Special Education

Special education is a federally mandated service program designed to serve educationally disabled students identified as having mild to profound disabilities. Confluence Academies offer a continuum of special education services to assist students with disabilities reach their potential. Our focus is to educate students with disabilities in the least restrictive environment to the maximum extent appropriate with their non-disabled peers. Most importantly, emphasis is placed on assisting students gain knowledge and experience, grow in self-esteem, and develop social and work-related aptitudes.

          The identification of an educational disability and necessary services required to address the student’s needs is a function of a referral-evaluation-eligibility-staffing process.  Students qualify as an individual with an educational disability if the results of an evaluation demonstrate the degree of the student’s impairment requires specially designed instruction in one or more program options. The decision as to whether or not the assessment results demonstrate the degree of the student’s impairment requires special education shall be made by the Individualized Education Program (IEP) team. The IEP shall take into account all the relevant material available on the student; no single score or product of scores shall be used as the sole criterion for the decision of the individualized education program team as to the student’s eligibility for special education. The staffing involves parents, school administrators, regular education teacher(s), special education personnel and the student when appropriate.  A program for the student is developed by the staffing team and reviewed yearly with the IEP team.

          The Special Education Department is dedicated to providing an overall system that connects and communicates in such a way that all students with exceptionalities are served appropriately.

Special Education services are provided for students who meet eligibility criteria for: 

•      Autism
•      Deaf/Blindness
•      Emotional Disturbance      
•      Hearing Impairment and Deafness
•      Intellectual Disabilities
•      Learning Disability 
•      Language Impairment 
•      Multiple Disabilities 
•      Orthopedic Impairment
•      Other Health Impairments 
•      Sound System Disorder 
•      Speech and Language Impairment
•      Traumatic Brain Injury
•      Vision Impairment 

          Every child is entitled to a Free and Public Education (FAPE) regardless of disability. Children with disabilities may go without services because families are not fully aware of their options. If you know of a child, birth to age 22, who you feel may be in need of special education services, please contact:

Hannah Wankel, M.Ed.

Director of Special Education

 hwankel@confluenceacademies.org

314-494-3311