Exceptional Children

Vision Statement

The Department of Exceptional Children for Guilford County Schools believes in the basic operational principle of providing a quality education to ALL children. In collaboration with students, parents, regular educators and our community partners, students with disabilities will be provided specially designed, research-based instruction. By providing excellence in programming by highly qualified staff in the least restrictive environment, we will promote cognitive, physical, social, vocational and emotional development. The ultimate goal is for students to gain knowledge and access resources in order to successfully transition to higher education or a career and become productive and contributing citizens in society.

EC Staffing Updates

Please know that our dedicated staff members are here to assist our children as they learn and progress. At any point in the school year if you have questions or need assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact our teachers or central office staff.

Like most school districts across the nation, we face the continuing challenge of finding and retaining highly qualified special education teachers for our classrooms.  We also compete with the private sector for our related services personnel.  Considering the fact that we have nearly 1,600 individuals in the EC department serving our students, our few vacancies each year are amazing when we look at other large districts.

Regular Education Connections

During the 2009-10 school year, the collaborative effort between the EC Department and regular education resulted in the Intervention/Prevention RtI model being fully implemented in all elementary schools by the end of the 2009-10 school year.  Focusing on all kindergarten through second graders, our regular education teachers will be administering a universal screener to their students three times during the school year in the targeted schools. The purpose of this assessment will be to identify struggling readers and provide research-based interventions as early as possible. The current “wait to fail” model of intervention will hopefully be replaced by what we envision as a model of intervention and prevention of academic failure.

Parent Connections

To assist parents in understanding how eligibility is determined for special education services, the EC and Psychological Services Departments have worked very closely with members of the EC Parent Advisory Council (ECPAC) on a Community Relations Task Force. The purpose of this collaboration was to examine existing documents that parents receive concerning the referral, evaluation and reevaluation processes. Beginning this school year, parents and guardians will be provided a packet containing information such as commonly used acronyms and evaluation tools and terms. Also included will be a procedures flowchart to assist parents going through the initial evaluation process. Helpful contact information that is individualized for each student will be provided to the parents.

Parent involvement continues to be a primary focus for the district and for the EC Department. Partnering with the EC PTA Advocates and ECPAC, we continue to ask for your input regarding appropriate services for students with disabilities. Anyone can assist efforts by participating in the “Together in Education” program sponsored by Harris Teeter. Please link or re-link your Harris Teeter VIC card to account number 6259. Funds generated from this link and program will directly benefit parent education and training opportunities being developed by the EC Partnership.