Untitled Document

Exceptional Children
Paula Ledford, Director
Nancy Cantrell, ECP Specialist

The mission of the Exceptional Children's Program is to ensure that special needs children and youth develop mentally, physically, socially, emotionally and vocationally to the maximum extent possible by providing free, appropriate education and related services in the least restrictive environment.

Macon County Schools participates in CHILD FIND activities on a yearly basis. These efforts are to locate and identify children and youth ages 0-21 with disabilities who are in need of special education and related services. Psychoeducational evaluations are provided at no cost to families to help determine if a child has a disability and is in need of special education services.

Exceptional children are students who, because of permanent or temporary mental, physical, or emotional handicap(s), need specialized instruction and are unable to have all of their educational needs met in a regular class. Related services include, but are not limited to, speech/language, occupational therapy, physical therapy, and transportation.

Each school has a program to address the needs of exceptional children, with at least one full time EC teacher on staff, as well as speech-language pathologist, school psychologist, occupational therapist and physical therapist on an itinerant basis. Elementary aged students with more significant needs attend South Macon Elementary. Student at Macon Middle School are working on community-based instruction and vocational skills at the school-based enterprise located at Union School. Franklin High School has a fully functional school-based enterprise that also focuses on community and vocational skills and is located at Union School. Highlands High School has opportunities in place for community and vocational opportunities for students with disabilities who are in specific courses of study. The Exceptional Children's director implements these programs with a budget of approximately $1.5 million of which local funds comprise about one percent.

The EC Director is also responsible for the school system's program for academically gifted children, serving about 10 percent of the student population. Gifted students perform or show high potential for performing at remarkably high levels of accomplishment when compared to others of their age, experience or environment. Multiple measures are utilized to identify gifted students' needs that are met through an array of service options.