved ones to make a donation to New Horizon Special School—the school she co-founded with Mrs. Francois and poured her heart into. Your contribution will go directly toward sustaining and expanding the programs she cared so much about, ensuring that future generations continue to receive opportunities, dignity, and hope.

Every donation, large or small, is a tribute to Frances’s lifelong mission of service and love. We are deeply grateful for your generosity and for joining us in carrying her vision forward.

Learn more about the school here:

https://newhorizonspecialschool.com

Thank you for honoring our mother, Frances McNulty in a way that continues her work and keeps her spirit alive in the hearts of those who need it most.